BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role
| BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role | |
|---|---|
| Awarded for | Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Presented by | British Academy of Film and Television Arts |
| First awarded | Vivien Leigh for A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) Simone Signoret for Golden Helmet (1952) |
| Currently held by | Joanna Scanlan for After Love (2021) |
| Website | http://www.bafta.org/ |
Best Actress in a Leading Role is a British Academy Film Award presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding leading performance in a film.
- From 1952 to 1967, there were two Best Actress awards presented, Best British Actress and Best Foreign Actress.
- From 1968 onwards, the two awards merged into one award, which from 1968 to 1984 was known as Best Actress.
- From 1985 to present, the award has been known by its current name of Best Actress in a Leading Role.
Winners and nominees
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Best British Actress (1952–1967)
Best Foreign Actress (1952–1967)
Best Actress in a Leading Role (1968–present)
1968–1979
1980s
1990s
2000s
2010s
2020s
| Year | Actress | Film | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 74th | |||
| Frances McDormand | Nomadland | Fern | |
| Bukky Bakray | Rocks | Olushola "Rocks" Omotoso | |
| Radha Blank | The Forty-Year-Old Version | Radha Blank | |
| Vanessa Kirby | Pieces of a Woman | Martha Weiss | |
| Wunmi Mosaku | His House | Rial Majur | |
| Alfre Woodard | Clemency | Bernardine Williams | |
| 2021 75th | |||
| Joanna Scanlan | After Love | Mary Hussain | |
| Lady Gaga | House of Gucci | Patrizia Reggiani | |
| Alana Haim | Licorice Pizza | Alana Kane | |
| Emilia Jones | CODA | Ruby Rossi | |
| Renate Reinsve | The Worst Person in the World | Julie | |
| Tessa Thompson | Passing | Irene Redfield |
Note: Between 1964–1973, several actresses were nominated for multiple performances in a single year, these each count as one nomination. Scarlett Johansson's two mentions in 2003 count as two separate nominations. The two mentions received by Kate Winslet in both 2004 and 2008 count as two separate nominations each time.
Note: The 2013 ceremony was the first time in the history of BAFTA that two French actresses were nominated for French-language performances in this category: Marion Cotillard for Rust and Bone and Emmanuelle Riva for Amour; the latter won.
Superlatives
| Superlative | Best Actress in a Leading Role | Best Supporting Actress | Overall | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Actress with most awards | Maggie Smith | 4 | Judi Dench | 3 | Judi Dench Maggie Smith |
5 |
| Actress with most British Actress Awards (until 1967) | Audrey Hepburn | 3 | — | — | Audrey Hepburn | 3 |
| Actress with most Foreign Actress Awards (until 1967) | Simone Signoret | 3 | — | — | Simone Signoret | 3 |
| Actress with most nominations | Meryl Streep | 12 | Judi Dench | 9 | Meryl Streep | 15 |
| Actress with most British Actress Award nominations (until 1967) | Audrey Hepburn | 5 | — | — | Audrey Hepburn | 5 |
| Actress with most Foreign Actress Award nominations (until 1967) | Shirley MacLaine | 5 | — | — | Shirley MacLaine | 5 |
Note: Meryl Streep and Judi Dench tie for the record of a total of 15 BAFTA Film nominations, with Streep having 12 Best Actress nominations and 3 Best Supporting Actress nominations. Dench has 5 Best Actress nominations and 9 Best Supporting Actress nominations. Dench's 15th nomination is for Best Newcomer in 1966 (which she won). This gives her 6 BAFTA Film wins. In addition, she has won 4 BAFTA TV awards (from 12 nominations). In total, she has received 27 BAFTA Film & TV nominations with 10 wins. In 2001, Dench also received an honorary BAFTA: The BAFTA Fellowship.
Note: Maggie Smith has a total of 13 BAFTA Film nominations, for Best Actress (8), Best Supporting Actress (4) and Best Newcomer (1), winning 5. She also has 5 BAFTA TV nominations. This gives her a total of 18 BAFTA Film and TV nominations. In addition, Smith has received two honorary awards: The BAFTA Special Award (1993) and BAFTA Fellowship (1996).
Multiple nominations
- 12 nominations
- 8 nominations
- 7 nominations
- 6 nominations
- 5 nominations
- 4 nominations
- 3 nominations
- 2 nominations
- Anouk Aimée
- Julie Andrews
- Peggy Ashcroft
- Leslie Caron
- Glenn Close
- Marion Cotillard
- Judy Davis
- Viola Davis
- Faye Dunaway
- Jodie Foster
- Lady Gaga
- Goldie Hawn
- Susan Hayward
- Judy Holliday
- Celia Johnson
- Grace Kelly
- Anna Magnani
- Giulietta Masina
- Virginia McKenna
- Melina Mercouri
- Hayley Mills
- Yvonne Mitchell
- Marilyn Monroe
- Jeanne Moreau
- Patricia Neal
- Natalie Portman
- Emmanuelle Riva
- Julia Roberts
- Rachel Roberts
- Susan Sarandon
- Maria Schell
- Kristin Scott Thomas
- Jean Simmons
- Barbra Streisand
- Sylvia Syms
- Jessica Tandy
- Audrey Tautou
- Uma Thurman
- Rita Tushingham
- Liv Ullmann
- Julie Walters
- Reese Witherspoon
- Ziyi Zhang
Multiple wins
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See also
- Academy Award for Best Actress
- Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Actress
- Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead
- Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama
- Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical
- BIFA Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a British Independent Film
- Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role