Academy Award for Best Actress

Academy Award for Best Actress
Awarded for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
Presented by Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
Country United States
Currently held by Natalie Portman,
Black Swan (2010)
Official website http://www.oscars.org

Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Prior to the 49th Academy Awards ceremony (1976), this award was simply known as the Academy Award of Merit for Performance by an Actress. Since its inception, however, the award has commonly been referred to as the Oscar for Best Actress. While actresses are nominated for this award by Academy members who are actors and actresses themselves, winners are selected by the Academy membership as a whole.

History

Throughout the past 83 years, accounting for ties and repeat winners, AMPAS has presented a total of 84 Best Actress awards to 70 different actresses. Winners of this Academy Award of Merit receive the familiar Oscar statuette, depicting a gold-plated knight holding a crusader's sword and standing on a reel of film. The first recipient was Janet Gaynor, who was honored at the 1st Academy Awards ceremony (1929) for her performances in Seventh Heaven, Street Angel, and Sunrise. The most recent recipient was Natalie Portman, who was honored at the 83rd Academy Awards ceremony (2011) for her performance in Black Swan.

In the first three years of the Academy Awards, individuals such as actors and directors were nominated as the best in their categories. Then all of their work during the qualifying period (as many as three films, in some cases) was listed after the award. However, during the 3rd Academy Awards ceremony (1930), only one of those films was cited in each winner's final award, even though each of the acting winners had had two films following their names on the ballots. For the 4th Academy Awards ceremony (1931), this unwieldy and confusing system was replaced by the current system in which an actress is nominated for a specific performance in a single film. Such nominations are limited to five per year. Until the 8th Academy Awards ceremony (1936), nominations for the Best Actress award were intended to include all actresses, whether the performance was in either a leading or supporting role. At the 9th Academy Awards ceremony (1937), however, the Best Supporting Actress category was specifically introduced as a distinct award following complaints that the single Best Actress category necessarily favored leading performers with the most screen time. Currently, Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role, Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role, Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role, and Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role constitute the four Academy Awards of Merit for acting annually presented by AMPAS.

Other awards for acting

Actors have also received special awards, or Academy Honorary Awards, for acting in specific films (such as in the case of James Baskett, who received a special honorary award for Disney's Song of the South). Child actors have also been awarded the Academy Juvenile Award.

Superlatives

Superlative Best Actress Best Supporting Actress Overall
Actress with most awards Katharine Hepburn 4 Shelley Winters
Dianne Wiest
2 Katharine Hepburn 4
Actress with most nominations Meryl Streep 13 Thelma Ritter 6 Meryl Streep 16
Actress with most nominations
(without ever winning)
Deborah Kerr 6 Thelma Ritter 6 Deborah Kerr
Thelma Ritter
6
Film with most nominations All About Eve
Suddenly, Last Summer
The Turning Point
Terms of Endearment
Thelma & Louise
2 Tom Jones 3 All About Eve 4
Oldest winner Jessica Tandy 80 Peggy Ashcroft 77 Jessica Tandy 80
Oldest nominee Jessica Tandy 80 Gloria Stuart 87 Gloria Stuart 87
Youngest winner Marlee Matlin 21 Tatum O'Neal 10 Tatum O'Neal 10
Youngest nominee Keisha Castle-Hughes 13 Tatum O'Neal 10 Tatum O'Neal 10

Katharine Hepburn, with four wins, has more Best Actress Oscars than any other actress. Eleven women have won two Best Actress Academy Awards; in chronological order, they are Luise Rainer, Bette Davis, Olivia de Havilland, Vivien Leigh, Ingrid Bergman, Elizabeth Taylor, Glenda Jackson, Jane Fonda, Sally Field, Jodie Foster, and Hilary Swank.

Only two actresses have won this award in consecutive years: Luise Rainer (1937 and 1938) and Katharine Hepburn (1967 and 1968).

Five women have won both the Best Actress and the Best Supporting Actress awards: Helen Hayes, Ingrid Bergman, Maggie Smith, Meryl Streep, and Jessica Lange.

Emma Thompson won a Best Actress Oscar for Howards End (1992) and a Best Adapted Screenplay Award for Sense and Sensibility (1995).

Meryl Streep holds the record of 13 nominations in the Best Actress category. Streep has been nominated 16 times (13 for Best Actress and 3 for Best Supporting Actress), which makes her the overall most-nominated performer in all acting categories.

There has been only one tie in the history of this category. This occurred in 1969 when Katharine Hepburn and Barbra Streisand were both given the award. Unlike the earlier 1932 tie for Best Actor, however, Hepburn and Streisand each received exactly the same number of votes.

Barbra Streisand is the only actress who won a Best Actress Award (for Funny Girl) and a Best Original Song Award (for composing the song "Evergreen"); the latter one shared with lyricist Paul Williams.

Only twice have siblings been nominated for the Best Actress award during the same year: Olivia de Havilland and Joan Fontaine in 1942, and Lynn Redgrave and Vanessa Redgrave in 1967.

Only two pairs of actresses have been nominated for Best Actress for the same role: Jeanne Eagels and Bette Davis as Leslie Crosbie in The Letter (1929 and 1940), and Janet Gaynor and Judy Garland as Vicki Lester in A Star is Born (1937 and 1954).

In addition, Judi Dench and Kate Winslet both received nominations (Dench for Best Actress and Winslet for Best Supporting Actress) for their portrayals of Iris Murdoch at different ages in 2001's Iris. Winslet and Gloria Stuart were also both nominated (Winslet for Best Actress and Stuart for Best Supporting Actress) for their portrayals of Rose DeWitt Bukater in Titanic (1997).These are the only instances of the younger and older versions of a character in the same film both yielding Academy Award nominations, thus making Kate Winslet the only actor to twice share an Oscar nomination with another for portraying the same character.

The 71st Academy Awards (1999) presented the unique case of actresses being nominated in the same year for the same character in different films. Cate Blanchett was nominated for Best Actress for playing Queen Elizabeth I of England in Elizabeth, while Judi Dench was nominated for (and won) Best Supporting Actress for playing the same character in Shakespeare in Love.

Cate Blanchett is the only actress to be nominated twice for the same role (Queen Elizabeth I), first for 1998's Elizabeth and then again for 2007's Elizabeth: The Golden Age.

Halle Berry, who won in 2002 for her role in Monster's Ball, is the only woman of African-American descent to win the Best Actress award.[1] Seven other black actresses have been nominated: Dorothy Dandridge, Diana Ross, Cicely Tyson, Diahann Carroll, Whoopi Goldberg, Angela Bassett, and Gabourey Sidibe. Ross and Tyson were nominated in the same year (1973) for their respective performances in Lady Sings the Blues and Sounder; both lost to Liza Minnelli in Cabaret.

Charlize Theron is the only South African actress to win the Academy Award for Best Actress, for her role in Monster (2003).

The only Asian actresses to win are Vivien Leigh, whose mother had an Irish and Indian background, and Natalie Portman, who was born in Israel from a Israeli father and has dual Israeli and American citizenship. Merle Oberon, born to an Anglo-Sri Lankan mother and father of unknown ethnic origin, was nominated.

Ida Kaminska is the only Polish actress nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress, for her role in The Shop on Main Street (1965).

Only five actresses of Hispanic or Latin American descent have been nominated for the Best Actress award, but as of 2008 none has yet won: Helena Bonham Carter (1997; her mother is Spanish), Fernanda Montenegro, Brazilian, (1998; the first Latin American actress ever nominated), Salma Hayek, Mexican (2002), Catalina Sandino Moreno, Colombian (2004), and Penélope Cruz, Spanish (2006). However, Cruz won the Best Supporting Actress award for her role in the 2008 film Vicky Cristina Barcelona.

Nicole Kidman is the only Australian actress to win the Best Actress award (The Hours, 2002); other Australian nominees include May Robson for Lady for a Day (1933), Judy Davis for A Passage to India (1984), Cate Blanchett for Elizabeth (1998) and Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007), Naomi Watts for 21 Grams (2003) and Keisha Castle-Hughes for Whale Rider (2003).

Sophia Loren, Marlee Matlin, and Marion Cotillard are the only actresses to win this award for a foreign-language performance: Loren for her Italian-language performance in Two Women (1961), Matlin for her American Sign Language performance in Children of a Lesser God and Cotillard for her French-language performance in La Vie en Rose (2007).

Cotillard was the second French actress to win the Best Actress award after Simone Signoret for her role in Room at the Top (1959). Claudette Colbert, who won the award in 1934 for her comedic performance in It Happened One Night, was born French but later became a U.S. naturalized citizen.

Jane Wyman, Marlee Matlin and Holly Hunter are the only actresses in the post–silent era to receive Academy Awards for roles that were non-speaking (in Wyman's case) or predominantly non-speaking (in Matlin and Hunter's cases). Wyman, playing a deaf rape victim in Johnny Belinda (1948), was the first person in the sound era to win an acting Oscar without speaking a line of dialogue. Matlin, who speaks just once when she argues with actor William Hurt, won the award for her American Sign Language performance in Children of a Lesser God (1986), and Hunter, who narrates several scenes and speaks on camera in the last scene (although her face is covered) for her British sign language role in The Piano (1993). Unlike Matlin, who is almost completely deaf in real life, Hunter and Wyman can hear.

No Best Actress winning or nominated performance is lost, although Sadie Thompson (1928) is incomplete and missing portions have been reconstructed with stills.

There have been no posthumous winners of the award. The only posthumous nomination of a woman for any acting award was Jeanne Eagels, who was nominated for Best Actress in 1929 for The Letter. She was the first woman to be posthumously nominated for an Oscar in any category.

The earliest nominee in this category who is still alive is Luise Rainer (1936), followed by sisters Olivia de Havilland and Joan Fontaine (both 1941).

Luise Rainer is one of only two acting winners who have ever reached the age of 100, the other being George Burns.

The earliest Oscars where all 5 Best Actress nominations are alive is at the 44th Academy Awards. The most recent where all 5 have died is at the 27th Academy Awards

As of 2011 the earliest Oscars where all 4 acting winners are alive is the 34th Academy Awards, while the most recent where all 4 have died is the 54th Academy Awards.

The earliest Oscars where both lead acting winning are alive is at the 34th Academy Awards. The most recent where both have died is at the 54th Academy Awards

In 1984, three of the five nominees  — Sally Field in Places in the Heart, Jessica Lange in Country, and Sissy Spacek in The River  — were all nominated for playing strikingly similar roles: farmers struggling to keep their properties running against the odds, not a particularly common role. Field won the Oscar for her performance; this was her second award. Lange and Spacek had both won previously.

In 2009, Sandra Bullock became the first actor to date to have won a Razzie Award for Worst Actress and an Academy Award for Best Actress in the same weekend, but for two different roles. She won Best Actress for The Blind Side and Worst Actress for All About Steve.

Life expectancy of winners

In 2001 Donald A. Redelmeier and Sheldon M. Singh published a study in the Annals of Internal Medicine in which they found that:

"Winning an Academy Award was associated with a large gain in life expectancy for actors and actresses... Winning an Academy Award can increase a performer’s stature and may add to their longevity. The absolute difference in life expectancy is about equal to the societal consequence of curing all cancers in all people for all time (22, 23). Moreover, movie stars who have won multiple Academy Awards have a survival advantage of 6.0 years (CI, 0.7 to 11.3 years) over performers with multiple films but no victories. Formal education is not the only way to improve health, and strict poverty is not the only way to worsen health. The main implication is that higher status may be linked to lower mortality rates even at very impressive levels of achievement."[2]

The authors did an update to 29 March 2006 in which they found 122 more individuals and 144 more deaths since their first publication. Their unadjusted analysis showed a smaller survival advantage of 3.6 years for winners compared to their fellow nominees and costars in the films in which their performance garnered them their award.[3] However, in a 2006 published study by Marie-Pierre Sylvestre, MSc, Ella Huszti, MSc, and James A. Hanley, PhD, the authors found:

"The statistical method used to derive this statistically significant difference gave winners an unfair advantage because it credited an Oscar winner's years of life before winning toward survival subsequent to winning. When the authors of the current article reanalyzed the data using methods that avoided this "immortal time" bias, the survival advantage was closer to 1 year and was not statistically significant. The bias in Redelmeier and Singh's study is not limited to longevity comparisons of persons who reach different ranks within their profession."[4]

Winners and nominees

Following the Academy's practice, the films below are listed by year of their Los Angeles qualifying run, which is usually (but not always) the film's year of release. For example, the Oscar for Best Actress of 1999 was announced during the award ceremony held in 2000.

For the first six ceremonies, the eligibility period spanned two calendar years. For example, the 2nd Academy Awards presented on April 3, 1930, recognized films that were released between August 1, 1928 and July 31, 1929. Starting with the 7th Academy Awards, held in 1935, the period of eligibility became the full previous calendar year from January 1 to December 31.

Winners are listed first in bold, followed by the other nominees.

1920s

Year Actress Film Role
1927/28
(1st)
Janet Gaynor Seventh Heaven Diane
Street Angel Angela
Sunrise The Wife – Indre
Louise Dresser A Ship Comes In Mrs. Pleznik
Gloria Swanson Sadie Thompson Sadie Thompson
1928/29
(2nd)
Mary Pickford Coquette Norma Besant
Ruth Chatterton Madame X Jacqueline Floriot
Betty Compson The Barker Carrie
Jeanne Eagels (posthumous nomination) The Letter Leslie Crosbie
Corinne Griffith The Divine Lady Emma Hart, Lady Hamilton
Bessie Love The Broadway Melody Hank Mahoney

1930s

Year Actress Film Role
1929/30
(3rd)
Norma Shearer The Divorcee Jerry Bernard Martin
Nancy Carroll The Devil's Holiday Hallie Hobart
Ruth Chatterton Sarah and Son Sarah Storm
Greta Garbo Anna Christie Anna Christie
Greta Garbo Romance Madame Rita Cavallini
Norma Shearer Their Own Desire Lucia 'Lally' Marlett
Gloria Swanson The Trespasser Marion Donnell
1930/31
(4th)
Marie Dressler Min and Bill Min Divot, Innkeeper
Marlene Dietrich Morocco Mademoiselle Amy Jolly
Irene Dunne Cimarron Sabra Cravat
Ann Harding Holiday Linda Seton
Norma Shearer A Free Soul Jan Ashe
1931/32
(5th)
Helen Hayes The Sin of Madelon Claudet Madelon Claudet
Marie Dressler Emma Emma Thatcher Smith
Lynn Fontanne The Guardsman The Actress
1932/33
(6th)
Katharine Hepburn Morning Glory Eva Lovelace
May Robson (2nd) Lady for a Day Apple Annie
Diana Wynyard (3rd) Cavalcade Jane Marryot
1934
(7th)
Claudette Colbert It Happened One Night Ellie Andrews
Grace Moore One Night of Love Mary Barrett
Norma Shearer (2nd) The Barretts of Wimpole Street Elizabeth Barrett
Bette Davis (write-in) (3rd) Of Human Bondage Mildred Rogers
1935
(8th)
Bette Davis Dangerous Joyce Heath
Elisabeth Bergner Escape Me Never Gemma Jones
Claudette Colbert Private Worlds Dr. Jane Everest
Katharine Hepburn (3rd) Alice Adams Alice Adams
Miriam Hopkins (2nd) Becky Sharp Becky Sharp
Merle Oberon The Dark Angel Kitty Vane
1936
(9th)
Luise Rainer The Great Ziegfeld Anna Held
Irene Dunne Theodora Goes Wild Theodora Lynn
Gladys George Valiant Is the Word for Carrie Carrie Snyder
Carole Lombard My Man Godfrey Irene Bullock
Norma Shearer Romeo and Juliet Juliet – Daughter to Capulet
1937
(10th)
Luise Rainer The Good Earth O-Lan
Irene Dunne The Awful Truth Lucy Warriner
Greta Garbo Camille Marguerite Gautier
Janet Gaynor A Star Is Born Esther Victoria Blodgett, aka Vicki Lester
Barbara Stanwyck Stella Dallas Stella Martin Dallas
1938
(11th)
Bette Davis Jezebel Julie Marsden
Fay Bainter White Banners Hannah Parmalee
Wendy Hiller Pygmalion Eliza Doolittle
Norma Shearer Marie Antoinette Marie Antoinette
Margaret Sullavan Three Comrades Patricia 'Pat' Hollmann
1939
(12th)
Vivien Leigh Gone with the Wind Scarlett O'Hara
Bette Davis Dark Victory Judith Traherne
Irene Dunne Love Affair Terry McKay
Greta Garbo Ninotchka Nina Yakushova 'Ninotchka' Ivanoff
Greer Garson Goodbye, Mr. Chips Katherine

1940s

Year Actress Film Role(s)
1940
(13th)
Ginger Rogers Kitty Foyle Kitty Foyle
Bette Davis The Letter Leslie Crosbie
Joan Fontaine Rebecca The Second Mrs. de Winter
Katharine Hepburn The Philadelphia Story Tracy Lord
Martha Scott Our Town Emily Webb
1941
(14th)
Joan Fontaine Suspicion Lina McLaidlaw Aysgarth
Bette Davis The Little Foxes Regina Giddens
Olivia de Havilland Hold Back the Dawn Emmy Brown
Greer Garson Blossoms in the Dust Edna Kahly Gladney
Barbara Stanwyck Ball of Fire Katherine 'Sugarpuss' O'Shea
1942
(15th)
Greer Garson Mrs. Miniver Kay Miniver
Bette Davis Now, Voyager Charlotte Vale
Katharine Hepburn Woman of the Year Tess Harding
Rosalind Russell My Sister Eileen Ruth Sherwood
Teresa Wright The Pride of the Yankees Eleanor Twitchell Gehrig
1943
(16th)
Jennifer Jones The Song of Bernadette Bernadette Soubirous
Jean Arthur The More the Merrier Constance "Connie" Milligan
Ingrid Bergman For Whom the Bell Tolls María
Joan Fontaine The Constant Nymph Tessa Sanger
Greer Garson Madame Curie Marie Curie
1944
(17th)
Ingrid Bergman Gaslight Paula Alquist Anton
Claudette Colbert Since You Went Away Anne Hilton
Bette Davis Mr. Skeffington Fanny Trellis
Greer Garson Mrs. Parkington Susie 'Sparrow' Parkington
Barbara Stanwyck Double Indemnity Phyllis Dietrichson
1945
(18th)
Joan Crawford Mildred Pierce Mildred Pierce Beragon
Ingrid Bergman The Bells of St. Mary's Sister Mary Benedict
Greer Garson The Valley of Decision Mary Rafferty
Jennifer Jones Love Letters Singleton
Gene Tierney Leave Her to Heaven Ellen Berent Harland
1946
(19th)
Olivia de Havilland To Each His Own Josephine 'Jody' Norris
Celia Johnson Brief Encounter Laura Jesson
Jennifer Jones Duel in the Sun Pearl Chavez
Rosalind Russell Sister Kenny Sister Elizabeth Kenny
Jane Wyman The Yearling Orry Baxter
1947
(20th)
Loretta Young The Farmer's Daughter Katrin Holstrom
Joan Crawford Possessed Louise Howell
Susan Hayward Smash-Up, the Story of a Woman Angelica Evans Conway
Dorothy McGuire Gentleman's Agreement Kathy Lacy
Rosalind Russell Mourning Becomes Electra Lavinia Mannon
1948
(21st)
Jane Wyman Johnny Belinda Belinda McDonald
Ingrid Bergman Joan of Arc Joan of Arc
Olivia de Havilland The Snake Pit Virginia Stuart Cunningham
Irene Dunne I Remember Mama Martha Hanson
Barbara Stanwyck Sorry, Wrong Number Leona Stevenson
1949
(22nd)
Olivia de Havilland The Heiress Catherine Sloper
Jeanne Crain Pinky Patricia 'Pinky' Johnson
Susan Hayward My Foolish Heart Eloise Winters
Deborah Kerr Edward, My Son Evelyn Boult
Loretta Young Come to the Stable Sister Margaret

1950s

Year Actress Film Role(s)
1950
(23rd)
Judy Holliday Born Yesterday Emma 'Billie' Dawn
Anne Baxter All About Eve Eve Harrington
Bette Davis All About Eve Margo Channing
Eleanor Parker Caged Marie Allen
Gloria Swanson Sunset Boulevard Norma Desmond
1951
(24th)
Vivien Leigh A Streetcar Named Desire Blanche DuBois
Katharine Hepburn The African Queen Rose Sayer
Eleanor Parker Detective Story Mary McLeod
Shelley Winters A Place in the Sun Alice Tripp
Jane Wyman The Blue Veil Louise Mason
1952
(25th)
Shirley Booth Come Back, Little Sheba Lola Delaney
Joan Crawford Sudden Fear Myra Hudson
Bette Davis The Star Margaret Elliot
Julie Harris The Member of the Wedding Frances 'Frankie' Addams
Susan Hayward With a Song in My Heart Jane Froman
1953
(26th)
Audrey Hepburn Roman Holiday Princess Ann
Leslie Caron Lili Lili Daurier
Ava Gardner Mogambo Eloise "Honey Bear" Kelly
Deborah Kerr From Here to Eternity Karen Holmes
Maggie McNamara The Moon Is Blue Patty O'Neill
1954
(27th)
Grace Kelly The Country Girl Georgie Elgin
Dorothy Dandridge Carmen Jones Carmen Jones
Judy Garland A Star Is Born Vicki Lester / Esther Blodgett
Audrey Hepburn Sabrina Sabrina Fairchild
Jane Wyman Magnificent Obsession Helen Phillips
1955
(28th)
Anna Magnani The Rose Tattoo Serafina Delle Rose
Susan Hayward I'll Cry Tomorrow Lillian Roth
Katharine Hepburn Summertime Jane Hudson
Jennifer Jones Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing Dr. Han Suyin
Eleanor Parker Interrupted Melody Marjorie 'Margie' Lawrence
1956
(29th)
Ingrid Bergman Anastasia Anna Koreff / Anastasia
Carroll Baker Baby Doll Baby Doll Meighan
Katharine Hepburn The Rainmaker Lizzie Curry
Nancy Kelly The Bad Seed Christine Penmark
Deborah Kerr The King and I Anna Leonowens
1957
(30th)
Joanne Woodward The Three Faces of Eve Eve White / Eve Black / Jane
Deborah Kerr Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison Sister Angela
Anna Magnani Wild Is the Wind Gioia
Elizabeth Taylor Raintree County Susanna Drake
Lana Turner Peyton Place Constance MacKenzie
1958
(31st)
Susan Hayward I Want to Live! Barbara Graham
Deborah Kerr Separate Tables Sibyl Railton-Bell
Shirley MacLaine Some Came Running Ginnie Moorehead
Rosalind Russell Auntie Mame Mame Dennis
Elizabeth Taylor Cat on a Hot Tin Roof Margaret 'Maggie the Cat' Pollitt
1959
(32nd)
Simone Signoret Room at the Top Alice Aisgill
Doris Day Pillow Talk Jan Morrow
Audrey Hepburn The Nun's Story Sister Luke (Gabrielle van der Mal)
Katharine Hepburn Suddenly, Last Summer Violet Venable
Elizabeth Taylor Suddenly, Last Summer Catherine Holly

1960s

Year Actress Film Role(s)
1960
(33rd)
Elizabeth Taylor BUtterfield 8 Gloria Wandrous
Greer Garson Sunrise at Campobello Eleanor Roosevelt
Deborah Kerr The Sundowners Ida Carmody
Shirley MacLaine The Apartment Fran Kubelik
Melina Mercouri Never on Sunday Ilya
1961
(34th)
Sophia Loren Two Women Cesira
Audrey Hepburn Breakfast at Tiffany's Holly Golightly
Piper Laurie The Hustler Sarah Packard
Geraldine Page Summer and Smoke Alma Winemiller
Natalie Wood Splendor in the Grass Wilma Dean 'Deanie' Loomis
1962
(35th)
Anne Bancroft The Miracle Worker Annie Sullivan
Bette Davis What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? Baby Jane Hudson
Katharine Hepburn Long Day's Journey Into Night Mary Tyrone
Geraldine Page Sweet Bird of Youth Alexandra Del Lago
Lee Remick Days of Wine and Roses Kirsten Arnesen Clay
1963
(36th)
Patricia Neal Hud Alma Brown
Leslie Caron The L-Shaped Room Jane Fossett
Shirley MacLaine Irma la Douce Irma La Douce
Rachel Roberts This Sporting Life Margaret Hammond
Natalie Wood Love with the Proper Stranger Angie Rossini
1964
(37th)
Julie Andrews Mary Poppins Mary Poppins
Anne Bancroft The Pumpkin Eater Jo Armitage
Sophia Loren Marriage Italian-Style Filumena Marturano
Debbie Reynolds The Unsinkable Molly Brown Molly Brown
Kim Stanley Séance on a Wet Afternoon Myra Savage
1965
(38th)
Julie Christie Darling Diana Scott
Julie Andrews The Sound of Music Maria von Trapp
Samantha Eggar The Collector Miranda Grey
Elizabeth Hartman A Patch of Blue Selina D'Arcy
Simone Signoret Ship of Fools La Contessa
1966
(39th)
Elizabeth Taylor Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Martha
Anouk Aimée A Man and a Woman Anne Gauthier
Ida Kaminska The Shop on Main Street Rozalie Lautmann
Lynn Redgrave Georgy Girl Georgy Parkin
Vanessa Redgrave Morgan! Leonie Delt
1967
(40th)
Katharine Hepburn Guess Who's Coming to Dinner Christina Drayton
Anne Bancroft The Graduate Mrs. Robinson
Faye Dunaway Bonnie and Clyde Bonnie Parker
Edith Evans The Whisperers Maggie Ross
Audrey Hepburn Wait Until Dark Susy Hendrix
1968
(41st)
Katharine Hepburn (tie) The Lion in Winter Eleanor of Aquitaine
Barbra Streisand (tie) Funny Girl Fanny Brice
Patricia Neal The Subject was Roses Nettie Cleary
Vanessa Redgrave Isadora Isadora Duncan
Joanne Woodward Rachel, Rachel Rachel Cameron
1969
(42nd)
Maggie Smith The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie Jean Brodie
Geneviève Bujold Anne of the Thousand Days Anne Boleyn
Jane Fonda They Shoot Horses, Don't They? Gloria Beatty
Liza Minnelli The Sterile Cuckoo Mary Ann 'Pookie' Adams
Jean Simmons The Happy Ending Mary Wilson

1970s

Year Actress Film Role(s)
1970
(43rd)
Glenda Jackson Women in Love Gudrun Brangwen
Jane Alexander The Great White Hope Eleanor Backman
Ali MacGraw Love Story Jennifer Cavalleri
Sarah Miles Ryan's Daughter Rosy Ryan
Carrie Snodgress Diary of a Mad Housewife Tina Balser
1971
(44th)
Jane Fonda Klute Bree Daniels
Julie Christie McCabe & Mrs. Miller Constance Miller
Glenda Jackson Sunday Bloody Sunday Alex Greville
Vanessa Redgrave Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots
Janet Suzman Nicholas and Alexandra Empress Alexandra / Alix of Hesse Darmstadt
1972
(45th)
Liza Minnelli Cabaret Sally Bowles
Diana Ross Lady Sings the Blues Billie Holiday
Maggie Smith Travels with My Aunt Augusta Bertram
Cicely Tyson Sounder Rebecca Morgan
Liv Ullmann The Emigrants Kristina
1973
(46th)
Glenda Jackson A Touch of Class Vicki Allessio
Ellen Burstyn The Exorcist Chris MacNeil
Marsha Mason Cinderella Liberty Maggie Paul
Barbra Streisand The Way We Were Katie Morosky
Joanne Woodward Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams Rita Walden
1974
(47th)
Ellen Burstyn Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore Alice Hyatt
Diahann Carroll Claudine Claudine Price
Faye Dunaway Chinatown Evelyn Cross Mulwray
Valerie Perrine Lenny Honey Bruce
Gena Rowlands A Woman Under the Influence Mabel Longhetti
1975
(48th)
Louise Fletcher One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest Nurse Mildred Ratched
Isabelle Adjani The Story of Adele H. Adèle Hugo / Adèle Lewry
Ann-Margret Tommy Nora Walker Hobbs
Glenda Jackson Hedda Hedda Gabler
Carol Kane Hester Street Gitl
1976
(49th)
Faye Dunaway Network Diana Christensen
Marie-Christine Barrault Cousin, cousine Marthe
Talia Shire Rocky Adrian Pennino
Sissy Spacek Carrie Carrie White
Liv Ullmann Face to Face Dr. Jenny Isaksson
1977
(50th)
Diane Keaton Annie Hall Annie Hall
Anne Bancroft The Turning Point Emma Jacklin
Jane Fonda Julia Lillian Hellman
Shirley MacLaine The Turning Point Deedee Rodgers
Marsha Mason The Goodbye Girl Paula McFadden
1978
(51st)
Jane Fonda Coming Home Sally Hyde
Ingrid Bergman Autumn Sonata Charlotte Andergast
Ellen Burstyn Same Time, Next Year Doris
Jill Clayburgh An Unmarried Woman Erica
Geraldine Page Interiors Eve
1979
(52nd)
Sally Field Norma Rae Norma Rae Webster
Jill Clayburgh Starting Over Marilyn Holmberg
Jane Fonda The China Syndrome Kimberly Wells
Marsha Mason Chapter Two Jennie MacLaine
Bette Midler The Rose Mary Rose Foster

1980s

Year Actress Film Role(s)
1980
(53rd)
Sissy Spacek Coal Miner's Daughter Loretta Lynn
Ellen Burstyn Resurrection Edna Mae McCauley
Goldie Hawn Private Benjamin Pvt. Judy Benjamin
Mary Tyler Moore Ordinary People Beth Jarrett
Gena Rowlands Gloria Gloria Swenson
1981
(54th)
Katharine Hepburn On Golden Pond Ethel Thayer
Diane Keaton Reds Louise Bryant
Marsha Mason Only When I Laugh Georgia Hines
Susan Sarandon Atlantic City Sally Matthews
Meryl Streep The French Lieutenant's Woman Anna (Sara Woodruff)
1982
(55th)
Meryl Streep Sophie's Choice Sophie Zawistowski
Julie Andrews Victor Victoria Victoria Grant
Jessica Lange Frances Frances Farmer
Sissy Spacek Missing Beth Horman
Debra Winger An Officer and a Gentleman Paula Pokrifki
1983
(56th)
Shirley MacLaine Terms of Endearment Aurora Greenway
Jane Alexander Testament Carol Wetherly
Meryl Streep Silkwood Karen Silkwood
Julie Walters Educating Rita Rita
Debra Winger Terms of Endearment Emma Greenway Horton
1984
(57th)
Sally Field Places in the Heart Edna Spalding
Judy Davis A Passage to India Adela Quested
Jessica Lange Country Jewell Ivy
Vanessa Redgrave The Bostonians Olive Chancellor
Sissy Spacek The River Mae Garvey
1985
(58th)
Geraldine Page The Trip to Bountiful Carrie Watts
Anne Bancroft Agnes of God Mother Miriam Ruth
Whoopi Goldberg The Color Purple Celie Harris Johnson
Jessica Lange Sweet Dreams Patsy Cline
Meryl Streep Out of Africa Karen Blixen
1986
(59th)
Marlee Matlin Children of a Lesser God Sarah Norman
Jane Fonda The Morning After Alex Sternbergen
Sissy Spacek Crimes of the Heart Babe Magrath
Kathleen Turner Peggy Sue Got Married Peggy Sue Bodell
Sigourney Weaver Aliens Ellen Ripley
1987
(60st)
Cher Moonstruck Loretta Castorini
Glenn Close Fatal Attraction Alex Forrest
Holly Hunter Broadcast News Jane Craig
Sally Kirkland Anna Anna
Meryl Streep Ironweed Helen Archer
1988
(61st)
Jodie Foster The Accused Sarah Tobias
Glenn Close Dangerous Liaisons Marquise Isabelle de Merteuil
Melanie Griffith Working Girl Tess McGill
Meryl Streep A Cry in the Dark Lindy Chamberlain
Sigourney Weaver Gorillas in the Mist Dian Fossey
1989
(62nd)
Jessica Tandy Driving Miss Daisy Daisy Werthan
Isabelle Adjani Camille Claudel Camille Claudel
Pauline Collins Shirley Valentine Shirley Valentine-Bradshaw
Jessica Lange Music Box Ann Talbot
Michelle Pfeiffer The Fabulous Baker Boys Susie Diamond

1990s

Year Actress Film Role(s)
1990
(63rd)
Kathy Bates Misery Annie Wilkes
Anjelica Huston The Grifters Lilly Dillon
Julia Roberts Pretty Woman Vivian Ward
Meryl Streep Postcards from the Edge Suzanne Vale
Joanne Woodward Mr. and Mrs. Bridge India Bridge
1991
(64th)
Jodie Foster The Silence of the Lambs Clarice Starling
Geena Davis Thelma & Louise Thelma Dickinson
Laura Dern Rambling Rose Rose
Bette Midler For the Boys Dixie Leonard
Susan Sarandon Thelma & Louise Louise Sawyer
1992
(65th)
Emma Thompson Howards End Margaret Schlegel
Catherine Deneuve Indochine Eliane Devries
Mary McDonnell Passion Fish May-Alice Culhane
Michelle Pfeiffer Love Field Lurene Hallett
Susan Sarandon Lorenzo's Oil Michaela Odone
1993
(66th)
Holly Hunter The Piano Ada McGrath
Angela Bassett What's Love Got to Do with It Tina Turner
Stockard Channing Six Degrees of Separation Ouisa Kittredge
Emma Thompson The Remains of the Day Mary Kenton
Debra Winger Shadowlands Joy Gresham
1994
(67th)
Jessica Lange Blue Sky Carly Marshall
Jodie Foster Nell Nell Kellty
Miranda Richardson Tom & Viv Vivienne Haigh-Wood
Winona Ryder Little Women Jo March
Susan Sarandon The Client Reggie Love
1995
(68th)
Susan Sarandon Dead Man Walking Helen Prejean
Elisabeth Shue Leaving Las Vegas Sera
Sharon Stone Casino Ginger McKenna
Meryl Streep The Bridges of Madison County Francesca Johnson
Emma Thompson Sense and Sensibility Elinor Dashwood
1996
(69th)
Frances McDormand Fargo Marge Gunderson
Brenda Blethyn Secrets & Lies Cynthia Rose Purley
Diane Keaton Marvin's Room Bessie
Kristin Scott Thomas The English Patient Katharine Clifton
Emily Watson Breaking the Waves Bess McNeill
1997
(70th)
Helen Hunt As Good as It Gets Carol Connelly
Helena Bonham Carter The Wings of the Dove Kate Croy
Julie Christie Afterglow Phyllis Mann
Judi Dench Mrs. Brown Queen Victoria
Kate Winslet Titanic Rose DeWitt Bukater
1998
(71st)
Gwyneth Paltrow Shakespeare in Love Viola De Lesseps
Cate Blanchett Elizabeth Elizabeth I
Fernanda Montenegro Central Station Dora
Meryl Streep One True Thing Kate Gulden
Emily Watson Hilary and Jackie Jacqueline du Pré
1999
(72nd)
Hilary Swank Boys Don't Cry Brandon Teena
Annette Bening American Beauty Carolyn Burnham
Janet McTeer Tumbleweeds Mary Jo Walker
Julianne Moore The End of the Affair Sarah Miles
Meryl Streep Music of the Heart Roberta Guaspari

2000s

Year Actress Film Role(s)
2000
(73rd)
Julia Roberts Erin Brockovich Erin Brockovich
Joan Allen The Contender Senator Laine Hanson
Juliette Binoche Chocolat Vianne Rocher
Ellen Burstyn Requiem for a Dream Sara Goldfarb
Laura Linney You Can Count on Me Sammy Prescott
2001
(74th)
Halle Berry Monster's Ball Leticia Musgrove
Judi Dench Iris Iris Murdoch
Nicole Kidman Moulin Rouge! Satine
Sissy Spacek In the Bedroom Ruth Fowler
Renée Zellweger Bridget Jones's Diary Bridget Jones
2002
(75th)
Nicole Kidman The Hours Virginia Woolfe
Salma Hayek Frida Frida Kahlo
Diane Lane Unfaithful Connie Sumner
Julianne Moore Far from Heaven Cathy Whitaker
Renée Zellweger Chicago Roxie Hart
2003
(76th)
Charlize Theron Monster Aileen Wuornos
Keisha Castle-Hughes Whale Rider Paikea Apirana
Diane Keaton Something's Gotta Give Erika Berry
Samantha Morton In America Sarah Sullivan
Naomi Watts 21 Grams Cristina Peck
2004
(77th)
Hilary Swank Million Dollar Baby Maggie Fitzgerald
Annette Bening Being Julia Julia Lambert
Catalina Sandino Moreno Maria Full of Grace María Álvarez
Imelda Staunton Vera Drake Vera Drake
Kate Winslet Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind Clementine Kruczynski
2005
(78th)
Reese Witherspoon Walk the Line June Carter
Judi Dench Mrs Henderson Presents Laura Henderson
Felicity Huffman Transamerica Sabrina "Bree" Osbourne
Keira Knightley Pride & Prejudice Elizabeth Bennet
Charlize Theron North Country Josey Aimes
2006
(79th)
Helen Mirren The Queen Queen Elizabeth II
Penélope Cruz Volver Raimunda
Judi Dench Notes on a Scandal Barbara Covett
Meryl Streep The Devil Wears Prada Miranda Priestly
Kate Winslet Little Children Sarah Pierce
2007
(80th)
Marion Cotillard La Vie en Rose Édith Piaf
Cate Blanchett Elizabeth: The Golden Age Queen Elizabeth I
Julie Christie Away from Her Fiona Anderson
Laura Linney The Savages Wendy Savage
Ellen Page Juno Juno MacGuff
2008
(81st)
Kate Winslet The Reader Hanna Schmitz
Anne Hathaway Rachel Getting Married Kym Buchman
Angelina Jolie Changeling Christine Collins
Melissa Leo Frozen River Ray Eddy
Meryl Streep Doubt Sister Aloysius Beauvier
2009
(82nd)
Sandra Bullock The Blind Side Leigh Anne Tuohy
Helen Mirren The Last Station Sofya Tolstoy
Carey Mulligan An Education Jenny Mellor
Gabourey Sidibe Precious Claireece "Precious" Jones
Meryl Streep Julie & Julia Julia Child

2010s

Year Actress Film Role(s)
2010
(83rd)
Natalie Portman Black Swan Nina Sayers
Annette Bening The Kids Are All Right Nic[5]
Nicole Kidman Rabbit Hole Becca Corbett[6]
Jennifer Lawrence Winter's Bone Ree Dolly
Michelle Williams Blue Valentine Cindy Heller[7]

International presence

As the Academy Awards are based in the United States and are centered on the Hollywood film industry, the majority of Academy Award winners have been Americans. Nonetheless, there is significant international presence at the awards, as evidenced by the following list of winners for the Academy Award for Best Actress.

There have been two years in which all four of the top acting Academy Awards were presented to non-Americans.

Multiple awards

4 awards

2 awards

Multiple nominations

2 nominations

  • Isabelle Adjani
  • Jane Alexander
  • Cate Blanchett
  • Leslie Caron
  • Ruth Chatterton
  • Jill Clayburgh
  • Glenn Close
  • Marie Dressler
  • Sally Field
  • Janet Gaynor
  • Holly Hunter
  • Vivien Leigh
  • Laura Linney
  • Sophia Loren
  • Anna Magnani
  • Bette Midler
  • Liza Minnelli
  • Helen Mirren
  • Julianne Moore
  • Patricia Neal
  • Luise Rainer
  • Michelle Pfeiffer
  • Julia Roberts
  • Gena Rowlands
  • Simone Signoret
  • Maggie Smith
  • Barbra Streisand
  • Hilary Swank
  • Charlize Theron
  • Liv Ullmann
  • Emily Watson
  • Sigourney Weaver
  • Natalie Wood
  • Loretta Young
  • Renee Zellweger

3 nominations

  • Julie Andrews
  • Annette Bening
  • Claudette Colbert
  • Joan Crawford
  • Faye Dunaway
  • Jodie Foster
  • Joan Fontaine
  • Nicole Kidman
  • Eleanor Parker
  • Gloria Swanson
  • Emma Thompson
  • Debra Winger

4 nominations

  • Julie Christie
  • Judi Dench
  • Olivia De Havilland
  • Greta Garbo
  • Glenda Jackson
  • Jennifer Jones
  • Diane Keaton
  • Marsha Mason
  • Geraldine Page
  • Vanessa Redgrave
  • Rosalind Russell
  • Barbara Stanwyck
  • Kate Winslet
  • Joanne Woodward
  • Jane Wyman

5 nominations

  • Anne Bancroft
  • Ellen Burstyn
  • Irene Dunne
  • Susan Hayward
  • Audrey Hepburn
  • Jessica Lange
  • Shirley Maclaine
  • Susan Sarandon
  • Elizabeth Taylor

6 nominations

  • Ingrid Bergman
  • Jane Fonda
  • Deborah Kerr
  • Norma Shearer
  • Sissy Spacek

7 nominations

  • Greer Garson

10 nominations

  • Bette Davis

12 nominations

  • Katharine Hepburn

13 nominations

  • Meryl Streep

See also

References

  1. ^ "Halle Berry Biography: Page 2". People.com. Accessed 2007-12-20.
  2. ^ Redelmeier, Donald A. & Singh, Sheldon M. (15 May 2001), "Survival in Academy Award–Winning Actors and Actresses", Annals of Internal Medicine: 961, http://www.annals.org/cgi/reprint/134/10/955.pdf, retrieved 14 Jan 2009 
  3. ^ Redelmeier, Donald A. & Singh, Sheldon M. (5 Sep 2006), "Reanalysis of Survival of Oscar Winners", Annals of Internal Medicine: 392, http://www.annals.org/cgi/reprint/145/5/392-a.pdf, retrieved 14 Jan 2009 
  4. ^ Sylvestre, Marie-Pierre, Huszti, Ella & Hanley, James A. (5 Sep 2006), "Do Oscar Winners Live Longer than Less Successful Peers? A Reanalysis of the Evidence", Annals of Internal Medicine: 361, http://www.annals.org/cgi/reprint/145/5/361.pdf, retrieved 14 Jan 2009 
  5. ^ "The Kids Are All Right: Cast & Crew". Focus Features. http://filminfocus.com/the_kids_are_all_right/cast-crew. Retrieved 17 March 2011. 
  6. ^ "Rabbit HOle". http://www.rabbitholefilm.com/main.html#/cast/. Retrieved 15 March 2011. 
  7. ^ "Blue Valentine: Official Movie Site". http://www.bluevalentinemovie.com/about.html. Retrieved 15 March 2011. 

External links