Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical

The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical was an annual award presented by Drama Desk in recognition of achievements in theatre across collective Broadway, off-Broadway and off-off-Broadway productions in New York City. The award was one of eight new acting awards first presented in 1975, when Drama Desk retired an earlier award that had made no distinction between work in plays and musicals, nor between actors and actresses, nor between lead performers and featured performers.

After the 2022 ceremony, all eight acting categories introduced in 1975 were retired. The award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical, along with Outstanding Actor in a Musical, were replaced in 2023 with the gender neutral category of Outstanding Lead Performance in a Musical.

Multiple Winners

 * 3 wins
 * Patti LuPone
 * Donna Murphy
 * Bernadette Peters


 * 2 wins
 * Sutton Foster
 * Angela Lansbury
 * Audra McDonald
 * Jessie Mueller
 * Chita Rivera

Multiple nominees

 * 8 nominations
 * Bernadette Peters


 * 7 nominations
 * Sutton Foster
 * Donna Murphy


 * 6 nominations
 * Patti LuPone


 * 4 nominations
 * LaChanze
 * Kelli O'Hara
 * Faith Prince
 * Sherie Rene Scott


 * 3 nominations
 * Kate Baldwin
 * Stephanie J. Block
 * Kristin Chenoweth
 * Christine Ebersole
 * Angela Lansbury
 * Audra McDonald
 * Idina Menzel
 * Jessie Mueller
 * Chita Rivera


 * 2 nominations
 * Laura Benanti
 * Laura Bell Bundy
 * Carolee Carmello
 * Victoria Clark
 * Melissa Errico
 * Beth Fowler
 * Terri Klausner
 * Beth Leavel
 * Dorothy Loudon
 * Marin Mazzie
 * Lonette McKee
 * Laura Osnes
 * Alice Ripley
 * Daphne Rubin-Vega
 * Karen Ziemba