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 recognise an actress who has delivered an outstanding leading performance in a film.
In the following lists, the titles and names in bold with a gold background are the winners and recipients respectively; those not in bold are the nominees. The years given are those in which the films under consideration were released, not the year of the ceremony, which always takes place the following year.
History 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
1950s Year Actor Film Role(s) Best British Actress Vivien Leigh † A Streetcar Named Desire Blanche DuBois Phyllis Calvert Mandy Christine Garland Celia Johnson I Believe in You Matty Matheson Ann Todd The Sound Barrier Susan Garthwaite Best Foreign Actress Simone Signoret Golden Helmet Marie Edwige Feuillère Olivia Julie Katharine Hepburn Pat and Mike Patricia "Pat" Pemberton Judy Holliday The Marrying Kind Florence Keefer Nicole Stéphane The Strange Ones Elisabeth Best British Actress Audrey Hepburn † Roman Holiday Princess Ann Celia Johnson The Captain's Paradise Maud Best Foreign Actress Leslie Caron Lili Lili Daurier Shirley Booth † Come Back, Little Sheba Lola Delaney Marie Powers The Medium Flora Maria Schell The Heart of the Matter Helen Rolt Best British Actress Yvonne Mitchell The Divided Heart Sonja Brenda de Banzie Hobson's Choice Maggie Hobson Audrey Hepburn Sabrina Sabrina Fairchild Margaret Leighton Carrington V.C. Valerie Carrington Noelle Middleton Alison L. Graham Best Foreign Actress Cornell Borchers The Divided Heart Inga Hartl Shirley Booth About Mrs. Leslie Vivien Leslie Judy Holliday Phffft Nina Tracey Grace Kelly Dial M for Murder Margot Wendice Gina Lollobrigida Bread, Love and Dreams Maria de Ritis Best British Actress Katie Johnson The Ladykillers Louisa Wilberforce Margaret Johnston Touch and Go Helen Fletcher Deborah Kerr The End of the Affair Sarah Miles Margaret Lockwood Cast a Dark Shadow Freda Jeffries Best Foreign Actress Betsy Blair Marty Clara Snyder Dorothy Dandridge Carmen Jones Carmen Jones Judy Garland A Star Is Born Esther Blodgett Julie Harris I Am a Camera Sally Bowles Katharine Hepburn Summertime Jane Hudson Grace Kelly † The Country Girl Georgie Elgin Giulietta Masina The Road Gelsomina Marilyn Monroe The Seven Year Itch The Girl Best British Actress Virginia McKenna A Town Like Alice Jean Paget Dorothy Alison Reach for the Sky Nurse Brace Audrey Hepburn War and Peace Natasha Rostova Best Foreign Actress Anna Magnani † The Rose Tattoo Serafina Delle Rose Carroll Baker Baby Doll Baby Doll Meighan Eva Dahlbeck Smiles of a Summer Night Desiree Armfeldt Ava Gardner Bhowani Junction Victoria Jones Susan Hayward I'll Cry Tomorrow Lillian Roth Shirley MacLaine The Trouble with Harry Jennifer Rogers Kim Novak Picnic Marjorie Owens Marisa Pavan The Rose Tattoo Rose Delle Rose Maria Schell Gervaise Gervaise Macquart Coupeau Jean Simmons Guys and Dolls Sister Sarah Brown Best British Actress Heather Sears The Story of Esther Costello Esther Costello Deborah Kerr Tea and Sympathy Laura Reynolds Sylvia Syms Woman in a Dressing Gown Georgie Harlow Best Foreign Actress Simone Signoret The Witches of Salem Elizabeth Proctor Augusta Dabney That Night! Maggie Bowden Katharine Hepburn The Rainmaker Lizzie Curry Marilyn Monroe The Prince and the Showgirl Elsie Marina Lilli Palmer Is Anna Anderson Anastasia? Anna Anderson Eva Marie Saint A Hatful of Rain Celia Pope Joanne Woodward † The Three Faces of Eve Eve White Best British Actress Irene Worth Orders to Kill Léonie Hermione Baddeley Room at the Top Elspeth Karuna Banerjee Aparajito Sarbajaya Roy Virginia McKenna Carve Her Name with Pride Violette Szabo Best Foreign Actress Simone Signoret † Room at the Top Alice Aisgill Ingrid Bergman The Inn of the Sixth Happiness Gladys Aylward Anna Magnani Wild Is the Wind Gioia Giulietta Masina Nights of Cabiria Cabiria Ceccarelli Tatiana Samoilova The Cranes Are Flying Veronika Elizabeth Taylor Cat on a Hot Tin Roof Maggie Pollitt Joanne Woodward No Down Payment Leola Boone Best British Actress Audrey Hepburn The Nun's Story Sister Luke (Gabrielle van der Mal) Peggy Ashcroft The Nun's Story Mother Mathilde Wendy Hiller Separate Tables Pat Cooper Yvonne Mitchell Sapphire Mildred Sylvia Syms No Trees in the Street Hetty Kay Walsh The Horse's Mouth Miss. Coker Best Foreign Actress Shirley MacLaine Ask Any Girl Meg Wheeler Ava Gardner On the Beach Moira Davidson Susan Hayward † I Want to Live! Barbara Graham Ellie Lambeti A Matter of Dignity Chloe Pella Rosalind Russell Auntie Mame Mame Dennis
1960s Year Actor Film Role(s) Best British Actress Rachel Roberts Saturday Night and Sunday Morning Brenda Wendy Hiller Sons and Lovers Gertrude Morel Hayley Mills Pollyanna Pollyanna Best Foreign Actress Shirley MacLaine The Apartment Fran Kubelik Pier Angeli The Angry Silence Anna Curtis Melina Mercouri Never on Sunday Illya Emmanuelle Riva Hiroshima, My Love Elle Jean Simmons Elmer Gantry Sharon Falconer Monica Vitti The Adventure Claudia Best British Actress Dora Bryan A Taste of Honey Helen Deborah Kerr The Sundowners Ida Carmody Hayley Mills Whistle Down the Wind Kathy Bostock Best Foreign Actress Sophia Loren † Two Women Cesira Annie Girardot Rocco and His Brothers Nadia Piper Laurie The Hustler Sarah Packard Claudia McNeil A Raisin in the Sun Lena Younger Jean Seberg Breathless Patricia Franchini Best British Actress Leslie Caron The L-Shaped Room Jane Fosset Virginia Maskell The Wild and the Willing Virginia Chown Janet Munro Life for Ruth Pat Harris Best Foreign Actress Anne Bancroft † The Miracle Worker Annie Sullivan Anouk Aimée Lola Lola Harriet Andersson Through a Glass Darkly Karin Melina Mercouri Phaedra Phaedra Jeanne Moreau Jules and Jim Catherine Geraldine Page Sweet Bird of Youth Alexandra del Lago Natalie Wood Splendor in the Grass Deanie Loomis Best British Actress Rachel Roberts This Sporting Life Margaret Hammond Julie Christie Billy Liar Liz Edith Evans Tom Jones Miss Western Sarah Miles The Servant Vera Barbara Windsor Sparrows Can't Sing Maggie Gooding Best Foreign Actress Patricia Neal † Hud Alma Brown Joan Crawford What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? Blanche Hudson Bette Davis Baby Jane Hudson Lee Remick Days of Wine and Roses Kirsten Arnesen Clay Daniela Rocca Divorce Italian Style Rosalia Cefalù Best British Actress Audrey Hepburn Charade Regina Lampert Edith Evans The Chalk Garden Mrs. St. Maugham Deborah Kerr Mrs. Madrigal Rita Tushingham Girl with Green Eyes Kate Brady Best Foreign Actress Anne Bancroft The Pumpkin Eater Jo Armitage Ava Gardner The Night of the Iguana Maxine Faulk Shirley MacLaine Irma la Douce Irma la Douce What a Way to Go! Louisa Foster Kim Stanley Séance on a Wet Afternoon Myra Savage Best British Actress Julie Christie † Darling Diana Scott Julie Andrews The Americanization of Emily Emily Barham The Sound of Music Maria von Trapp Maggie Smith Young Cassidy Nora Rita Tushingham The Knack ...and How to Get It Nancy Jones Best Foreign Actress Patricia Neal In Harm's Way Maggie Haines Jane Fonda Cat Ballou Catherine Ballou Lila Kedrova Zorba the Greek Madame Hortense Simone Signoret Ship of Fools La Condesa Best British Actress Elizabeth Taylor † Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Martha Julie Christie Doctor Zhivago Lara Antipova Fahrenheit 451 Linda Montag / Clarisse Lynn Redgrave Georgy Girl Georgina "Georgy" Parkin Vanessa Redgrave Morgan – A Suitable Case for Treatment Leonie Delt Best Foreign Actress Jeanne Moreau Viva Maria! Maria I Brigitte Bardot Viva Maria! Maria II Joan Hackett The Group Dottie Renfrew Simone Signoret The Sleeping Car Murders Éliane Darrès Best British Actress Edith Evans The Whisperers Mrs. Ross Barbara Jefford Ulysses Molly Bloom Elizabeth Taylor The Taming of the Shrew Katharina Best Foreign Actress Anouk Aimée A Man and a Woman Anne Gauthier Bibi Andersson My Sister, My Love Charlotte Persona Alma Jane Fonda Barefoot in the Park Corie Bratter Simone Signoret The Deadly Affair Elsa Fennan Best Actress Katharine Hepburn †† Guess Who's Coming to Dinner Christina Drayton The Lion in Winter Eleanor of Aquitaine Anne Bancroft The Graduate Mrs. Robinson Catherine Deneuve Beauty of the Day Séverine Serizy Joanne Woodward Rachel, Rachel Rachel Cameron Maggie Smith † The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie Jean Brodie Mia Farrow John and Mary Mary Rosemary's Baby Rosemary Woodhouse Secret Ceremony Cenci Glenda Jackson † Women in Love Gudrun Brangwen Barbra Streisand † Funny Girl Fanny Brice Hello Dolly! Dolly Gallagher Levi
1970s Year Actor Film Role(s) Katharine Ross Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid Etta Place Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here Lola Jane Fonda They Shoot Horses, Don't They? Gloria Beatty Goldie Hawn Cactus Flower Toni Simmons There's a Girl in My Soup Marion Sarah Miles Ryan's Daughter Rosy Ryan Glenda Jackson Sunday Bloody Sunday Alex Greville Lynn Carlin Taking Off Lynn Tyne Julie Christie The Go-Between Marian Jane Fonda † Klute Bree Daniels Nanette Newman The Raging Moon Jill Matthews Liza Minnelli † Cabaret Sally Bowles Stéphane Audran The Butcher Hélène Anne Bancroft Young Winston Lady Randolph Churchill Dorothy Tutin Savage Messiah Sophie Brzeska Stéphane Audran The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie Alice Sénéchal Just Before Nightfall Hélène Masson Julie Christie Don't Look Now Laura Baxter Glenda Jackson † A Touch of Class Vicki Allessio Diana Ross Lady Sings the Blues Billie Holiday Joanne Woodward Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams Rita Walden Faye Dunaway Chinatown Evelyn Mulwray Barbra Streisand The Way We Were Katie Morosky Cicely Tyson The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman Jane Pittmann Ellen Burstyn † Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore Alice Hyatt Anne Bancroft The Prisoner of Second Avenue Edna Edison Valerie Perrine Lenny Honey Harlow Liv Ullmann Scenes from a Marriage Marianne Louise Fletcher † One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest Nurse Ratched Lauren Bacall The Shootist Bond Rogers Rita Moreno The Ritz Googie Gomez Liv Ullmann Face to Face Jenny Isaksson Diane Keaton † Annie Hall Annie Hall Faye Dunaway † Network Diana Christensen Shelley Duvall 3 Women Millie Lammoreaux Lily Tomlin The Late Show Margo Sperling Jane Fonda Julia Lillian Hellman Anne Bancroft The Turning Point Emma Jacklin Jill Clayburgh An Unmarried Woman Erica Benton Marsha Mason The Goodbye Girl Paula McFadden Jane Fonda The China Syndrome Kimberly Wells Diane Keaton Manhattan Mary Wilkie Maggie Smith California Suite Diana Barrie Meryl Streep The Deer Hunter Linda
1980s