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- Memorable 2024 Oscar moments
The Best Actress award has been presented 96 times, to 79 actresses. The first winner was Janet Gaynor for her roles in 7th Heaven, Street Angel, and Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans. The most recent winner is Emma Stone for her role in Poor Things (2023); she had previously won the award for her role in La La Land (2016).
- Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
- Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS)
Mar 4, 2024 · Emma Stone joins the list of multiple winners after her 2024 victory for "Poor Things". See how the other contenders stack up, from Meryl Streep to Halle Berry, in this subjective ranking by USA TODAY.
- EW Staff
- Meryl Streep as Sophie Zawistowski. Sophie's Choice (1982), directed by Alan Pakula. In Sophie's Choice, Meryl Streep's performance as a Polish survivor of the Holocaust is so beautifully shaded, so infused with every element of her character's light and darkness, that the mere feat of her mastering two full languages—she learned to speak both Polish and German for the part—almost seems like an afterthought.
- Vivien Leigh as Blanche DuBois. A Streetcar Named Desire (1951), directed by Elia Kazan. Tennessee Williams' Streetcar Desire documents the tragic mental deterioration of Blanche DuBois, a fading Southern belle who moves to New Orleans to join her sister and her brutish brother-in-law.
- Elizabeth Taylor as Martha. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966), directed by Mike Nichols. Elizabeth Taylor won her second Academy Award blowing up the ingénue image minted in her Oscar winning-turn in Butterfield 8.
- Vivien Leigh as Scarlett O'Hara. Gone With The Wind (1939), directed by Victor Fleming. The most iconic Southerner in American history was played by a Brit—and one who almost didn't get the part.
Mar 13, 2023 · Published 10:52 PM PDT, March 12, 2023. LOS ANGELES (AP) — Michelle Yeoh has won the Academy Award for best actress and made history all at once. The Malaysian-born actor became the first Asian woman to win the Academy Award for best actress on Sunday night for her multifaceted performance in the multiversal “Everything Everywhere All at ...
- ttang@ap.org
- National Race And Ethnicity Writer
- 2023: Michelle Yeoh, Everything Everywhere All at Once. Yeoh made history as the first Asian actress to win in the category for her leading performance as Evelyn Wang in the absurdist action film.
- 2022: Jessica Chastain, The Eyes of Tammy Faye. Chastain won for her portrayal of the late televangelist personality in this biographical film.
- 2021: Frances McDormand, Nomadland. McDormand's award-winning character, Fern, sells her possessions and embarks on a nomadic life, driving a van around the country after the death of her husband.
- 2020: Renée Zellweger, Judy. Zellweger retold the life and career of a Hollywood icon in the Judy Garland biopic.
Mar 13, 2024 · See photos and learn about the actresses who won the best actress Oscar over the decades, from devoted moms to sex workers to activists. The gallery also includes the 1968 tie between two actresses and the voting process.
Mar 13, 2023 · By Laura Zornosa. March 13, 2023 12:28 AM EDT. M ichelle Yeoh took home the Best Actress trophy at the 95th Academy Awards on Sunday night, making history in the process as the first Asian...
