BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role

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.


 * From 1952 to 1967, there were two Best Actress awards presented, Best British Actress and Best Foreign Actress.
 * From 1968 onwards, the two awards merged into one award, which from 1968 to 1984 was known as Best Actress.
 * From 1985 to present, the award has been known by its current name of Best Actress in a Leading Role.

In the following lists, the titles and names in bold with a gold background are the winners and recipients respectively; those not in bold are the nominees. The years given are those in which the films under consideration were released, not the year of the ceremony, which always takes place the following year.

Winners and nominees
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Multiple 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
 * Emma Thompson
 * Kate Winslet


 * 4 nominations


 * Deborah Kerr
 * Helen Mirren
 * Saoirse Ronan
 * 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

Multiple wins

 * 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