This is a list of winners of the Academy Award for Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role, presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) to an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry.
 More popularly known as the Academy Award (or the Oscar) for Best Actress, this award was initially presented at the 1st Academy Awards ceremony for 1927–1928 and was most recently presented at the 88th Academy Awards ceremony for 2015.
 Throughout the past 89 years, accounting for ties and repeat winners, AMPAS has presented a total of 90 Best Actress awards to 75 different actresses.
 This list is current as of the 89th Academy Awards ceremony held on February 26, 2017.
The 81st Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2008 and took place on February 22, 2009, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles beginning at 5:30 p.m. PST / 8:30 p.m. EST.
 During the ceremony, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences presented Academy Awards (commonly referred to as Oscars) in 24 categories.
 The ceremony was televised in the United States by ABC, and was produced by Bill Condon and Laurence Mark and directed by Roger Goodman.
 Actor Hugh Jackman hosted the show for the first time.
 Two weeks earlier in a ceremony at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, California held on February 7, the Academy Awards for Technical Achievement were presented by host Jessica Biel.
The 1st British Film Academy Awards (retroactively known as the British Academy Film Awards), were handed out on 29 May 1949 at the Odeon Cinema, Leicester Square, in London, for films shown in the United Kingdom in 1947 and 1948.
 They were presented by the British Film Academy (currently, British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA)), an organisation established in 1947 by filmmakers from Great Britain, for the "advancement of the art and technique of the film".
 The Academy bestowed accolades in three categories: Best British Film, Best Picture from any source - British or Foreign and a Special Award.
 British film producer Michael Balcon chaired the ceremony.
The 71st Academy Awards ceremony, organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best of 1998 in film and took place on March 21, 1999, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles beginning at 5:30 p.m. PST / 8:30 p.m. EST.
 During the ceremony, AMPAS presented Academy Awards (commonly referred to as Oscars) in 24 categories.
 The ceremony, televised in the United States by ABC, was produced by Gil Cates and directed by Louis J. Horvitz.
 Actress Whoopi Goldberg hosted the show for the third time.
 She first hosted the 66th ceremony held in 1994 and had last hosted the 68th ceremony in 1996.
 Nearly a month earlier in a ceremony held at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, California on February 27, the Academy Awards for Technical Achievement were presented by host Anne Heche.
The 21st Academy Awards features numerous firsts.
 It was the first time a non-Hollywood production won Best Picture, "Hamlet".
 It was the first time an individual (Laurence Olivier) directed himself in an Oscar-winning performance.
The 51st Academy Awards ceremony, organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored films released in 1978 and took place on April 9, 1979, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles beginning at 7:00 p.m. PST / 10:00 p.m. EST.
 During the ceremony, AMPAS presented Academy Awards (commonly referred to as Oscars) in 22 categories.
 The ceremony, televised in the United States by ABC, was produced by Jack Haley Jr. and directed by Marty Pasetta.
 Comedian and talk show host Johnny Carson hosted the show for the first time.
 Three days earlier in a ceremony held at The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California, on April 6, the Academy Awards for Technical Achievement were presented by hosts Gregory Peck and Christopher Reeve.
The Academy Honorary Award – instituted in 1948 for the 21st Academy Awards (previously called the Special Award, which was first presented in early 1929) – is given annually by the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) to celebrate motion picture achievements that are not covered by existing Academy Awards, although prior winners of competitive Academy Awards are not excluded from receiving the Honorary Award.
 Unless otherwise specified, Honorary Award recipients receive the same gold Oscar statuettes received by winners of the competitive Academy Awards.
 Unlike the Special Achievement Award instituted in 1972 (and discontinued in 1995), those on whom the Academy confers its Honorary Award do not have to meet "the Academy's eligibility year and deadline requirements."
 Like the Special Achievement Award, the Special Award and Honorary Award have been used to reward significant achievements of the year that did not fit in existing categories, subsequently leading the Academy to establish several new categories, and to honor exceptional career achievements, contributions to the motion picture industry, and service to the Academy.
 The Academy Honorary Award is often awarded in preference to those with noted achievements in motion pictures who have nevertheless never won an Academy Award.
 Thus, many of its recipients are Classic Hollywood stars, such as Lillian Gish, Barbara Stanwyck, Kirk Douglas, and Lauren Bacall.
William Augustus Wellman (February 29, 1896 – December 9, 1975) was an American film director notable for his work in crime, adventure and action genre films, often focusing on aviation themes, a particular passion.
 He also directed several well-regarded satirical comedies.
 Beginning his film career as an actor, he went on to direct over 80 films, at times co-credited as producer and consultant.
 In 1927, Wellman directed "Wings", which became the first film to win an Academy Award for Best Picture at the 1st Academy Awards ceremony.
Hamlet is a 1948 British film adaptation of William Shakespeare's play "Hamlet", adapted and directed by and starring Sir Laurence Olivier.
 "Hamlet" was Olivier's second film as director, and also the second of the three Shakespeare films that he directed (the 1936 "As You Like It" had starred Olivier, but had been directed by Paul Czinner).
 "Hamlet" was the first British film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture.
 It is also the first sound film of the play in English.
 A 1935 sound film adaptation, "Khoon Ka Khoon", had been made in India and filmed in the Urdu language.
This is a list of winners of the Academy Award for Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role, presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) to an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry.
 More popularly known as the Academy Award (or the Oscar) for Best Actor, this award was initially presented at the 1st Academy Awards ceremony for 1927–1928 and was most recently presented at the 88th Academy Awards ceremony for 2015.
 Throughout the past 88 years, accounting for ties and repeat winners, AMPAS has presented a total of 90 Best Actor awards to 79 actors.
 This list is current as of the 89th Academy Awards ceremony held on February 26, 2017.

Question: The 21st Academy Awards features numerous firsts, it was the first time a non-Hollywood production won Best Picture, which 1948 British film adaptation of William Shakespeare's play "Hamlet"?
Answer: Hamlet