BIFA Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a British Independent Film

The British Independent Film Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a British Independent Film is an annual award given to the Best Actress who starred in a British independent film. The award was introduced in 1998.

1990s

1998 – Kathy Burke – Nil by Mouth as Valerie
- Louise Goodall – My Name Is Joe as Sarah Downie
- Rachel Griffiths – My Son the Fanatic as Bettina/ Sandra
- Samantha Morton – Under the Skin as Iris Kelly
- Emma Thompson – The Winter Guest as Frances
1999 – Emily Watson – Hilary and Jackie as Jackie Du Pré
- Lara Belmont – The War Zone as Jessie
- Rachel Griffiths – Hilary and Jackie as Hilary Du Pré
- Jane Horrocks – Little Voice as LV
- Gina McKee – Wonderland as Nadia

2000s

2000 – Gillian Anderson – The House of Mirth as Lily Bart
- Kate Ashfield – The Low Down as Ruby
- Brenda Blethyn – Saving Grace as
- Emily Watson – The Luzhin Defence as Natalia Katkov
2001 – Kate Ashfield – Late Night Shopping as Jody
- Susan Lynch – Beautiful Creatures as Dorothy
- Samantha Morton – Pandaemonium as Sara Coleridge
- Kate Winslet – Enigma as Hester Wallace
2002 – Samantha Morton – Morvern Callar as Movern Callar
- Elaine Cassidy – Disco Pigs as Rent/Sinead
- Shirley Henderson – Villa des Roses as Ella
- Harriet Walter – Villa des Roses as Olive Burrell
2003 – Olivia Williams – The Heart of Me as Madeleine
- Kate Ashfield – This Little Life as Sadie McGregor
- Helena Bonham Carter – The Heart of Me as Dinah
- Samantha Morton – In America as Sarah
- Tilda Swinton – Young Adam as Ella Gault
2004 – Imelda Staunton – Vera Drake as Vera Drake
- Eva Birthistle – Ae Fond Kiss... as Roisin Hanlon
- Scarlett Johansson – Girl with a Pearl Earring as Griet
- Natalie Press – My Summer of Love as Mona
- Anne Reid – The Mother as May
2005 – Rachel Weisz – The Constant Gardener as Tessa Quayle
- Joan Allen – Yes as She
- Judi Dench – Mrs Henderson Presents as Mrs. Henderson
- Natasha Richardson – Asylum as Stella Raphael
- Emily Watson – Wah-Wah as Ruby Compton
2006 – Kate Dickie – Red Road as Jackie
- Juliette Binoche – Breaking and Entering as Amira
- Frances de la Tour – The History Boys as Mrs. Lintott
- Helen Mirren – The Queen as Queen Elizabeth
- Robin Wright Penn – Breaking and Entering as Liv
2007 – Judi Dench – Notes on a Scandal as Barbara Covett
- Tannishtha Chatterjee – Brick Lane as Nazneen Ahmed
- Anne Hathaway – Becoming Jane as Jane Austen
- Sophia Myles – Hallam Foe as Kate
- Kierston Wareing – It's a Free World... as Angela
2008 – Vera Farmiga – The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas as Mother
- Sally Hawkins – Happy-Go-Lucky as Pauline "Poppy" Cross
- Keira Knightley – The Duchess as Georgiana
- Samantha Morton – The Daisy Chain as Martha Conroy
- Kelly Reilly – Eden Lake as Jenny
2009 – Carey Mulligan – An Education as Jenny Mellor
- Emily Blunt – The Young Victoria as Queen Victoria
- Abbie Cornish – Bright Star as Fanny Brawne
- Katie Jarvis – Fish Tank as Mia
- Sophie Okonedo – Skin as Sandra Laing

2010s

2010 – Carey Mulligan – Never Let Me Go as Kathy
- Sally Hawkins – Made in Dagenham as Rita O'Grady
- Andrea Riseborough – Brighton Rock as Rose
- Ruth Sheen – Another Year as Gerri
- Manjinder Virk – The Arbor as Lorraine Dunbar

2011 – Olivia Colman – Tyrannosaur as Hannah
- MyAnna Buring – Kill List as Shel
- Rebecca Hall – The Awakening as Florence Cathcart
- Tilda Swinton – We Need to Talk About Kevin as Eve Khatchadourian
- Mia Wasikowska – Jane Eyre as Jane Eyre