Best Actress

Jessica Chastain, 2021 winner

Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. The award is traditionally presented by the previous year's Best Actor winner. Prior to the 49th Academy Awards ceremony (1976), this award was known as the Academy Award of Merit for Performance by an Actress. Since its inception, however, the award has commonly been referred to as the Oscar for Best Actress. While actresses are nominated for this award by Academy members who are actors and actresses themselves, winners are selected by the Academy membership as a whole.

History

The first recipient was Janet Gaynor, who was honored at the 1st Academy Awards ceremony (1929) for her performances in Seventh Heaven, Street Angel, and Sunrise. In the first three years of the Academy Awards, individuals such as actors and directors were nominated as the best in their categories. Then 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 Academy Awards ceremony (1930), only one of those films was cited in each winner's final award, even though each of the acting winners had had two films following their names on the ballots. For the 4th Academy Awards ceremony (1931), this unwieldy and confusing system was replaced by the current system in which an actress is nominated for a specific performance in a single film. Such nominations are limited to five per year. Until the 8th Academy Awards ceremony (1936), nominations for the Best Actress award were intended to include all actresses, whether the performance was in either a leading or supporting role. At the 9th Academy Awards ceremony (1937), however, the Best Supporting Actress category was specifically introduced as a distinct award following complaints that the single Best Actress category necessarily favored leading performers with the most screen time.

Nominees & winners

1st Academy Awards (1927/28)

Winner

Janet Gaynor — 7th Heaven

Nominees

Louise Dresser — A Ship Comes In

Gloria Swanson — Sadie Thompson

2nd Academy Awards (1928/29)

Winner

Mary Pickford — Coquette

Nominees

Ruth Chatterton — Madame X

Betty Compson — The Barker

Jeanne Eagels — The Letter

Corinne Griffith — The Divine Lady

Bessie Love — The Broadway Melody

3rd Academy Awards (1929/30)

Winner

Norma Shearer — The Divorcee

Nominees

Nancy Carroll — The Devil's Holiday

Ruth Chatterton — Sarah and Son

Greta Garbo — Anna Christie

Norma Shearer — Their Own Desire

Gloria Swanson — The Trespasser

1930s

4th Academy Awards (1930/31)

Winner

Marie Dressler — Min and Bill

Nominees

Marlene Dietrich — Morocco

Irene Dunne — Cimarron

Ann Harding — Holiday

Norma Shearer — A Free Soul

5th Academy Awards (1931/32)

Winner

Helen Hayes — The Sin of Madelon Claudet

Nominees

Marie Dressler — Emma

Lynn Fontanne — The Guardsman

6th Academy Awards (1932/33)

Winner

Katharine Hepburn — Morning Glory

Nominees

May Robson — Lady for a Day^{(came in 2nd)}

Diana Wynyard — Cavalcade^{came in 3rd)}

7th Academy Awards (1934)

Winner

Claudette Colbert — It Happened One Night

Nominees

Bette Davis — Of Human Bondage ^{(came in 3rd)}

Grace Moore — One Night of Love

Norma Shearer — The Barretts of Wimpole Street ^{(came in 2nd)}

8th Academy Awards (1935)

Winner

Bette Davis — Dangerous

Nominees

Elisabeth Bergner — Escape Me Never ^{(came in 3rd)}

Claudette Colbert — Private Worlds

Katharine Hepburn — Alice Adams ^{(came in 2nd)}

Miriam Hopkins — Becky Sharp

Merle Oberon — The Dark Angel

9th Academy Awards (1936)

Winner

Luise Rainer — The Great Ziegfeld

Nominees

Irene Dunne — Theodora Goes Wild

Gladys George — Valiant Is the Word for Carrie

Carole Lombard — My Man Godfrey

Norma Shearer — Romeo and Juliet

10th Academy Awards (1937)

Winner

Luise Rainer — The Good Earth

Nominees

Irene Dunne — The Awful Truth

Greta Garbo — Camille

Janet Gaynor — A Star Is Born

Barbara Stanwyck — Stella Dallas

11th Academy Awards (1938)

Winner

Bette Davis — Jezebel

Nominees

Fay Bainter — White Banners

Wendy Hiller — Pygmalion

Norma Shearer — Marie Antoinette

Margaret Sullavan — Three Comrades

12th Academy Awards (1939)

Winner

Vivien Leigh — Gone with the Wind

Nominees

Bette Davis — Dark Victory

Irene Dunne — Love Affair

Greta Garbo — Ninotchka

Greer Garson — Goodbye, Mr. Chips

1940s

13th Academy Awards (1940)

Winner

Ginger Rogers — Kitty Foyle

Nominees

Bette Davis — The Letter

Joan Fontaine — Rebecca

Katharine Hepburn — The Philadelphia Story

Martha Scott — Our Town

14th Academy Awards (1941)

Winner

Joan Fontaine — Suspicion

Nominees

Bette Davis — The Little Foxes

Olivia de Havilland — Hold Back the Dawn

Greer Garson — Blossoms in the Dust

Barbara Stanwyck — Ball of Fire

15th Academy Awards (1942)

Winner

Greer Garson — Mrs. Miniver

Nominees

Bette Davis — Now, Voyager

Katharine Hepburn — Woman of the Year

Rosalind Russell — My Sister Eileen

Teresa Wright — The Pride of the Yankees

16th Academy Awards (1943)

Winner

Jennifer Jones — The Song of Bernadette

Nominees

Jean Arthur — The More the Merrier

Ingrid Bergman — For Whom the Bell Tolls

Joan Fontaine — The Constant Nymph

Greer Garson — Madame Curie

17th Academy Awards (1944)

Winner

Ingrid Bergman — Gaslight

Nominees

Claudette Colbert — Since You Went Away

Bette Davis — Mr. Skeffington

Greer Garson — Mrs. Parkington

Barbara Stanwyck — Double Indemnity

18th Academy Awards (1945)

Winner

Joan Crawford — Mildred Pierce

Nominees

Ingrid Bergman — The Bells of St. Mary's

Greer Garson — The Valley of Decision

Jennifer Jones — Love Letters

Gene Tierney — Leave Her to Heaven

19th Academy Awards (1946)

Winner

Olivia de Havilland — To Each His Own

Nominees

Celia Johnson — Brief Encounter

Jennifer Jones — Duel in the Sun

Rosalind Russell — Sister Kenny

Jane Wyman — The Yearling

20th Academy Awards (1947)

Winner

Loretta Young — The Farmer's Daughter

Nominees

Joan Crawford — Possessed

Susan Hayward — Smash-Up--The Story of a Woman

Dorothy McGuire — Gentleman's Agreement

Rosalind Russell — Mourning Becomes Electra

21st Academy Awards (1948)

Winner

Jane Wyman — Johnny Belinda

Nominees

Ingrid Bergman — Joan of Arc

Olivia de Havilland — The Snake Pit

Irene Dunne — I Remember Mama

Barbara Stanwyck — Sorry, Wrong Number

22nd Academy Awards (1949)

Winner

Olivia de Havilland — The Heiress

Nominees

Jeanne Crain — Pinky

Susan Hayward — My Foolish Heart

Deborah Kerr — Edward, My Son

Loretta Young — Come to the Stable

1950s

23rd Academy Awards (1950)

Winner

Judy Holliday — Born Yesterday

Nominees

Anne Baxter — All about Eve

Bette Davis — All about Eve

Eleanor Parker — Caged

Gloria Swanson — Sunset Blvd.

24th Academy Awards (1951)

Winner

Vivien Leigh — A Streetcar Named Desire

Nominees

Katharine Hepburn — The African Queen

Eleanor Parker — Detective Story

Shelley Winters — A Place in the Sun

Jane Wyman — The Blue Veil

25th Academy Awards (1952)

Winner

Shirley Booth — Come Back, Little Sheba

Nominees

Joan Crawford — Sudden Fear

Bette Davis — The Star

Julie Harris — The Member of the Wedding

Susan Hayward — With a Song in My Heart

26th Academy Awards (1953)

Winner

Audrey Hepburn — Roman Holiday

Nominees

Leslie Caron — Lili

Ava Gardner — Mogambo

Deborah Kerr — From Here to Eternity

Maggie McNamara — The Moon Is Blue

27th Academy Awards (1954)

Winner

Grace Kelly — The Country Girl

Nominees

Dorothy Dandridge — Carmen Jones

Judy Garland — A Star Is Born

Audrey Hepburn — Sabrina

Jane Wyman — Magnificent Obsession

28th Academy Awards (1955)

Winner

Anna Magnani — The Rose Tattoo

Nominees

Susan Hayward — I'll Cry Tomorrow

Katharine Hepburn — Summertime

Jennifer Jones — Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing

Eleanor Parker — Interrupted Melody

29th Academy Awards (1956)

Winner

Ingrid Bergman — Anastasia

Nominees

Carroll Baker — Baby Doll

Katharine Hepburn — The Rainmaker

Nancy Kelly — The Bad Seed

Deborah Kerr — The King and I

30th Academy Awards (1957)

Winner

Joanne Woodward — The Three Faces of Eve

Nominees

Deborah Kerr — Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison

Anna Magnani — Wild Is the Wind

Elizabeth Taylor — Raintree County

Lana Turner — Peyton Place

31st Academy Awards (1958)

Winner

Susan Hayward — I Want to Live!

Nominees

Deborah Kerr — Separate Tables

Shirley MacLaine — Some Came Running

Rosalind Russell — Auntie Mame

Elizabeth Taylor — Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

32nd Academy Awards (1959)

Winner

Simone Signoret — Room at the Top

Nominees

Doris Day — Pillow Talk

Audrey Hepburn — The Nun's Story

Katharine Hepburn — Suddenly, Last Summer

Elizabeth Taylor — Suddenly, Last Summer

1960s

33rd Academy Awards (1960)

Winner

Elizabeth Taylor — Butterfield 8

Nominees

Greer Garson — Sunrise at Campobello

Deborah Kerr — The Sundowners

Shirley MacLaine — The Apartment

Melina Mercouri — Never on Sunday

34th Academy Awards (1961)

Winner

Sophia Loren — Two Women

Nominees

Audrey Hepburn — Breakfast at Tiffany's

Piper Laurie — The Hustler

Geraldine Page — Summer and Smoke

Natalie Wood — Splendor in the Grass

35th Academy Awards (1962)

Winner

Anne Bancroft — The Miracle Worker

Nominees

Bette Davis — What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?

Katharine Hepburn — Long Day's Journey into Night

Geraldine Page — Sweet Bird of Youth

Lee Remick — Days of Wine and Roses

36th Academy Awards (1963)

Winner

Patricia Neal — Hud

Nominees

Leslie Caron — The L-Shaped Room

Shirley MacLaine — Irma La Douce

Rachel Roberts — This Sporting Life

Natalie Wood — Love with the Proper Stranger

37th Academy Awards (1964)

Winner

Julie Andrews — Mary Poppins

Nominees

Anne Bancroft — The Pumpkin Eater

Sophia Loren — Marriage Italian Style

Debbie Reynolds — The Unsinkable Molly Brown

Kim Stanley — Seance on a Wet Afternoon

38th Academy Awards (1965)

Winner

Julie Christie — Darling

Nominees

Julie Andrews — The Sound of Music

Samantha Eggar — The Collector

Elizabeth Hartman — A Patch of Blue

Simone Signoret — Ship of Fools

39th Academy Awards (1966)

Winner

Elizabeth Taylor — Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Nominees

Anouk Aimee — A Man and a Woman

Ida Kaminska — The Shop on Main Street

Lynn Redgrave — Georgy Girl

Vanessa Redgrave — Morgan!

40th Academy Awards (1967)

Winner

Katharine Hepburn — Guess Who's Coming to Dinner

Nominees

Anne Bancroft — The Graduate

Faye Dunaway — Bonnie and Clyde

Dame Edith Evans — The Whisperers

Audrey Hepburn — Wait until Dark

41st Academy Awards (1968)

Winner

Katharine Hepburn — The Lion in Winter and
Barbra Streisand — Funny Girl

Nominees

Patricia Neal — The Subject Was Roses

Vanessa Redgrave — Isadora

Joanne Woodward — Rachel, Rachel

42nd Academy Awards (1969)

Winner

Maggie Smith — The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie

Nominees

Genevieve Bujold — Anne of the Thousand Days

Jane Fonda — They Shoot Horses, Don't They?

Liza Minnelli — The Sterile Cuckoo

Jean Simmons — The Happy Ending

1970s

43rd Academy Awards (1970)

Winner

Glenda Jackson — Women in Love

Nominees

Jane Alexander — The Great White Hope

Ali MacGraw — Love Story

Sarah Miles — Ryan's Daughter

Carrie Snodgress — Diary of a Mad Housewife

44th Academy Awards (1971)

Winner

Jane Fonda — Klute

Nominees

Julie Christie — McCabe & Mrs. Miller

Glenda Jackson — Sunday Bloody Sunday

Vanessa Redgrave — Mary, Queen of Scots

Janet Suzman — Nicholas and Alexandra

45th Academy Awards (1972)

Winner

Liza Minnelli — Cabaret

Nominees

Diana Ross — Lady Sings the Blues

Maggie Smith — Travels with My Aunt

Cicely Tyson — Sounder

Liv Ullmann — The Emigrants

46th Academy Awards (1973)

Winner

Glenda Jackson — A Touch of Class

Nominees

Ellen Burstyn — The Exorcist

Marsha Mason — Cinderella Liberty

Barbra Streisand — The Way We Were

Joanne Woodward — Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams

47th Academy Awards (1974)

Winner

Ellen Burstyn — Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore

Nominees

Diahann Carroll — Claudine

Faye Dunaway — Chinatown

Valerie Perrine — Lenny

Gena Rowlands — A Woman under the Influence

48th Academy Awards (1975)

Winner

Louise Fletcher — One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest

Nominees

Isabelle Adjani — The Story of Adele H.

Ann-Margret — Tommy

Glenda Jackson — Hedda

Carol Kane — Hester Street

49th Academy Awards (1976)

Winner

Faye Dunaway — Network

Nominees

Marie-Christine Barrault — Cousin, Cousine

Talia Shire — Rocky

Sissy Spacek — Carrie

Liv Ullmann — Face to Face

50th Academy Awards (1977)

Winner

Diane Keaton — Annie Hall

Nominees

Anne Bancroft — The Turning Point

Jane Fonda — Julia

Shirley MacLaine — The Turning Point

Marsha Mason — The Goodbye Girl

51st Academy Awards (1978)

Winner

Jane Fonda — Coming Home

Nominees

Ingrid Bergman — Autumn Sonata

Ellen Burstyn — Same Time, Next Year

Jill Clayburgh — An Unmarried Woman

Geraldine Page — Interiors

52nd Academy Awards (1979)

Winner

Sally Field — Norma Rae

Nominees

Jill Clayburgh — Starting Over

Jane Fonda — The China Syndrome

Marsha Mason — Chapter Two

Bette Midler — The Rose

1980s

53rd Academy Awards (1980)

Winner

Sissy Spacek — Coal Miner's Daughter

Nominees

Ellen Burstyn — Resurrection

Goldie Hawn — Private Benjamin

Mary Tyler Moore — Ordinary People

Gena Rowlands — Gloria

54th Academy Awards (1981)

Winner

Katharine Hepburn — On Golden Pond

Nominees

Diane Keaton — Reds

Marsha Mason — Only When I Laugh

Susan Sarandon — Atlantic City

Meryl Streep — The French Lieutenant's Woman

55th Academy Awards (1982)

Winner

Meryl Streep — Sophie's Choice

Nominees

Julie Andrews — Victor/Victoria

Jessica Lange — Frances

Sissy Spacek — Missing

Debra Winger — An Officer and a Gentleman

56th Academy Awards (1983)

Winner

Shirley MacLaine — Terms of Endearment

Nominees

Jane Alexander — Testament

Meryl Streep — Silkwood

Julie Walters — Educating Rita

Debra Winger — Terms of Endearment

57th Academy Awards (1984)

Winner

Sally Field — Places in the Heart

Nominees

Judy Davis — A Passage to India

Jessica Lange — Country

Vanessa Redgrave — The Bostonians

Sissy Spacek — The River

58th Academy Awards (1985)

Winner

Geraldine Page — The Trip to Bountiful

Nominees

Anne Bancroft — Agnes of God

Whoopi Goldberg — The Color Purple

Jessica Lange — Sweet Dreams

Meryl Streep — Out of Africa

59th Academy Awards (1986)

Winner

Marlee Matlin — Children of a Lesser God

Nominees

Jane Fonda — The Morning After

Sissy Spacek — Crimes of the Heart

Kathleen Turner — Peggy Sue Got Married

Sigourney Weaver — Aliens

60th Academy Awards (1987)

Winner

Cher — Moonstruck

Nominees

Glenn Close — Fatal Attraction

Holly Hunter — Broadcast News

Sally Kirkland — Anna

Meryl Streep — Ironweed

61st Academy Awards (1988)

Winner

Jodie Foster — The Accused

Nominees

Glenn Close — Dangerous Liaisons

Melanie Griffith — Working Girl

Meryl Streep — A Cry in the Dark

Sigourney Weaver — Gorillas in the Mist

62nd Academy Awards (1989)

Winner

Jessica Tandy — Driving Miss Daisy

Nominees

Isabelle Adjani — Camille Claudel

Pauline Collins — Shirley Valentine

Jessica Lange — Music Box

Michelle Pfeiffer — The Fabulous Baker Boys

1990s

63rd Academy Awards (1990)

Winner

Kathy Bates — Misery

Nominees

Anjelica Huston — The Grifters

Julia Roberts — Pretty Woman

Meryl Streep — Postcards from the Edge

Joanne Woodward — Mr. & Mrs. Bridge

64th Academy Awards (1991)

Winner

Jodie Foster — The Silence of the Lambs

Nominees

Geena Davis — Thelma & Louise

Laura Dern — Rambling Rose

Bette Midler — For the Boys

Susan Sarandon — Thelma & Louise

65th Academy Awards (1992)

Winner

Emma Thompson — Howards End

Nominees

Catherine Deneuve — Indochine

Mary McDonnell — Passion Fish

Michelle Pfeiffer — Love Field

Susan Sarandon — Lorenzo's Oil

66th Academy Awards (1993)

Winner

Holly Hunter — The Piano

Nominees

Angela Bassett — What's Love Got to Do with It

Stockard Channing — Six Degrees of Separation

Emma Thompson — The Remains of the Day

Debra Winger — Shadowlands

67th Academy Awards (1994)

Winner

Jessica Lange — Blue Sky

Nominees

Jodie Foster — Nell

Miranda Richardson — Tom & Viv

Winona Ryder — Little Women

Susan Sarandon — The Client

68th Academy Awards (1995)

Winner

Susan Sarandon — Dead Man Walking

Nominees

Elisabeth Shue — Leaving Las Vegas

Sharon Stone — Casino

Meryl Streep — The Bridges of Madison County

Emma Thompson — Sense and Sensibility

69th Academy Awards (1996)

Winner

Frances McDormand — Fargo

Nominees

Brenda Blethyn — Secrets & Lies

Diane Keaton — Marvin's Room

Kristin Scott Thomas — The English Patient

Emily Watson — Breaking the Waves

70th Academy Awards (1997)

Winner

Helen Hunt — As Good as It Gets

Nominees

Helena Bonham Carter — The Wings of the Dove

Julie Christie — Afterglow

Judi Dench — Mrs. Brown

Kate Winslet — Titanic

71st Academy Awards (1998)

Winner

Gwyneth Paltrow — Shakespeare in Love

Nominees

Cate Blanchett — Elizabeth

Fernanda Montenegro — Central Station

Meryl Streep — One True Thing

Emily Watson — Hilary and Jackie

72nd Academy Awards (1999)

Winner

Hilary Swank — Boys Don't Cry

Nominees

Annette Bening — American Beauty

Janet McTeer — Tumbleweeds

Julianne Moore — The End of the Affair

Meryl Streep — Music of the Heart

2000s

73rd Academy Awards (2000)

Winner

Julia Roberts — Erin Brockovich

Nominees

Joan Allen — The Contender

Juliette Binoche — Chocolat

Ellen Burstyn — Requiem for a Dream

Laura Linney — You Can Count on Me

74th Academy Awards (2001)

Winner

Halle Berry — Monster's Ball

Nominees

Judi Dench — Iris

Nicole Kidman — Moulin Rouge

Sissy Spacek — In the Bedroom

Renée Zellweger — Bridget Jones's Diary

75th Academy Awards (2002)

Winner

Nicole Kidman — The Hours

Nominees

Salma Hayek — Frida

Diane Lane — Unfaithful

Julianne Moore — Far from Heaven

Renée Zellweger — Chicago

76th Academy Awards (2003)

Winner

Charlize Theron — Monster

Nominees

Keisha Castle-Hughes — Whale Rider

Diane Keaton — Something's Gotta Give

Samantha Morton — In America

Naomi Watts — 21 Grams

77th Academy Awards (2004)

Winner

Hilary Swank — Million Dollar Baby

Nominees

Annette Bening — Being Julia

Catalina Sandino Moreno — Maria Full of Grace

Imelda Staunton — Vera Drake

Kate Winslet — Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

78th Academy Awards (2005)

Winner

Reese Witherspoon — Walk the Line

Nominees

Judi Dench — Mrs. Henderson Presents

Felicity Huffman — Transamerica

Keira Knightley — Pride & Prejudice

Charlize Theron — North Country

79th Academy Awards (2006)

Winner

Helen Mirren — The Queen

Nominees

Penélope Cruz — Volver

Judi Dench — Notes on a Scandal

Meryl Streep — The Devil Wears Prada

Kate Winslet — Little Children

80th Academy Awards (2007)

Winner

Marion Cotillard — La Vie en Rose

Nominees

Cate Blanchett — Elizabeth: The Golden Age

Julie Christie — Away from Her

Laura Linney — The Savages

Elliot Page — Juno

81st Academy Awards (2008)

Winner

Kate Winslet — The Reader

Nominees

Anne Hathaway — Rachel Getting Married

Angelina Jolie — Changeling

Melissa Leo — Frozen River

Meryl Streep — Doubt

82nd Academy Awards (2009)

Winner

Sandra Bullock — The Blind Side

Nominees

Helen Mirren — The Last Station

Carey Mulligan — An Education

Gabourey Sidibe — Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire

Meryl Streep — Julie & Julia

2010s

83rd Academy Awards (2010)

Winner

Natalie Portman — Black Swan

Nominees

Annette Bening — The Kids Are All Right

Nicole Kidman — Rabbit Hole

Jennifer Lawrence — Winter's Bone

Michelle Williams — Blue Valentine

84th Academy Awards (2011)

Winner

Meryl Streep — The Iron Lady

Nominees

Glenn Close — Albert Nobbs

Viola Davis — The Help

Rooney Mara — The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Michelle Williams — My Week with Marilyn

85th Academy Awards (2012)

Winner

Jennifer Lawrence — Silver Linings Playbook

Nominees

Jessica Chastain — Zero Dark Thirty

Emmanuelle Riva — Amour

Quvenzhané Wallis — Beasts of the Southern Wild

Naomi Watts — The Impossible

86th Academy Awards (2013)

Winner

Cate Blanchett — Blue Jasmine

Nominees

Amy Adams — American Hustle

Sandra Bullock — Gravity

Judi Dench — Philomena

Meryl Streep — August: Osage County

87th Academy Awards (2014)

Winner

Julianne Moore — Still Alice

Nominees

Marion Cotillard — Two Days, One Night

Felicity Jones — The Theory of Everything

Rosamund Pike — Gone Girl

Reese Witherspoon — Wild

88th Academy Awards (2015)

Winner

Brie Larson — Room

Nominees

Cate Blanchett — Carol

Jennifer Lawrence — Joy

Charlotte Rampling — 45 Years

Saoirse Ronan — Brooklyn

89th Academy Awards (2016)

Winner

Emma Stone — La La Land

Nominees

Isabelle Huppert — Elle

Ruth Negga — Loving

Natalie Portman — Jackie

Meryl Streep — Florence Foster Jenkins

90th Academy Awards (2017)

Winner

Frances McDormand — Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Nominees

Sally Hawkins — The Shape of Water

Margot Robbie — I, Tonya

Saoirse Ronan — Lady Bird

Meryl Streep — The Post

91st Academy Awards (2018)

Winner

Olivia Colman — The Favourite

Nominees

Yalitza Aparicio — Roma

Glenn Close — The Wife

Lady Gaga — A Star is Born

Melissa McCarthy — Can You Ever Forgive Me?

92nd Academy Awards (2019)

Winner

Renee Zellweger — Judy

Nominees

Cynthia Erivo — Harriet

Scarlett Johansson — Marriage Story

Saoirse Ronan — Little Women

Charlize Theron — Bombshell

2020s

93rd Academy Awards (2020)

Winner

Frances McDormand — Nomadland

Nominees

Viola Davis — Ma Rainey's Black Bottom

Andra Day — The United States vs. Billie Holiday

Vanessa Kirby — Pieces of a Woman

Carey Mulligan — Promising Young Woman

94th Academy Awards (2021)

Winner

Jessica Chastain — The Eyes of Tammy Faye

Nominees

Olivia Colman — The Lost Daughter

Penélope Cruz — Parallel Mothers

Nicole Kidman — Being the Ricardos

Kristen Stewart — Spencer

95th Academy Awards (2022)

Winner

Michelle Yeoh — Everything Everywhere All at Once

Nominees

Cate Blanchett — Tár

Ana de Armas — Blonde

Andrea Riseborough — To Leslie

Michelle Williams — The Fabelmans

96th Academy Awards (2023)

Winner

Emma Stone - Poor Things

Nominees

Annette Bening — Nyad

Lily Gladstone — Killers of the Flower Moon

Sandra Hüller — Anatomy of a Fall

Carey Mulligan — Maestro

Emma Stone — Poor Things