Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress

The Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Play is an annual award presented by the Society of London Theatre in recognition of achievements in commercial London theatre. The awards 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 introduced in 1985, as Actress of the Year, then retitled to its current name for the 1993 ceremony. Prior to this award, from 1976 to 1984 (and again in 1988), there was a pair of awards given each year for this general category, one for Actress of the Year in a New Play and the other for Actress of the Year in a Revival.

Multiple awards and nominations for Best Actress
Note: The below awards and nominations include individuals awarded and nominated under the now-defunct categories Actress of the Year in a New Play and Actress of the Year in a Revival as well as the current combined Best Actress category.

Awards

 * Five awards
 * Judi Dench


 * Three awards
 * Clare Higgins


 * Two awards
 * Eileen Atkins
 * Lindsay Duncan
 * Fiona Shaw
 * Frances de la Tour
 * Dorothy Tutin
 * Margaret Tyzack
 * Zoë Wanamaker

Nominations

 * Nine nominations
 * Judi Dench


 * Six nominations
 * Eileen Atkins
 * Penelope Wilton


 * Five nominations
 * Sinéad Cusack
 * Glenda Jackson
 * Janet McTeer
 * Kristin Scott Thomas
 * Juliet Stevenson
 * Maggie Smith
 * Zoë Wanamaker


 * Four nominations
 * Lindsay Duncan
 * Clare Higgins
 * Helen Mirren
 * Diana Rigg
 * Fiona Shaw
 * Harriet Walter


 * Three nominations
 * Gillian Anderson
 * Lesley Manville
 * Joan Plowright
 * Vanessa Redgrave
 * Imelda Staunton
 * Frances de la Tour

• Hayley Atwell
 * Two nominations

• Eve Best

• Yvonne Bryceland

• Pauline Collins

• Patsy Ferran

• Susan Fleetwood

• Tamsin Greig

• Victoria Hamilton

• Rosemary Harris

• Kathryn Hunter

• Nicole Kidman

• Jane Lapotaire

• Rosemary Leach

• Geraldine McEwan

• Sophie Okonedo

• Billie Piper

• Kelly Reilly

• Alison Steadman

• Janet Suzman

• Dorothy Tutin

• Margaret Tyzack

• Julie Walters

• Lia Williams

• Ruth Wilson