Academy Award for Best Actress facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Academy Award for Best Actress |
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The 2019 recipient: Olivia Colman
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| Awarded for | Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role |
| Presented by | Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) |
| Country | United States |
| First awarded | 1929 (for performance in films released during the 1927/1928 film season) |
| Currently held by | Olivia Colman The Favourite (2018) |
The Academy Award for Best Actress is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given in honor of an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance in a leading role while working within the film industry. The award was traditionally presented by the previous year's Best Actor winner.
The 1st Academy Awards ceremony was held in 1929 with Janet Gaynor receiving the award for her roles in 7th Heaven, Street Angel, and Sunrise. Currently, nominees are determined by single transferable vote within the actors branch of AMPAS; winners are selected by a plurality vote from the entire eligible voting members of the Academy.
In the first three years of the awards, actresses were nominated as the best in their categories. At that time, 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 ceremony held in 1930, only one of those films was cited in each winner's final award, even though each of the acting winners had two films following their names on the ballots.
The following year, this confusing system was replaced by the current system in which an actress is nominated for a specific performance in a single film. Starting with the 9th ceremony held in 1937, the category was officially limited to five nominations per year. One actress has been nominated posthumously, Jeanne Eagels.
Since its beginning, the award has been given to 76 actresses. Katharine Hepburn has won the most awards in this category, with four Oscars. With 17 nominations, Meryl Streep is the most nominated in this category, resulting in two wins. At age 21, Marlee Matlin became the youngest actress to win this award for Children of a Lesser God.
As of the 2019 ceremony, Olivia Colman is the most recent winner in this category for her portrayal of Anne, Queen of Great Britain in The Favourite.
Winners
Winners are listed first in colored row, followed by the other nominees.
1920s
| Year | Actress | Film | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1927/28 1st Academy Awards |
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| Janet Gaynor | Seventh Heaven / Street Angel / Sunrise | Diane / Angela / The Wife - Indre | |
| Louise Dresser | A Ship Comes In | Mrs. Pleznik | |
| Gloria Swanson | Sadie Thompson | Sadie Thompson | |
| 1928/29 2nd Academy Awards |
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| 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, Lady Hamilton | |
| Bessie Love | The Broadway Melody | Hank Mahoney |
1930s
| Year | Actress | Film | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1929/30 3rd Academy Awards |
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| 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 Academy Awards |
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| Marie Dressler | Min and Bill | Min Divot | |
| 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 Academy Awards |
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| Helen Hayes | The Sin of Madelon Claudet | Madelon Claudet | |
| Marie Dressler | Emma | Emma Thatcher Smith | |
| Lynn Fontanne | The Guardsman | The Actress | |
| 1932/33 6th Academy Awards |
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| Katharine Hepburn | Morning Glory | Eva Lovelace | |
| May Robson (2nd) | Lady for a Day | Apple Annie | |
| Diana Wynyard (3rd) | Cavalcade | Jane Marryot | |
| 1934 7th Academy Awards |
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| 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 Academy Awards |
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| Bette Davis | Dangerous | Joyce Heath | |
| Elisabeth Bergner (3rd) | Escape Me Never | Gemma Jones | |
| Claudette Colbert | Private Worlds | Jane Everest | |
| Katharine Hepburn (2nd) | Alice Adams | Alice Adams | |
| Miriam Hopkins | Becky Sharp | Becky Sharp | |
| Merle Oberon | The Dark Angel | Kitty Vane | |
| 1936 9th Academy Awards |
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| 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 Academy Awards |
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| 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 Academy Awards |
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| 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 Academy Awards |
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| 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 | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1940 13th Academy Awards |
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| 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 Academy Awards |
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| 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 Gladney | |
| Barbara Stanwyck | Ball of Fire | Katherine 'Sugarpuss' O'Shea | |
| 1942 15th Academy Awards |
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| 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 Academy Awards |
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| 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 Academy Awards |
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| 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 Academy Awards |
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| 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 Academy Awards |
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| 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 | Elizabeth Kenny | |
| Jane Wyman | The Yearling | Orry Baxter | |
| 1947 20th Academy Awards |
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| Loretta Young | The Farmer's Daughter | Katie 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 Academy Awards |
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| 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 Academy Awards |
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| 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 | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 23rd Academy Awards |
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| 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 Academy Awards |
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| 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 Academy Awards |
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| 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 Academy Awards |
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| 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 Academy Awards |
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| 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 Academy Awards |
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| 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 | Han Suyin | |
| Eleanor Parker | Interrupted Melody | Marjorie 'Margie' Lawrence | |
| 1956 29th Academy Awards |
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| 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 Academy Awards |
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| 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 Academy Awards |
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| 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 Academy Awards |
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| 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 | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 33rd Academy Awards |
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| 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 Academy Awards |
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| 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 Academy Awards |
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| 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 Academy Awards |
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| 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 Academy Awards |
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| 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 Academy Awards |
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| 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 Academy Awards |
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| 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 | Georgina 'Georgy' Parkin | |
| Vanessa Redgrave | Morgan! | Leonie Delt | |
| 1967 40th Academy Awards |
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| 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 Academy Awards |
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| 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 Academy Awards |
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| 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 | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 43rd Academy Awards |
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| 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 | Bettina "Tina" Balser | |
| 1971 44th Academy Awards |
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| 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 Academy Awards |
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| 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 Academy Awards |
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| 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 Academy Awards |
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| 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 Academy Awards |
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| 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 | |
| Glenda Jackson | Hedda | Hedda Gabler | |
| Carol Kane | Hester Street | Gitl | |
| 1976 49th Academy Awards |
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| 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 | Jenny Isaksson | |
| 1977 50th Academy Awards |
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| 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 Academy Awards |
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| 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 Benton | |
| Geraldine Page | Interiors | Eve | |
| 1979 52nd Academy Awards |
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| 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 | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 53rd Academy Awards |
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| 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 Academy Awards |
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| 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 Academy Awards |
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| Meryl Streep | Sophie's Choice | Sophie Zawistowska | |
| 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 Academy Awards |
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| 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 Academy Awards |
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| 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 Academy Awards |
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| 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 Academy Awards |
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| 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 60th Academy Awards |
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| 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 Academy Awards |
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| 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 Academy Awards |
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| 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 | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 63rd Academy Awards |
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| 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 Academy Awards |
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| 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 Academy Awards |
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| 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 Academy Awards |
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| 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 | Sarah "Sally" Kenton | |
| Debra Winger | Shadowlands | Joy Gresham | |
| 1994 67th Academy Awards |
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| 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 Academy Awards |
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| 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 Academy Awards |
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| 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 Academy Awards |
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| 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 Academy Awards |
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| 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 Academy Awards |
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| 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 | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 73rd Academy Awards |
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| 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 Academy Awards |
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| 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 Academy Awards |
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| Nicole Kidman | The Hours | Virginia Woolf | |
| Salma Hayek | Frida | Frida Kahlo | |
| Diane Lane | Unfaithful | Constance 'Connie' Sumner | |
| Julianne Moore | Far from Heaven | Cathy Whitaker | |
| Renée Zellweger | Chicago | Roxie Hart | |
| 2003 76th Academy Awards |
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| 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 "Cris" Williams Peck | |
| 2004 77th Academy Awards |
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| 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 Rose Drake | |
| Kate Winslet | Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind | Clementine Kruczynski | |
| 2005 78th Academy Awards |
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| 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 Academy Awards |
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| 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 Academy Awards |
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| Marion Cotillard | La Vie en Rose | Édith Piaf | |
| Cate Blanchett | Elizabeth: The Golden Age | Elizabeth I | |
| Julie Christie | Away from Her | Fiona Anderson | |
| Laura Linney | The Savages | Wendy Savage | |
| Ellen Page | Juno | Juno MacGuff | |
| 2008 81st Academy Awards |
|||
| 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 Academy Awards |
|||
| 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 | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 83rd Academy Awards |
|||
| Natalie Portman | Black Swan | Nina Sayers | |
| Annette Bening | The Kids Are All Right | Nicole "Nic" Allgood | |
| Nicole Kidman | Rabbit Hole | Becca Corbett | |
| Jennifer Lawrence | Winter's Bone | Ree Dolly | |
| Michelle Williams | Blue Valentine | Cindy Heller | |
| 2011 84th Academy Awards |
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| Meryl Streep | The Iron Lady | Margaret Thatcher | |
| Glenn Close | Albert Nobbs | Albert Nobbs | |
| Viola Davis | The Help | Aibileen Clark | |
| Rooney Mara | The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo | Lisbeth Salander | |
| Michelle Williams | My Week with Marilyn | Marilyn Monroe | |
| 2012 85th Academy Awards |
|||
| Jennifer Lawrence | Silver Linings Playbook | Tiffany Maxwell | |
| Jessica Chastain | Zero Dark Thirty | Maya | |
| Emmanuelle Riva | Amour | Anne Laurent | |
| Quvenzhané Wallis | Beasts of the Southern Wild | Hushpuppy | |
| Naomi Watts | The Impossible | Maria Bennett |
Images for kids
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Janet Gaynor was the first winner in this category for her roles in 7th Heaven (1927), Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927), and Street Angel (1928)
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Katharine Hepburn has the most wins in this category for her roles in Morning Glory (1933), Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967), The Lion in Winter (1968), and On Golden Pond (1981)
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Bette Davis won two awards from ten nominations for her roles in Dangerous (1935) and Jezebel (1938)
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Luise Rainer became the first person to win two consecutive acting Oscars, having won for The Great Ziegfeld (1936) and The Good Earth (1937)
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Vivien Leigh won twice for her roles in Gone with the Wind (1939) and A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
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Joan Fontaine won for her role in Suspicion (1941)
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Ingrid Bergman was nominated six times in the category, winning for Gaslight (1944) and for Anastasia 1956
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Joan Crawford won for her performance in Mildred Pierce (1945)
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Olivia de Havilland won twice, for her roles in To Each His Own (1946) and The Heiress (1949)
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Audrey Hepburn won for her role in Roman Holiday (1953)
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Grace Kelly won for her role in 1954's The Country Girl
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Elizabeth Taylor won two awards from five nominations for 1960's BUtterfield 8 and 1966's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
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Sophia Loren won for her role in Two Women (1961), thus becoming the first person to win for a non-English language performance
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Julie Andrews won for her performance as the titular character in Mary Poppins (1964)
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Barbra Streisand won for her role in Funny Girl (1968)
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Jane Fonda won twice from six nominations for her roles in Klute (1971) and Coming Home (1978)
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Sally Field won this award twice for her roles in 1979's Norma Rae and 1984's Places in the Heart
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Meryl Streep has received sixteen nominations in this category, winning twice for Sophie's Choice (1982) and The Iron Lady (2011)
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Shirley MacLaine won once from five nominations for her role in 1983's Terms of Endearment
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At age 21, Marlee Matlin became the youngest person to win Best Actress, winning for her performance in Children of a Lesser God (1986)
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Cher won for her performance in Moonstruck (1987)
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Jodie Foster won twice for her roles in The Accused (1988) and The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
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At age 80, Jessica Tandy became the oldest winner in this category for her performance in 1989's Driving Miss Daisy.
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Holly Hunter won for her performance in 1993's The Piano
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Jessica Lange was nominated five times, winning once in 1995 for her role in Blue Sky (1994)
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Gwyneth Paltrow won for her role in Shakespeare in Love (1998)
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Hilary Swank won this award twice for her roles in Boys Don't Cry (1999) and Million Dollar Baby (2004)
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Halle Berry won for her role in Monster's Ball (2001), becoming the first black actress to win this category
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Nicole Kidman won for playing Virginia Woolf in The Hours (2002)
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Reese Witherspoon won for playing June Carter Cash in Walk the Line (2005)
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Helen Mirren won for portraying Queen Elizabeth II in The Queen (2006)
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Marion Cotillard won for playing Édith Piaf in La Vie en Rose (2007), becoming the first person to win for a French-language film
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Kate Winslet won for her role in The Reader (2008)
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Sandra Bullock won for her performance in 2009's The Blind Side
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Natalie Portman won for her role in Black Swan (2010)
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Jennifer Lawrence won for her role in Silver Linings Playbook (2012)
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Cate Blanchett won for her role in Blue Jasmine (2013)
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Julianne Moore won for her role in Still Alice (2014)
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Brie Larson won for her role in Room (2015)
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Emma Stone won for her performance in La La Land (2016)
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Academy Award for Best Actress Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.