Academy Award for Best Actress facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Academy Award for Best Actress
The 2024 recipient: Mikey Madison
Presented by	Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS)
Country	United States
First awarded	1929
Currently held by	Mikey Madison, Anora (2025)

The Academy Award for Best Actress is a special prize given out every year by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It's given to an actress who has done an amazing job playing a main character in a movie released that year. This award has been given out since the very first Academy Awards in 1929.

The Best Actress award has been presented 97 times to 80 different actresses. The first person to win was Janet Gaynor. She won for her roles in three movies: 7th Heaven (1927), Street Angel (1928), and Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927). The most recent winner is Mikey Madison for her role in Anora (2024).

The actress with the most wins is Katharine Hepburn, who won four times. Frances McDormand has won three times, and thirteen other actresses have won twice. Meryl Streep has been nominated the most times in this group, with seventeen nominations, and she has won twice. Deborah Kerr holds the record for the most nominations (six) without winning. However, she did receive an Honorary Oscar in 1993.

At the 41st Academy Awards, Barbra Streisand and Katharine Hepburn both received the same number of votes. This meant they tied for Best Actress, which is the only time this has ever happened! Italian actress Sophia Loren was the first actor to win an Oscar for a role spoken in a foreign language. She won for her performance in Two Women (1960). For the 97th Academy Awards, Karla Sofía Gascón became the first openly transgender person to be nominated in any acting category for Emilia Pérez (2024). Elliot Page was nominated for his role in Juno (2007) before he transitioned.

How Actresses Get Nominated

Actors who are members of AMPAS vote to decide who gets nominated. They use a system where they rank their choices. Then, all eligible members of the Academy vote to pick the winners. The person with the most votes wins.

In the first three years of the awards, actors and actresses were nominated for all their work during a certain time. Sometimes, this included up to three movies. But at the 3rd Academy Awards in 1930, only one movie was mentioned for each winner. The way it works now, where an actress is nominated for one specific role in one movie, started with the 4th Academy Awards. Since the 9th Academy Awards in 1937, there can only be a maximum of five nominees each year.

Janet Gaynor was the first winner. She won for three films: 7th Heaven (1927), Street Angel (1928), & Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927).

Mary Pickford won for Coquette (1929).

Norma Shearer won for The Divorcee (1930).

Marie Dressler won for Min and Bill (1930).

Helen Hayes won for The Sin of Madelon Claudet (1931). She was the first actress to win an EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony).

Katharine Hepburn won four times.

Claudette Colbert won for It Happened One Night (1934).

Bette Davis won twice.

Luise Rainer was the first to win twice in a row.

Vivien Leigh won twice.

Ginger Rogers won for Kitty Foyle (1940).

Joan Fontaine won for Suspicion (1941).

Greer Garson won for Mrs. Miniver (1942).

Jennifer Jones won for The Song of Bernadette (1943).

Ingrid Bergman won twice.

Olivia de Havilland won twice.

Jane Wyman won for Johnny Belinda (1948). She was the first winner to use American Sign Language in her role.

Judy Holliday won for Born Yesterday (1950).

Shirley Booth won for Come Back, Little Sheba (1952). She also won a Tony for the same role.

Audrey Hepburn won for Roman Holiday (1953).

Grace Kelly won for The Country Girl (1954).

Anna Magnani won for The Rose Tattoo (1955).

Joanne Woodward won for The Three Faces of Eve (1957).

Susan Hayward won for I Want to Live! (1958).

Simone Signoret won for Room at the Top (1959).

Elizabeth Taylor won twice.

Sophia Loren won for Two Women (1960). She was the first to win for a non-English role.

Anne Bancroft won for The Miracle Worker (1962).

Patricia Neal won for Hud (1963).

Julie Andrews won for Mary Poppins (1964).

Julie Christie won Darling (1965).

Barbra Streisand won for Funny Girl (1968), in a tie with Katharine Hepburn.

Maggie Smith won for The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969).

Glenda Jackson won twice.

Jane Fonda won twice.

Liza Minnelli won for Cabaret (1972).

Ellen Burstyn won for Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974).

Louise Fletcher won for One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975).

Faye Dunaway won for Network (1976).

Diane Keaton won for Annie Hall (1977).

Sally Field won twice.

Sissy Spacek won for Coal Miner's Daughter (1980).

Meryl Streep won twice.

Shirley MacLaine won for Terms of Endearment (1983).

Geraldine Page won for The Trip to Bountiful (1985).

Marlee Matlin won for Children of a Lesser God (1986). She was the first deaf winner and the youngest winner in this category at 21.

Cher won for Moonstruck (1987).

Jodie Foster won twice.

Jessica Tandy won for Driving Miss Daisy (1989). She was the oldest winner in this category at 80.

Kathy Bates won for Misery (1990).

Emma Thompson won for Howards End (1992).

Holly Hunter won for The Piano (1993).

Jessica Lange won for Blue Sky (1994).

Susan Sarandon won for Dead Man Walking (1995).

Frances McDormand won three times.

Helen Hunt won for As Good as It Gets (1997).

Gwyneth Paltrow won for Shakespeare in Love (1998).

Hilary Swank won twice.

Julia Roberts won for Erin Brokovich (2000).

Halle Berry won for Monster's Ball (2001). She was the first black winner in this category.

Nicole Kidman won for The Hours (2002).

Charlize Theron won for Monster (2003).

Reese Witherspoon won for Walk the Line (2005).

Helen Mirren won for The Queen (2006).

Marion Cotillard won for La Vie en Rose (2007). She was the first to win for a French-language performance.

Kate Winslet won for The Reader (2008).

Sandra Bullock won for The Blind Side (2009).

Natalie Portman won for Black Swan (2010).

Jennifer Lawrence won for Silver Linings Playbook (2012).

Cate Blanchett won for Blue Jasmine (2013).

Julianne Moore won for Still Alice (2014).

Brie Larson won for Room (2015).

Emma Stone won twice.

Olivia Colman won for The Favourite (2018).

Renée Zellweger won for Judy (2019).

Jessica Chastain won for The Eyes of Tammy Faye (2021).

Michelle Yeoh won for Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022). She was the first Southeast Asian winner in this category.

Winners and Nominees

The years in the table below are when the films were released, usually in Los Angeles County. The awards ceremonies always happen the following year. For the first five ceremonies, movies released between August 1 and July 31 were considered. For the 6th ceremony in 1934, the period was from August 1, 1932, to December 31, 1933. Since the 7th ceremony in 1935, movies released in the full previous calendar year (January 1 to December 31) are considered.

1920s Winners

Year	Actress	Role(s)	Film	Ref.
1927/28 (1st)	Janet Gaynor	Diane	7th Heaven
		Angela	Street Angel
		The Wife	Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans
	Louise Dresser	Mrs. Pleznik	A Ship Comes In
	Gloria Swanson	Sadie Thompson	Sadie Thompson
1928/29 (2nd)	Mary Pickford	Norma Besant	Coquette
	Ruth Chatterton	Jacqueline Floriot	Madame X
	Betty Compson	Carrie	The Barker
	Jeanne Eagels †	Leslie Crosbie	The Letter
	Corinne Griffith	Emma Hamilton	The Divine Lady
	Bessie Love	Hank Mahoney	The Broadway Melody

1930s Winners

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

2020s Winners

Year	Actress	Role(s)	Film	Ref.
2020/21 (93rd)	Frances McDormand	Fern	Nomadland
	Viola Davis	Gertrude "Ma" Rainey	Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
	Andra Day	Billie Holiday	The United States vs. Billie Holiday
	Vanessa Kirby	Martha Weiss	Pieces of a Woman
	Carey Mulligan	Cassandra "Cassie" Thomas	Promising Young Woman
2021 (94th)	Jessica Chastain	Tammy Faye Bakker	The Eyes of Tammy Faye
	Olivia Colman	Leda Caruso	The Lost Daughter
	Penélope Cruz	Janis Martínez Moreno	Parallel Mothers
	Nicole Kidman	Lucille Ball	Being the Ricardos
	Kristen Stewart	Diana, Princess of Wales	Spencer
2022 (95th)	Michelle Yeoh	Evelyn Quan Wang	Everything Everywhere All at Once
	Cate Blanchett	Lydia Tár	Tár
	Ana de Armas	Norma Jeane / Marilyn Monroe	Blonde
	Andrea Riseborough	Leslie Rowland	To Leslie
	Michelle Williams	Mitzi Fabelman	The Fabelmans
2023 (96th)	Emma Stone	Bella Baxter	Poor Things
	Annette Bening	Diana Nyad	Nyad
	Lily Gladstone	Mollie Burkhart	Killers of the Flower Moon
	Sandra Hüller	Sandra Voyter	Anatomy of a Fall
	Carey Mulligan	Felicia Montealegre	Maestro
2024 (97th)	Mikey Madison	Anora "Ani" Mikheeva	Anora
	Cynthia Erivo	Elphaba Thropp	Wicked
	Karla Sofía Gascón	Emilia Pérez / Juan "Manitas" Del Monte	Emilia Pérez
	Demi Moore	Elisabeth Sparkle	The Substance
	Fernanda Torres	Eunice Paiva	I'm Still Here

Actresses with Multiple Wins and Nominations

Here are the actresses who have won the Best Actress award two or more times:

These actresses have received three or more nominations for Best Actress:

Age Records for Best Actress

Movies with Multiple Best Actress Nominations

In these movies, more than one actress was nominated for Best Actress. The winner is shown in bold.

• All About Eve (1950) – Anne Baxter and Bette Davis
• Suddenly, Last Summer (1959) – Katharine Hepburn and Elizabeth Taylor
• The Turning Point (1977) – Anne Bancroft and Shirley MacLaine
• Terms of Endearment (1983) – Shirley MacLaine and Debra Winger
• Thelma & Louise (1991) – Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon

Actresses Nominated for Playing the Same Character

The following actresses were nominated for playing the same character (or a version of them) in different movies:

• Billie Holiday from Lady Sings the Blues (Diana Ross, 1972) & The United States vs. Billie Holiday (Andra Day, 2021)
• Josephine "Jo" March from Little Women (Winona Ryder, 1994) & Little Women (Saoirse Ronan, 2019)
• Leslie Crosbie from The Letter (Jeanne Eagels, 1929) & The Letter (Bette Davis, 1940)
• Marilyn Monroe from My Week with Marilyn (Michelle Williams, 2011) & Blonde (Ana de Armas, 2022)
• Queen Elizabeth I from Elizabeth (Cate Blanchett, 1998) & Elizabeth: The Golden Age (Cate Blanchett, 2007)
• Vicki Lester (née Esther (Victoria) Blodgett) from A Star Is Born (Janet Gaynor, 1937) & A Star Is Born (Judy Garland, 1954)
  • Ally Maine (née Campano) from A Star Is Born (Lady Gaga, 2018)

More About Film Awards

In Spanish: Anexo:Óscar a la mejor actriz para niños

• Academy Award for Best Actor
• All Academy Award acting nominees
• BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role
• César Award for Best Actress
• Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Actress
• Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama
• Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical
• Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead
• Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role