| BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role | |
|---|---|
The 2022 recipient: Cate Blanchett | |
| Awarded for | Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Presented by | British Academy of Film and Television Arts |
| First awarded | Vivien Leigh for A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) Simone Signoret for Golden Helmet (1952) |
| Currently held by | Cate Blanchett for Tár (2022) |
| Website | http://www.bafta.org/ |
Best Actress in a Leading Role is a British Academy Film Award presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding leading performance in a film.
| Year | Actress | Film | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 74th [25] | |||
| Frances McDormand | Nomadland | Fern | |
| Bukky Bakray | Rocks | Olushola "Rocks" Omotoso | |
| Radha Blank | The Forty-Year-Old Version | Radha Blank | |
| Vanessa Kirby | Pieces of a Woman | Martha Weiss | |
| Wunmi Mosaku | His House | Rial Majur | |
| Alfre Woodard | Clemency | Bernardine Williams | |
| 2021 75th [26] | |||
| Joanna Scanlan | After Love | Mary Hussain | |
| Lady Gaga | House of Gucci | Patrizia Reggiani | |
| Alana Haim | Licorice Pizza | Alana Kane | |
| Emilia Jones | CODA | Ruby Rossi | |
| Renate Reinsve | The Worst Person in the World | Julie | |
| Tessa Thompson | Passing | Irene Redfield | |
| 2022 76th | |||
| Cate Blanchett | Tár | Lydia Tár | |
| Michelle Yeoh | Everything Everywhere All at Once | Evelyn Quan Wang | |
| Viola Davis | The Woman King | General Nanisca | |
| Ana de Armas | Blonde | Norma Jeane Mortenson / Marilyn Monroe | |
| Danielle Deadwyler | Till | Mamie Till | |
| Emma Thompson | Good Luck to You, Leo Grande | Nancy Stokes / Susan Robinson |
Note: Between 1964 and 1973, several actresses were nominated for multiple performances in a single year, these each count as one nomination.[27] Scarlett Johansson's two mentions in 2003 count as two separate nominations.[28] The two mentions received by Kate Winslet in both 2004 and 2008 count as two separate nominations each time.
Note: The 2013 ceremony was the first time in the history of BAFTA that two French actresses were nominated for French-language performances in this category: Marion Cotillard for Rust and Bone and Emmanuelle Riva for Amour; the latter won.[29]
| Superlative | Best Actress in a Leading Role | Best Supporting Actress | Overall | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Actress with most awards | Maggie Smith | 4 | Judi Dench | 3 | Judi Dench Maggie Smith |
5 |
| 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 | 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) | Shirley MacLaine | 5 | — | — | Shirley MacLaine | 5 |
Note: Meryl Streep and Judi Dench tie for the record of a total of 15 BAFTA Film nominations, with Streep having 12 Best Actress nominations and 3 Best Supporting Actress nominations. Dench has 5 Best Actress nominations and 9 Best Supporting Actress nominations. Dench's 15th nomination is for Best Newcomer in 1966 (which she won). This gives her 6 BAFTA Film wins. In addition, she has won 4 BAFTA TV awards (from 12 nominations). In total, she has received 27 BAFTA Film & TV nominations with 10 wins. In 2001, Dench also received an honorary BAFTA: The BAFTA Fellowship.
Note: Maggie Smith has a total of 13 BAFTA Film nominations, for Best Actress (8), Best Supporting Actress (4) and Best Newcomer (1), winning 5. She also has 5 BAFTA TV nominations. This gives her a total of 18 BAFTA Film and TV nominations. In addition, Smith has received two honorary awards: The BAFTA Special Award (1993) and BAFTA Fellowship (1996).
