Best Actress Award | |
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Prix d'interprétation féminine (French) | |
Awarded for | Best Performance by an Actress |
Country | France |
Presented by | Cannes Film Festival |
First awarded | 1946 |
Currently held by | Merve Dizdar About Dry Grasses (2022) |
Website | www |
The Best Actress Award (French: Prix d'interprétation féminine) is an award presented at the Cannes Film Festival since 1946. It is given to an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance and chosen by the jury from the films in official competition slate at the festival.
At the 1st Cannes Film Festival held in 1946, Michèle Morgan was the first winner of this award for her performance in Pastoral Symphony, and Merve Dizdar is the most recent winner in this category for her role in About Dry Grasses at the 76th Cannes Film Festival in 2023.
The award was first presented in 1946. The prize was not awarded on three occasions (1947, 1953, and 1954). The festival was not held at all in 1948, 1950, and 2020. In 1968, no awards were given as the festival was called off mid-way due to the May 1968 events in France. On four occasions, the jury has awarded multiple women (more than 2) the prize for one film. The four films were A Big Family (1955), Brink of Life (1958), A World Apart (1988), and Volver (2006). Vanessa Redgrave, Barbara Hershey, Helen Mirren, and Isabelle Huppert have won the most awards in this category, each winning twice. Hershey is the only actress to win the award in consecutive years, for Shy People (1987) and A World Apart (1988). Isabelle Adjani is the only actress to win the award for two different films in the same competition, for her roles in Possession and Quartet (1981). The award can be for lead or supporting roles, with the exception of the period from 1979 to 1981, when the festival used to award a separate "Best Supporting Actress" prize. The jury also, on occasion, cites actresses with a special citation that is separate from the main award.
‡ | Indicates the Best Supporting Actress winner |
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The following individuals have received multiple Best Actress awards:
Number of Wins | Actress | Nationality | Films |
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2 | Barbara Hershey | United States | Shy People (1987), A World Apart (1988) |
Helen Mirren | United Kingdom | Cal (1984), The Madness of King George (1995) | |
Isabelle Huppert | France | Violette Nozière (1978), The Piano Teacher (2001) | |
Vanessa Redgrave | United Kingdom | Morgan – A Suitable Case for Treatment (1966), Isadora (1969) |