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

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.

Actresses with Multiple Nominations

Many actresses have been nominated for this award more than once. Here are some of the actresses with the most nominations:

• 12 nominations: Meryl Streep
• 8 nominations: Maggie Smith
• 7 nominations: Anne Bancroft, Shirley MacLaine
• 6 nominations: Julie Christie, Jane Fonda, Simone Signoret
• 5 nominations: Cate Blanchett, Judi Dench, Audrey Hepburn, Katharine Hepburn, Saoirse Ronan, Emma Thompson, Kate Winslet
• 4 nominations: Deborah Kerr, Helen Mirren, Joanne Woodward
• 3 nominations: Amy Adams, Stéphane Audran, Annette Bening, Viola Davis, Edith Evans, Mia Farrow, Ava Gardner, Glenda Jackson, Scarlett Johansson, Diane Keaton, Nicole Kidman, Frances McDormand, Sarah Miles, Julianne Moore, Sissy Spacek, Elizabeth Taylor, Charlize Theron, Emily Watson, Renée Zellweger
• 2 nominations: Anouk Aimée, Peggy Ashcroft, Leslie Caron, Glenn Close, Marion Cotillard, Judy Davis, Faye Dunaway, Jodie Foster, Lady Gaga, Susan Hayward, Judy Holliday, Celia Johnson, Grace Kelly, Anna Magnani, Giulietta Masina, Virginia McKenna, Melina Mercouri, Hayley Mills, Yvonne Mitchell, Marilyn Monroe, Jeanne Moreau, Carey Mulligan, Patricia Neal, Natalie Portman, Emmanuelle Riva, Margot Robbie, Julia Roberts, Rachel Roberts, Susan Sarandon, Maria Schell, Kristin Scott Thomas, Jean Simmons, Emma Stone, Barbra Streisand, Sylvia Syms, Jessica Tandy, Audrey Tautou, Uma Thurman, Rita Tushingham, Liv Ullmann, Julie Walters, Reese Witherspoon, Michelle Yeoh, Ziyi Zhang

Actresses with Multiple Wins

Here are the actresses who have won the Best Actress in a Leading Role award more than once:

• 4 wins: Maggie Smith
• 3 wins: Anne Bancroft, Cate Blanchett, Audrey Hepburn, Simone Signoret
• 2 wins: Leslie Caron, Judi Dench, Jane Fonda, Katharine Hepburn, Shirley MacLaine, Frances McDormand, Patricia Neal, Rachel Roberts, Emma Stone, Meryl Streep, Emma Thompson

See also

• Academy Award for Best Actress
• Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Actress
• Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead
• Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama
• Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical
• BIFA Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a British Independent Film
• Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role