History of Oscar winners and nominees for best actress

1920s

• 1928 Janet Gaynor - Seventh Heaven as "Diane", Street Angel as "Angela", and Sunrise as "The Wife (Indre)"
  • Louise Dresser - A Ship Comes In as "Mrs. Pleznik"
  • Gloria Swanson - Sadie Thompson as "Sadie Thompson"

• 1929 Mary Pickford - Coquette as "Norma Besant"
  • Ruth Chatterton - Madame X as "Jacqueline Floriot"
  • Betty Compson - The Barker as "Carrie"
  • Jeanne Eagels - The Letter as "Leslie Crosbie"
  • Corinne Griffith - The Divine Lady as "Emma Hamilton"
  • Bessie Love - The Broadway Melody as "Hank Mahoney"

1930s

• 1930 Norma Shearer - The Divorcee as "Jerry Bernard Martin"
  • Nancy Carroll - The Devil's Holiday as "Hallie Hobart"
  • Ruth Chatterton - Sarah and Son as "Sarah Storm"
  • Greta Garbo - Anna Christie as "Anna Christie" and Romance as "Madame Rita Cavallini"
  • Norma Shearer - Their Own Desire as "Lucia 'Liz' Marlett"
  • Gloria Swanson - The Trespasser as "Marion Donnell"

• 1931 Marie Dressler - Min and Bill as "Min Divot"
  • Marlene Dietrich - Morocco as "Mademoiselle Amy Jolly"
  • Irene Dunne - Cimarron as "Sabra Cravat"
  • Ann Harding - Holiday as "Linda Seton"
  • Norma Shearer - A Free Soul as "Jan Ashe"

• 1932 Helen Hayes - The Sin of Madelon Claudet as "Madelon Claudet"
  • Marie Dressler - Emma as "Emma Thatcher Smith"
  • Lynn Fontanne - The Guardsman as "The Actress"

• 1933 Katharine Hepburn - Morning Glory as "Eva Lovelace"
  • May Robson - Lady for a Day as "Apple Annie"
  • Diana Wynyard - Cavalcade as "Jane Marryot"

• 1934 Claudette Colbert - It Happened One Night as "Ellie Andrews"
  • Grace Moore - One Night of Love as "Mary Barrett"
  • Norma Shearer - The Barretts of Wimpole Street as Elizabeth Barrett

• 1935 Bette Davis - Dangerous as "Joyce Heath"
  • Elisabeth Bergner - Escape Me Never as "Gemma Jones"
  • Claudette Colbert - Private Worlds as "Dr. Jane Everest"
  • Katharine Hepburn - Alice Adams as "Alice Adams"
  • Miriam Hopkins - Becky Sharp as "Becky Sharp"
  • Merle Oberon - The Dark Angel as "Kitty Vane"

• 1936 Luise Rainer - The Great Ziegfeld as "Anna Held"
  • Irene Dunne - Theodora Goes Wild as "Theodora Lynn"
  • Gladys George - Valiant Is the Word for Carrie as "Carrie Snyder"
  • Carole Lombard - My Man Godfrey as "Irene Bullock"
  • Norma Shearer - Romeo and Juliet as "Juliet Capulet"

• 1937 Luise Rainer - The Good Earth as "O-Lan Lung"
  • Irene Dunne - The Awful Truth as "Lucy Warriner"
  • Greta Garbo - Camille as "Marguerite Gautier"
  • Janet Gaynor - A Star Is Born as "Esther Victoria Blodgett, aka Vicki Lester"
  • Barbara Stanwyck - Stella Dallas as "Stella Dallas"

• 1938 Bette Davis - Jezebel as "Julie Marsden"
  • Fay Bainter - White Banners as "Hannah Parmalee"
  • Wendy Hiller - Pygmalion as "Eliza Doolittle"
  • Norma Shearer - Marie Antoinette as Marie Antoinette
  • Margaret Sullavan - Three Comrades as "Patricia 'Pat' Hollmann"

• 1939 Vivien Leigh - Gone with the Wind as "Scarlett O'Hara"
  • Bette Davis - Dark Victory as "Judith Traherne"
  • Irene Dunne - Love Affair as "Terry McKay"
  • Greta Garbo - Ninotchka as "Nina Ivanovna Yakushova, aka Ninotchka"
  • Greer Garson - Goodbye, Mr. Chips as "Kathy Ellis-Chipping"

1940s

• 1940 Ginger Rogers - Kitty Foyle as "Katherine 'Kitty' Foyle"
  • Bette Davis - The Letter as "Leslie Crosbie"
  • Joan Fontaine - Rebecca as "The Second Mrs. de Winter"
  • Katharine Hepburn - The Philadelphia Story as "Tracy Lord"
  • Martha Scott - Our Town as "Emily Webb"

• 1941 Joan Fontaine - Suspicion as "Lina McLaidlaw Aysgarth"
  • Bette Davis - The Little Foxes as "Regina Giddens"
  • Olivia de Havilland - Hold Back the Dawn as "Emmy Brown"
  • Greer Garson - Blossoms in the Dust as "Edna Kahly Gladney"
  • Barbara Stanwyck - Ball of Fire as "Katherine 'Sugarpuss' O'Shea"

• 1942 Greer Garson - Mrs. Miniver as "Kay Miniver"
  • Bette Davis - Now, Voyager as "Charlotte Vale"
  • Katharine Hepburn - Woman of the Year as "Tess Harding"
  • Rosalind Russell - My Sister Eileen as "Ruth Sherwood"
  • Teresa Wright - The Pride of the Yankees as "Eleanor Twitchell"

• 1943 Jennifer Jones - The Song of Bernadette as "Bernadette Soubirous"
  • Jean Arthur - The More the Merrier as "Constance 'Connie' Milligan"
  • Ingrid Bergman - For Whom the Bell Tolls as "Maria"
  • Joan Fontaine - The Constant Nymph as "Tessa Sanger"
  • Greer Garson - Madame Curie as Marie Curie

• 1944 Ingrid Bergman - Gaslight as "Paula Alquist Anton"
  • Claudette Colbert - Since You Went Away as "Mrs. Anne Hilton"
  • Bette Davis - Mr. Skeffington as "Fanny Trellis"
  • Greer Garson - Mrs. Parkington as "Susie 'Sarah' Parkington"
  • Barbara Stanwyck - Double Indemnity as "Phyllis Dietrichson"

• 1945 Joan Crawford - Mildred Pierce as "Mildred Pierce"
  • Ingrid Bergman - The Bells of St. Mary's as "Sister Mary Benedict"
  • Greer Garson - The Valley of Decision as "Mary Rafferty"
  • Jennifer Jones - Love Letters as "Singleton/Victoria Morland"
  • Gene Tierney - Leave Her to Heaven as "Ellen Berent Harland"

• 1946 Olivia de Havilland - To Each His Own as "Josephine Norris"
  • Celia Johnson - Brief Encounter as "Laura Jesson"
  • Jennifer Jones - Duel in the Sun as "Pearl Chavez"
  • Rosalind Russell - Sister Kenny as "Sister Elizabeth Kenny"
  • Jane Wyman - The Yearling as "Ora Baxter"

• 1947 Loretta Young - The Farmer's Daughter as "Katrin Holstrom"
  • Joan Crawford - Possessed as "Louise Howell Graham"
  • Susan Hayward - Smash-Up, the Story of a Woman as "Angelica 'Angie'/'Angel' Evans Conway"
  • Dorothy McGuire - Gentleman's Agreement as "Kathy Lacey"
  • Rosalind Russell - Mourning Becomes Electra as "Lavinia Mannon"

• 1948 Jane Wyman - Johnny Belinda as "Belinda McDonald"
  • Ingrid Bergman - Joan of Arc as Joan of Arc
  • Olivia de Havilland - The Snake Pit as "Virginia Stuart Cunningham"
  • Irene Dunne - I Remember Mama as "Martha Hanson"
  • Barbara Stanwyck - Sorry, Wrong Number as "Leona Stevenson"

• 1949 Olivia de Havilland - The Heiress as "Catherine Sloper"
  • Jeanne Crain - Pinky as "Patricia 'Pinky' Johnson"
  • Susan Hayward - My Foolish Heart as "Eloise Winters"
  • Deborah Kerr - Edward, My Son as "Evelyn Boult"
  • Loretta Young - Come to the Stable as "Sister Margaret"

1950s

• 1950 Judy Holliday - Born Yesterday as "Emma 'Billie' Dawn"
  • Anne Baxter - All About Eve as "Eve Harrington"
  • Bette Davis - All About Eve as "Margo Channing"
  • Eleanor Parker - Caged as "Marie Allen"
  • Gloria Swanson - Sunset Boulevard as "Norma Desmond"

• 1951 Vivien Leigh - A Streetcar Named Desire as "Blanche DuBois"
  • Katharine Hepburn - The African Queen as "Rose Sayer"
  • Eleanor Parker - Detective Story as "Mary McLeod"
  • Shelley Winters - A Place in the Sun as "Alice Tripp"
  • Jane Wyman - The Blue Veil as "Louise Mason"

• 1952 Shirley Booth - Come Back, Little Sheba as "Lola Delaney"
  • Joan Crawford - Sudden Fear as "Myra Hudson"
  • Bette Davis - The Star as "Margaret Elliot"
  • Julie Harris - The Member of the Wedding as "Frankie Addams"
  • Susan Hayward - With a Song in My Heart as "Jane Froman"

• 1953 Audrey Hepburn - Roman Holiday as "Princess Ann"
  • Leslie Caron - Lili as "Lili Daurier"
  • Ava Gardner - Mogambo as "Eloise Y. 'Honey Bear' Kelly"
  • Deborah Kerr - From Here to Eternity as "Karen Holmes"
  • Maggie McNamara - The Moon Is Blue as "Patty O'Neill"

• 1954 Grace Kelly - The Country Girl as "Georgie Elgin"
  • Dorothy Dandridge - Carmen Jones as "Carmen Jones"
  • Judy Garland - A Star Is Born as "Vicki Lester (Esther Blodgett)"
  • Audrey Hepburn - Sabrina as "Sabrina Fairchild"
  • Jane Wyman - Magnificent Obsession as "Helen Phillips"

• 1955 Anna Magnani - The Rose Tattoo as "Serafina Delle Rose"
  • Susan Hayward - I'll Cry Tomorrow as "Lillian Roth"
  • Katharine Hepburn - Summertime as "Jane Hudson"
  • Jennifer Jones - Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing as "Dr. Han Suyin"
  • Eleanor Parker - Interrupted Melody as "Marjorie 'Margie' Lawrence"

• 1956 Ingrid Bergman - Anastasia as "The Woman" (aka "Anna Koreff" or "Anastasia")
  • Carroll Baker - Baby Doll as "Baby Doll Meighan"
  • Katharine Hepburn - The Rainmaker as "Lizzie Curry"
  • Nancy Kelly - The Bad Seed as "Christine Penmark"
  • Deborah Kerr - The King and I as "Anna Leonowens"

• 1957 Joanne Woodward - The Three Faces of Eve as "Eve White/Eve Black/Jane"
  • Deborah Kerr - Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison as "Sister Angela"
  • Anna Magnani - Wild Is the Wind as "Gioia"
  • Elizabeth Taylor - Raintree County as "Susanna Drake"
  • Lana Turner - Peyton Place as "Constance MacKenzie"

• 1958 Susan Hayward - I Want to Live! as "Barbara Graham"
  • Deborah Kerr - Separate Tables as "Sibyl Railton-Bell"
  • Shirley MacLaine - Some Came Running as "Ginnie Moorehead"
  • Rosalind Russell - Auntie Mame as "Mame Dennis"
  • Elizabeth Taylor - Cat on a Hot Tin Roof as "Maggie 'The Cat' Pollitt"

• 1959 Simone Signoret - Room at the Top as "Alice Aisgill"
  • Doris Day - Pillow Talk as "Jan Morrow"
  • Audrey Hepburn - The Nun's Story as "Sister Luke"
  • Katharine Hepburn - Suddenly, Last Summer as "Violet Venable"
  • Elizabeth Taylor - Suddenly, Last Summer as "Catherine Holly"

1960s

• 1960 Elizabeth Taylor - BUtterfield 8 as "Gloria Wandrous"
  • Greer Garson - Sunrise at Campobello as "Eleanor Roosevelt"
  • Deborah Kerr - The Sundowners as "Ida Karmody"
  • Shirley MacLaine - The Apartment as "Fran Kubelik"
  • Melina Mercouri - Never on Sunday as "Ilya"

• 1961 Sophia Loren - Two Women as "Cesira"
  • Audrey Hepburn - Breakfast at Tiffany's as "Holly Golightly"
  • Piper Laurie - The Hustler as "Sarah Packard"
  • Geraldine Page - Summer and Smoke as "Alma Winemiller"
  • Natalie Wood - Splendor in the Grass "Wilma Dean 'Deanie' Loomis"

• 1962 Anne Bancroft - The Miracle Worker as "Annie Sullivan"
  • Bette Davis - What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? as "Baby Jane Hudson"
  • Katharine Hepburn - Long Day's Journey Into Night as "Mary Tyrone"
  • Geraldine Page - Sweet Bird of Youth as "Alexandra Del Lago (Princess Cosmonopolous)"
  • Lee Remick - Days of Wine and Roses as "Kirsten Arnesen"

• 1963 Patricia Neal - Hud as "Alma Brown"
  • Leslie Caron - The L-Shaped Room as "Jane Fossett"
  • Shirley MacLaine - Irma la Douce as "Irma la Douce"
  • Rachel Roberts - This Sporting Life as "Mrs. Margaret Hammond"
  • Natalie Wood - Love with the Proper Stranger as "Angie Rossini"

• 1964 Julie Andrews - Mary Poppins as "Mary Poppins"
  • Anne Bancroft - The Pumpkin Eater as "Jo Armitage"
  • Sophia Loren - Marriage Italian Style as "Filumena Marturano"
  • Debbie Reynolds - The Unsinkable Molly Brown as "Margaret Brown"
  • Kim Stanley - Séance on a Wet Afternoon as "Myra"

• 1965 Julie Christie - Darling as "Diana Scott"
  • Julie Andrews - The Sound of Music as "Maria von Trapp"
  • Samantha Eggar - The Collector as "Miranda Grey"
  • Elizabeth Hartman - A Patch of Blue as "Selina D'Arcy"
  • Simone Signoret - Ship of Fools as "La Contessa"

• 1966 Elizabeth Taylor - Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? as "Martha"
  • Anouk Aimée - A Man and a Woman as "Anne Gauthier"
  • Ida Kaminska - The Shop on Main Street as "Rozalie Lautmann"
  • Lynn Redgrave - Georgy Girl as "Georgina (Georgy)"
  • Vanessa Redgrave - Morgan! as "Leonie Delt"

• 1967 Katharine Hepburn - Guess Who's Coming to Dinner as "Christina Drayton"
  • Anne Bancroft - The Graduate as "Mrs. Robinson"
  • Faye Dunaway - Bonnie and Clyde as "Bonnie Parker"
  • Edith Evans - The Whisperers as "Mrs. Ross"
  • Audrey Hepburn - Wait Until Dark as "Suzy Hendrix"

• 1968 Katharine Hepburn - The Lion in Winter as "Eleanor of Aquitaine" and Barbra Streisand - Funny Girl as "Fanny Brice"
  • Patricia Neal - The Subject Was Roses as "Nettie Cleary"
  • Vanessa Redgrave - Isadora as "Isadora Duncan"
  • Joanne Woodward - Rachel, Rachel as "Rachel Cameron"

• 1969 Maggie Smith - The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie as "Jean Brodie"
  • Geneviève Bujold - Anne of the Thousand Days as "Anne Boleyn"
  • Jane Fonda - They Shoot Horses, Don't They? as "Gloria Beatty"
  • Liza Minnelli - The Sterile Cuckoo as "Mary Ann 'Pookie' Adams"
  • Jean Simmons - The Happy Ending as "Mary Wilson"

1970s

• 1970 Glenda Jackson - Women in Love as "Gudrun Brangwen"
  • Jane Alexander - The Great White Hope as "Eleanor Backman"
  • Ali MacGraw - Love Story as "Jennifer Cavalleri"
  • Sarah Miles - Ryan's Daughter as "Rosy Ryan"
  • Carrie Snodgress - Diary of a Mad Housewife as "Tina Balser"

• 1971 Jane Fonda - Klute as "Bree Daniels"
  • Julie Christie - McCabe & Mrs. Miller as "Constance Miller"
  • Glenda Jackson - Sunday Bloody Sunday as "Alex Greville"
  • Vanessa Redgrave - Mary, Queen of Scots as "Mary, Queen of Scots"
  • Janet Suzman - Nicholas and Alexandra as "Empress Alexandra"

• 1972 Liza Minnelli - Cabaret as "Sally Bowles"
  • Diana Ross - Lady Sings the Blues as "Billie Holiday"
  • Maggie Smith - Travels with My Aunt as "Aunt Augusta Bertram"
  • Cicely Tyson - Sounder as "Rebecca Morgan"
  • Liv Ullmann - The Emigrants as "Kristina"

• 1973 Glenda Jackson - A Touch of Class as "Vicki Allessio"
  • Ellen Burstyn - The Exorcist as "Chris MacNeil"
  • Marsha Mason - Cinderella Liberty as "Maggie Paul"
  • Barbra Streisand - The Way We Were as "Katie Morosky"
  • Joanne Woodward - Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams as "Rita Walden"

• 1974 Ellen Burstyn - Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore as "Alice Hyatt"
  • Diahann Carroll - Claudine as "Claudine Price"
  • Faye Dunaway - Chinatown as "Evelyn Mulwray"
  • Valerie Perrine - Lenny as "Honey Bruce"
  • Gena Rowlands - A Woman Under the Influence as "Mabel Longhetti"

• 1975 Louise Fletcher - One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest as "Nurse Ratched"
  • Ann-Margret - Tommy as "Nora Walker Hobbs"
  • Isabelle Adjani - The Story of Adele H. as "Adèle Hugo"
  • Glenda Jackson - Hedda as "Hedda Gabler"
  • Carol Kane - Hester Street as "Gitl"

• 1976 Faye Dunaway - Network as "Diana Christiansen"
  • Marie-Christine Barrault - Cousin, cousine as "Marthe"
  • Talia Shire - Rocky as "Adrianna 'Adrian' Pennino"
  • Sissy Spacek - Carrie as "Carrie White"
  • Liv Ullmann - Face to Face as "Dr. Jenny Isaksson"

• 1977 Diane Keaton - Annie Hall as "Annie Hall"
  • Anne Bancroft - The Turning Point as "Emma Jacklin"
  • Jane Fonda - Julia as "Lillian Hellman"
  • Shirley MacLaine - The Turning Point as "Deedee Rodgers"
  • Marsha Mason - The Goodbye Girl as "Paula McFadden"

• 1978 Jane Fonda - Coming Home as "Sally Hyde"
  • Ingrid Bergman - Autumn Sonata as "Charlotte Andergast"
  • Ellen Burstyn - Same Time, Next Year as "Doris"
  • Jill Clayburgh - An Unmarried Woman as "Erica"
  • Geraldine Page - Interiors as "Eve"

• 1979 Sally Field - Norma Rae as "Norma Rae Webster"
  • Jill Clayburgh - Starting Over as "Marilyn Holmberg"
  • Jane Fonda - The China Syndrome as "Kimberly Wells"
  • Marsha Mason - Chapter Two as "Jennie MacLaine"
  • Bette Midler - The Rose as "Mary Rose Foster"

1980s

• 1980 Sissy Spacek - Coal Miner's Daughter as Loretta Lynn
  • Ellen Burstyn - Resurrection as Edna Mae McCauley
  • Goldie Hawn - Private Benjamin as Pvt. Judy Benjamin/Goodman
  • Mary Tyler Moore - Ordinary People as Beth Jarrett
  • Gena Rowlands - Gloria as Gloria Swenson

• 1981 Katharine Hepburn - On Golden Pond as Ethel Thayer
  • Diane Keaton - Reds as Louise Bryant
  • Marsha Mason - Only When I Laugh as Georgia
  • Susan Sarandon - Atlantic City as Sally Matthews
  • Meryl Streep - The French Lieutenant's Woman as Sarah/Anna

• 1982 Meryl Streep - Sophie's Choice as Sophie Zawistowska
  • Julie Andrews - Victor/Victoria as Victoria Grant, aka Count Victor Grezhinski
  • Jessica Lange - Frances as Frances Farmer
  • Sissy Spacek - Missing as Beth Horman
  • Debra Winger - An Officer and a Gentleman as Paula Pokrifki

• 1983 Shirley MacLaine - Terms of Endearment as Aurora Greenway
  • Jane Alexander - Testament as Carol Wetherly
  • Meryl Streep - Silkwood as Karen Silkwood
  • Julie Walters - Educating Rita as Rita, aka Susan
  • Debra Winger - Terms of Endearment as Emma Greenway Horton

• 1984 Sally Field - Places in the Heart as Edna Spalding (Also see her memorable acceptance speech)
  • Judy Davis - A Passage to India as Adela Quested
  • Jessica Lange - Country as Jewell Ivy
  • Vanessa Redgrave - The Bostonians as Olive Chancellor
  • Sissy Spacek - The River as Mae Garvey

• 1985 Geraldine Page - The Trip to Bountiful as Carrie Watts
  • Anne Bancroft - Agnes of God as Mother Miriam Ruth
  • Whoopi Goldberg - The Color Purple as Celie
  • Jessica Lange - Sweet Dreams as Patsy Cline
  • Meryl Streep - Out of Africa as Baroness Karen von Blixen-Finecke

• 1986 Marlee Matlin - Children of a Lesser God as Sarah Norman
  • Jane Fonda - The Morning After as Alex Sternbergen
  • Sissy Spacek - Crimes of the Heart as Rebecca 'Babe'/'Becky' Magrath Botrelle
  • Kathleen Turner - Peggy Sue Got Married as Peggy Sue Kelcher/Bodell
  • Sigourney Weaver - Aliens as Ellen Ripley

• 1987 Cher - Moonstruck as Loretta Castorini
  • Glenn Close - Fatal Attraction as Alex Forrest
  • Holly Hunter - Broadcast News as Jane Craig
  • Sally Kirkland - Anna as Anna
  • Meryl Streep - Ironweed as Helen Archer

• 1988 Jodie Foster - The Accused as Sarah Tobias
  • Glenn Close - Dangerous Liaisons as Marquise Isabelle de Merteuil
  • Melanie Griffith - Working Girl as Tess McGill
  • Meryl Streep - A Cry in the Dark as Lindy Chamberlain
  • Sigourney Weaver - Gorillas in the Mist as Dian Fossey

• 1989 Jessica Tandy - Driving Miss Daisy as Daisy Werthan
  • Isabelle Adjani - Camille Claudel as Camille Claudel
  • Pauline Collins - Shirley Valentine as Shirley Valentine
  • Jessica Lange - Music Box as Ann Talbot
  • Michelle Pfeiffer - The Fabulous Baker Boys as Susie Diamond

1990s

• 1990 Kathy Bates - Misery as Annie Wilkes
  • Anjelica Huston - The Grifters as Lilly Dillon
  • Julia Roberts - Pretty Woman as Vivian Ward
  • Meryl Streep - Postcards from the Edge as Suzanne Vale
  • Joanne Woodward - Mr. and Mrs. Bridge as India Bridge

• 1991 Jodie Foster - The Silence of the Lambs as Clarice Starling
  • Geena Davis - Thelma and Louise as Thelma Yvonne Dickinson
  • Laura Dern - Rambling Rose as Rose
  • Bette Midler - For the Boys as Dixie Leonard
  • Susan Sarandon - Thelma and Louise as Louise Elizabeth Sawyer

• 1992 Emma Thompson - Howards End as Margaret Wilcox
  • Catherine Deneuve - Indochine as Eliane
  • Mary McDonnell - Passion Fish as May-Alice Culhane
  • Michelle Pfeiffer - Love Field as Lurene Hallett
  • Susan Sarandon - Lorenzo's Oil as Michaela Odone

• 1993 Holly Hunter - The Piano as Ada McGrath
  • Angela Bassett - What's Love Got to Do with It? as Tina Turner
  • Stockard Channing - Six Degrees of Separation as Louise 'Ouisa' Kittredge
  • Emma Thompson - The Remains of the Day as Mary Kenton
  • Debra Winger - Shadowlands as Joy Gresham

• 1994 Jessica Lange - Blue Sky as Carly Marshall
  • Jodie Foster - Nell as Nell Kellty
  • Miranda Richardson - Tom & Viv as Vivienne Haigh-Wood
  • Winona Ryder - Little Women as Jo March
  • Susan Sarandon - The Client as Regina 'Reggie' Love

• 1995 Susan Sarandon - Dead Man Walking as Helen Prejean
  • Elisabeth Shue - Leaving Las Vegas as Sera
  • Sharon Stone - Casino as Ginger McKenna
  • Meryl Streep - The Bridges of Madison County as Francesca Johnson
  • Emma Thompson - Sense and Sensibility as Elinor Dashwood

• 1996 Frances McDormand - Fargo as Marge Gunderson
  • Brenda Blethyn - Secrets & Lies as Cynthia Rose Purley
  • Diane Keaton - Marvin's Room as Bessie Greenfield
  • Kristin Scott Thomas - The English Patient as Katharine Clifton
  • Emily Watson - Breaking the Waves as Bess McNeill

• 1997 Helen Hunt - As Good as It Gets as Carol Connelly
  • Helena Bonham Carter - The Wings of the Dove as Kate Croy
  • Julie Christie - Afterglow as Phyllis Mann
  • Judi Dench - Mrs. Brown as Queen Victoria
  • Kate Winslet- Titanic as Rose DeWitt Bukater

• 1998 Gwyneth Paltrow - Shakespeare in Love as Viola de Lesseps
  • Cate Blanchett - Elizabeth as Queen Elizabeth I
  • Fernanda Montenegro - Central do Brasil as Dora
  • Meryl Streep - One True Thing as Kate Gulden
  • Emily Watson - Hilary and Jackie as Jacqueline du Pré

• 1999 Hilary Swank - Boys Don't Cry as Brandon Teena
  • Annette Bening - American Beauty as Carolyn Burnham
  • Janet McTeer - Tumbleweeds as Mary Jo Walker
  • Julianne Moore - The End of the Affair as Sarah Miles
  • Meryl Streep - Music of the Heart as Roberta Guaspari

2000s

• 2000 (73rd) Julia Roberts - Erin Brockovich as Erin Brockovich
  • Joan Allen - The Contender as Sen. Laine Hanson
  • Juliette Binoche - Chocolat as Vianne Rocher
  • Ellen Burstyn - Requiem for a Dream as Sara Goldfarb
  • Laura Linney - You Can Count on Me as Samantha 'Sammy' Prescott

• 2001 (74th) Halle Berry - Monster's Ball as Leticia Musgrove
  • Judi Dench - Iris as Iris Murdoch
  • Nicole Kidman - Moulin Rouge! as Satine
  • Sissy Spacek - In the Bedroom as Ruth Fowler
  • Renée Zellweger - Bridget Jones's Diary as Bridget Jones

• 2002 (75th) Nicole Kidman - The Hours as Virginia Woolf
  • Salma Hayek - Frida as Frida Kahlo
  • Diane Lane - Unfaithful as Connie Sumner
  • Julianne Moore - Far From Heaven as Cathy Whitaker
  • Renée Zellweger - Chicago as Roxie Hart

• 2003 (76th) Charlize Theron - Monster as Aileen Wuornos
  • Keisha Castle-Hughes - Whale Rider as Paikea
  • Diane Keaton - Something's Gotta Give as Erica Jane Barry
  • Samantha Morton - In America as Sarah
  • Naomi Watts - 21 Grams as Cristina Peck

• 2004 (77th) Hilary Swank - Million Dollar Baby as Maggie Fitzgerald
  • Annette Bening - Being Julia as Julia Lambert
  • Catalina Sandino Moreno - Maria Full of Grace as María Álvarez
  • Imelda Staunton - Vera Drake as Vera Drake
  • Kate Winslet - Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind as Clementine Kruczynski

• 2005 (78th) Reese Witherspoon - Walk the Line as June Carter
  • Judi Dench - Mrs. Henderson Presents as Laura Henderson
  • Felicity Huffman - Transamerica as Bree Osbourne
  • Keira Knightley - Pride and Prejudice as Elizabeth Bennet
  • Charlize Theron - North Country as Josey Aimes

• 2006 (79th) Helen Mirren - The Queen as Queen Elizabeth II
  • Penélope Cruz - Volver as Raimunda
  • Judi Dench - Notes on a Scandal as Barbara Covett
  • Meryl Streep - The Devil Wears Prada as Miranda Priestly
  • Kate Winslet - Little Children as Sarah Pierce