The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role has been presented to its winners since 1952 and actresses of all nationalities are eligible to receive the award.

Winners 1952-67

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Between 1952 and 1967, two distinct awards were given to the best British and best foreign actress each year.

British winners of the BAFTA Award for Best Actress

Year	Winner	Film
1952	Vivien Leigh	A Streetcar Named Desire
1953	Audrey Hepburn	Roman Holiday
1954	Yvonne Mitchell	The Divided Heart
1955	Katie Johnson	The Ladykillers
1956	Virginia McKenna	A Town Like Alice
1957	Heather Sears	The Story of Esther Costello
1958	Irene Worth	Orders to Kill
1959	Audrey Hepburn	The Nun's Story
1960	Rachel Roberts	Saturday Night, Sunday Morning
1961	Dora Bryan	A Taste of Honey
1962	Leslie Caron	The L-Shaped Room
1963	Rachel Roberts	This Sporting Life
1964	Audrey Hepburn	Charade
1965	Julie Christie	Darling
1966	Elizabeth Taylor	Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
1967	Edith Evans	The Whisperers

Overseas winners of the BAFTA Award for Best Actress

Year	Winner	Film
1952	Simone Signoret	Casque d'Or
1953	Leslie Caron	Lili
1954	Cornell Borchers	The Divided Heart
1955	Betsy Blair	Marty
1956	Anna Magnani	The Rose Tattoo
1957	Simone Signoret	The Witches of Salem
1958	Simone Signoret	Room at the Top
1959	Shirley MacLaine	Ask Any Girl
1960	Shirley MacLaine	The Apartment
1961	Sophia Loren	The Women
1962	Anne Bancroft	The Miracle Worker
1963	Patricia Neal	Hud
1964	Anne Bancroft	The Pumpkin Eater
1965	Patricia Neal	In Harm's Way
1966	Jeanne Moreau	The Sleeping Car Murders
1967	Anouk Aimée	Un Homme et Une Femme

Winners 1968-present

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In 1968, the two prizes were combined to create a single Best Actress award. Its current title, for Best Actress in a Leading Role, has been used since 1985.

Year	Winner	Film
1968	Katharine Hepburn	The Lion in Winter / Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?
1969	Maggie Smith	The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
1970	Katharine Ross	Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here / Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
1971	Glenda Jackson	Sunday, Bloody Sunday
1972	Liza Minnelli	Cabaret
1973	Stephane Audran	The Discreet Charm of The Bourgeoisie / Just Before Nighfall
1974	Joanne Woodward	Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams
1975	Ellen Burstyn	Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore
1976	Louise Fletcher	One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest
1977	Diane Keaton	Annie Hall
1978	Jane Fonda	Julia
1979	Jane Fonda	The China Syndrome
1980	Judy Davis	My Brilliant Career
1981	Meryl Streep	The French Lieutenant's Woman
1982	Katharine Hepburn	On Golden Pond
1983	Julie Walters	Educating Rita
1984	Maggie Smith	A Private Function
1985	Peggy Ashcroft	A Passage to India
1986	Maggie Smith	A Room with a View
1987	Anne Bancroft	84 Charing Cross Road
1988	Maggie Smith	The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne
1989	Pauline Collins	Shirley Valentine
1990	Jessica Tandy	Driving Miss Daisy
1991	Jodie Foster	The Silence of the Lambs
1992	Emma Thompson	Howards End
1993	Holly Hunter	The Piano
1994	Susan Sarandon	The Client
1995	Emma Thompson	Sense and Sensibility
1996	Brenda Blethyn	Secrets & Lies
1997	Judi Dench	Mrs. Brown
1998	Cate Blanchett	Elizabeth
1999	Annette Bening	American Beauty
2000	Julia Roberts	Erin Brockovich
2001	Judi Dench	Iris
2002	Nicole Kidman	The Hours
2003	Scarlett Johansson	Lost In Translation
2004	Imelda Staunton	Vera Drake
2005	Reese Witherspoon	Walk the Line

See also

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• British Academy of Film and Television Arts
• BAFTA Award for Best Film
• BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role

External links

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• BAFTA official site

BAFTA Awards | Film awards

BAFTA a la mejor actriz | BAFTA alla migliore attrice protagonista | BAFTA-díj a legjobb női főszereplőnek