Laurence Olivier Award
for Best Actress in a Supporting Role
2024 Recipient: Haydn Gwynne
Awarded forBest Actress in a Supporting Role
Location England
Presented bySociety of London Theatre
First awarded1977
Currently held byHaydn Gwynne for When Winston Went to War with the Wireless (2024)
Websiteofficiallondontheatre.com/olivier-awards/ Edit this at Wikidata

The Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role is an annual award presented by the Society of London Theatre in recognition of achievements in commercial London theatre. The Oliviers were established as the Society of West End Theatre Awards in 1976, and renamed in 1984 in honour of English actor and director Laurence Olivier.

This award was first given in 1977, then was replaced in 1985 by the commingled actor/actress Best Performance in a Supporting Role, which replaced the 1977 to 1984 pair of Best Actress in a Supporting Role and Best Actor in a Supporting Role awards. From 1991 to 2012, the general supporting category vacillated at random between the commingled singular award (presented for 12 different seasons) and the pair of awards (presented for the other 11 seasons); the commingled award was last given in 2012, and the split pair of Best Actor and Best Actress awards have been presented every year since.

Winners and nominees

Gwen Watford won for Present Laughter (1981)
Anna Massey won for The Importance of Being Earnest (1982)

1970s

Year Actress Play Character
1977
Mona Washbourne Stevie Aunt
Constance Chapman Just Between Ourselves Marjorie
Anna Manahan The Plough and the Stars Bessie
Elizabeth Spriggs Volpone Lady Would-Be
1978
Elizabeth Spriggs Love Letters on Blue Paper Sonia Marsden
Brenda Bruce The Lady's Not for Burning Alizon Eliot
Susan Fleetwood The Woman Ismene
Patricia Hayes Filumena Rosalia
1979
Doreen Mantle Death of a Salesman Linda
Carmen du Sautoy Once in a Lifetime Miss Leighton
Alison Fiske For Services Rendered Evie
Patricia Routledge And a Nightingale Sang Peggy Stott

1980s

Year Actress Play Character
1980
Suzanne Bertish The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby Fanny Squeers
Lynn Dearth The Greeks Electra
Prunella Scales Make and Break Mrs. Rogers
Susan Tracy Three Sisters Natalya Ivanova
1981
Gwen Watford Present Laughter Monica Reed
Brenda Bruce Romeo and Juliet Nurse
Sinéad Cusack As You Like It Celia
Gwen Taylor Hamlet Gertrude
1982
Anna Massey The Importance of Being Earnest Miss Prism
Nicola Blackman Destry Rides Again Clara
Sheila Hancock The Winter's Tale Paulina
Carole Hayman Top Girls Dull Gret
1983
Abigail McKern As You Like It Celia
Kate Buffery Daisy Pulls It Off Clare Beaumont
Sylvia Coleridge Clay Em
Barbara Leigh-Hunt Pack of Lies Helen Kroger
1984
Marcia Warren Stepping Out Vera
Clare Higgins A Streetcar Named Desire Stella Kowalski
Sophie MgCina Poppie Nongena Poppie's Mother
Zoë Wanamaker The Time of Your Life Kitty Duval

1990s

Frances de la Tour won for When She Danced (1991)


Year Actress Play Character
1991
Sara Crowe Private Lives Sybil
Maria Miles The Wild Duck Hedvig
Anita Reeves Dancing at Lughnasa Maggie
Zoë Wanamaker The Crucible Elizabeth Proctor
1992
Frances de la Tour When She Danced Miss Belzer
Eileen Atkins The Night of the Iguana Hannah
Clare Higgins Napoli Milionaria Amalia Jovine
Lesley Sharp Uncle Vanya Sonya
1993
Barbara Leigh-Hunt An Inspector Calls Sybil Birling
Annette Badland The Rise and Fall of Little Voice Sadie
Elizabeth Bradley Billy Liar Florence Boothroyd
Rosemary Harris Lost in Yonkers Grandma Kurnitz
1994
Helen Burns The Last Yankee Karen Frick
Rosemary Leach Separate Tables Mrs Railton-Bell
Sandy McDade The Life of Stuff Janice
Sophie Thompson Wildest Dreams Marcie Banks
1995
Dora Bryan The Birthday Party Meg
Samantha Bond Le Cid Infanta
Brid Brennan Rutherford and Son Janet
Kathryn Hunter Pericles, Prince of Tyre Master of Play
1997[1]
Deborah Findlay Stanley Hilda
Frances Barber Uncle Vanya Sonya
Anna Chancellor Stanley Patricia
Clare Holman Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Honey

2000s

Year Actress Play Character
2000
Patricia Hodge Money Lady Franklin
Anne-Marie Duff Collected Stories Lisa
Estelle Kohler The Winter's Tale Paulina
Kika Markham A Song at Twilight Hilde
2001
Pauline Flanagan Dolly West's Kitchen Rima West
Gillian Barge Passion Play Agnes
Catherine McCormack All My Sons Ann
Marcia Warren In Flame Annie / Gramma
2002
Marcia Warren Humble Boy Mercy Lott
Brid Brennan The Little Foxes Birdie
Emma Fielding Private Lives Sibyl
Lyndsey Marshal Boston Marriage Catherine

2010s

Ruth Wilson won for A Streetcar Named Desire (2010)
Sharon D. Clarke won for The Amen Corner (2014)
Angela Lansbury won for Blithe Spirit (2015)
Judi Dench won for The Winter's Tale (2016)
Noma Dumezweni won for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (2017)
Year Actress Play Character
2010
Ruth Wilson A Streetcar Named Desire Stella Kowalski
Hayley Atwell A View from the Bridge Catherine Carbone
Michelle Dockery Burnt by the Sun Maroussia
Alexandra Gilbreath Twelfth Night Olivia
Keira Knightley The Misanthrope Jennifer / Célimène
Rachael Stirling The Priory Rebecca
2011
Michelle Terry Tribes Sylvia
Sarah Goldberg Clybourne Park Betsy / Lindsey
Anastasia Hille The Master Builder Aline Solness
Gina McKee King Lear Goneril
Rachael Stirling An Ideal Husband Lady Chiltern
2013
Nicola Walker The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time Judy
Janie Dee NSFW Miranda
Anastasia Hille The Effect Dr. Lorna
Cush Jumbo Julius Caesar Mark Antony
Helen McCrory The Last of the Haussmans Libby
2014
Sharon D. Clarke The Amen Corner Odessa
Sarah Greene The Cripple of Inishmaan Slippy Helen
Katherine Kingsley A Midsummer Night's Dream Helena
Cecilia Noble The Amen Corner Sister Moore
2015
Angela Lansbury Blithe Spirit Madame Arcati
Jamie Adler, Zoe Brough, Perdita Hibbins and Isabella Pappas The Nether Iris
Phoebe Fox A View from the Bridge Catherine Carbone
Lydia Wilson King Charles III Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge
2016
Judi Dench The Winter's Tale Paulina
Michele Dotrice Nell Gwynn Nancy
Melody Grove Farinelli and the King Isabella Farnese
Catherine Steadman Oppenheimer Jean Tatlock
2017
Noma Dumezweni Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Hermione Granger
Melissa Allan, Caroline Deyga, Kirsty Findlay, Karen Fishwick, Kirsty MacLaren, Frances Mayli McCann, Joanne McGuinness and Dawn Sievewright Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour Various Characters
Clare Foster Travesties Cecily Carruthers
Kate O'Flynn The Glass Menagerie Laura Wingfield
2018
Denise Gough Angels in America Harper Pitt
Bríd Brennan The Ferryman Aunt Maggie Far Away
Dearbhla Molloy The Ferryman Aunt Pat
Imogen Poots Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Honey
2019
Monica Dolan All About Eve Karen Richards
Susan Brown Home, I'm Darling Sylvia
Cecilia Noble Nine Night Aunt Maggie
Vanessa Redgrave The Inheritance Margaret

2020s

Indira Varma won for Present Laughter (2020)
Anjana Vasan won for A Streetcar Named Desire (2023)
Year Actress Play Character
2020
Indira Varma Present Laughter Liz Essendine
Michele Austin Cyrano de Bergerac Leila Ragueneau
Sophie Thompson Present Laughter Monica Reed
Josie Walker The Ocean at the End of the Lane Old Mrs Hempstock
2021 Not presented due to extended closing of theatre productions during COVID-19 pandemic[A]
2022[A]
Liz Carr The Normal Heart Dr. Emma Brookner
Tori Burgess Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of) Lydia Bennet
Christina Gordon Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of) Jane Bennet
Akiya Henry The Tragedy of Macbeth Lady Macduff
2023
Anjana Vasan A Streetcar Named Desire Stella Kowalski
Rose Ayling-Ellis As You Like It Celia
Pamela Nomvete To Kill a Mockingbird Calpurnia
Caroline Quentin Jack Absolute Flies Again Mrs Malaprop
Sharon Small Good Helen
2024
Haydn Gwynne[B] When Winston Went to War with the Wireless Stanley Baldwin
Lorraine Ashbourne Till the Stars Come Down Aunty Carol
Priyanga Burford An Enemy of the People Aslaksen
Gina McKee Dear England Pippa Grange
Tanya Reynolds A Mirror Mei
  1. ^ a b Due to late March 2020[2] to late July 2021[3] closing of London theatre productions during the COVID-19 pandemic in England, the 2022 awards recognise productions that launched anytime from February 2020 to February 2022[4]
  2. ^ Posthumous nomination

See also

References

  1. ^ "1997 Laurence Olivier Awards". westendtheatre.com. 1997. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
  2. ^ Johnson, The Rt Hon Boris, MP (2020-03-23). Prime Minister's statement on coronavirus (COVID-19): 23 March 2020 [transcript] (Speech). Prime Minister's Televised Speech to the United Kingdom. www.gov.uk. London, UK. Archived from the original on 2020-06-09. Retrieved 2022-04-25. From this evening I must give the British people a very simple instruction — you must stay at home.((cite speech)): CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ McPhee, Ryan (2021-06-14). "U.K. Postpones Reopening Roadmap; West End Theatres Will No Longer Reopen in Full in June". Playbill. Archived from the original on 2021-06-14. Retrieved 2022-04-25. Step 4 of the roadmap will allow productions to play without capacity restrictions. June 21 was the goal; now, the government is eyeing July 19.
  4. ^ Thomas, Sophie (2022-03-08). "Everything you need to know about the Olivier Awards". londontheatre.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2022-04-11. Retrieved 2022-04-25. Any new production that opened between 19 Feb. 2020 to 22 Feb. 2022 are eligible for categories in the 2022 Olivier Awards. With two years worth of shows set for honours in one year's ceremony, the 2022 Olivier Awards will prove tougher competition than before.

External links

Laurence Olivier Awards
Laurence Olivier Award for Best Performance in a Supporting Role
Categories