BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role
The 2024 recipient: Mikey Madison
Presented by	British Academy of Film and Television Arts
Country	United Kingdom
Currently held by	Mikey Madison for Anora (2024)

The Best Actress in a Leading Role is a special award given out every year by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA). It's part of the British Academy Film Awards. This award celebrates an actress who has given an amazing main performance in a movie.

When the awards first started, from 1952 to 1967, there were actually two separate awards for Best Actress. One was for "Best British Actress" and the other for "Best Foreign Actress."

Then, from 1968 onwards, these two awards were combined into one. From 1968 to 1984, it was simply called "Best Actress." Since 1985 until today, it has been known by its current name: "Best Actress in a Leading Role."

Famous Winners
Award Records
Actresses with Multiple Nominations
Actresses with Multiple Wins
See also

Famous Winners

Many talented actresses have won this award over the years. The years listed below are when the movies came out, not when the award ceremony happened (which is usually the next year).

Vivien Leigh was the first winner for A Streetcar Named Desire (1952).

Audrey Hepburn won three times, for films like Roman Holiday (1953) and The Nun's Story (1959).

Shirley MacLaine won two years in a row for Ask Any Girl (1959) and The Apartment (1960).

Sophia Loren won for her role in Two Women (1961).

Anne Bancroft won three times, including for The Miracle Worker (1962).

Julie Christie won for Darling (1965).

Elizabeth Taylor won for Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966).

Maggie Smith has won the most awards in this category, with four wins. Her first was for The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969).

Liza Minnelli won for Cabaret (1972).

Jane Fonda won two times in a row for Julia (1977) and The China Syndrome (1978).

Meryl Streep has been nominated 12 times and won twice, for The French Lieutenant's Woman (1981) and The Iron Lady (2011).

Julie Walters won for Educating Rita (1983).

Jodie Foster won for The Silence of the Lambs (1991).

Emma Thompson won twice, for Howards End (1992) and Sense and Sensibility (1995).

Judi Dench won twice, for Mrs Brown (1997) and Iris (2001).

Cate Blanchett has won three times, for Elizabeth (1998), Blue Jasmine (2013), and Tár (2022).

Julia Roberts won for Erin Brockovich (2000).

Nicole Kidman won for The Hours (2002).

Scarlett Johansson won for Lost in Translation (2003).

Helen Mirren won for The Queen (2006).

Natalie Portman won for Black Swan (2010).

Emmanuelle Riva won for Amour (2012). She was 85 years old, making her the oldest winner in this category!

Brie Larson won for Room (2015).

Emma Stone won twice, for La La Land (2016) and Poor Things (2023).

Frances McDormand won twice, for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017) and Nomadland (2020).

Olivia Colman won for The Favourite (2018).

Joanna Scanlan won for After Love (2021).

Mikey Madison won for Anora (2024).

Award Records

This section shows some interesting records for the Best Actress in a Leading Role award.

Record	Best Actress in a Leading Role		Best Supporting Actress		Overall (including Most Promising Newcomer)
Actress with most awards	Maggie Smith	4	Judi Dench	3	Judi Dench	6
Actress with most British Actress Awards (until 1967)	Audrey Hepburn	3	—	—	Audrey Hepburn	3
Actress with most Foreign Actress Awards (until 1967)	Simone Signoret	3	—	—	Simone Signoret	3
Actress with most nominations	Meryl Streep	12	Judi Dench	9	Judi Dench Meryl Streep	15
Actress with most British Actress Award nominations (until 1967)	Audrey Hepburn	5	—	—	Audrey Hepburn	5
Actress with most Foreign Actress Award nominations (until 1967)	Simone Signoret	6	—	—	Simone Signoret	6