The Academy Award for Best Actress is an award presented annually by the
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It has been awarded since the
1st Academy Awards to an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance in a
leading role in a film released that year. The award is traditionally presented by the previous year's
Best Actor winner.
In the first three years of the awards, actors and actresses were nominated as the best individuals in their categories. At that time, all of their work during the qualifying period (as many as three films, in some cases) was listed after the award.[2] Despite this, at the
3rd Academy Awards, held in 1930, only one film was cited in each winner's award regardless of how many they were eligible to be considered for during that span.[3] The current system, in which an actress is nominated for a specific performance in a single film, was introduced for the
4th Academy Awards.[2] Starting with the
9th Academy Awards, held in 1937, the category was limited to a maximum five nominations per year.[2]
In the following table, the years are listed as per Academy convention, and generally correspond to the year of film release in
Los Angeles County; the ceremonies are always held the following year.[4] For the first five ceremonies, the eligibility period spanned twelve months, from August 1 to July 31.[5] For the 6th ceremony held in 1934, the eligibility period lasted from August 1, 1932, to December 31, 1933.[5] Since the 7th ceremony held in 1935, the period of eligibility became the full previous calendar year from January 1 to December 31.[5]
The following were nominated for their portrayals of the same fictional or non-fictional character in separate films (including variations of the original).
^The 2nd Academy Awards is unique in being the only occasion where there were no official nominees. Subsequent research by AMPAS has resulted in a list of unofficial or de facto nominees, based on records of which films were evaluated by the judges.
A12 : Rules at the time of the first three ceremonies allowed for a performer to receive a single nomination which could honor their work in more than one film.
Greta Garbo and
Norma Shearer were both nominated for two different roles in the same category. Current Academy rules forbid this from happening. No official reason was ever given as to why Shearer won the award for only one of the two films she was listed for.[105]
B^ :
Bette Davis's performance in Of Human Bondage was not nominated for an Oscar.[106] Several influential people at the time campaigned to have her name included on the list, so for that year (and the following year also) the Academy relaxed its rules and allowed a write-in vote.[107] Technically this meant that any performance was eligible to win the award, whether or not the person was an official nominee. While the Academy does not officially recognize this as a nomination for Davis,[108][109] it has included her in the list of nominees for the 1935 ceremony on its official website.[12]
C12 :
Katharine Hepburn and
Barbra Streisand received the same number of votes, resulting in both actresses receiving the award, according to Academy rules.[110]
The Academy Award for Best Actress is an award presented annually by the
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It has been awarded since the
1st Academy Awards to an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance in a
leading role in a film released that year. The award is traditionally presented by the previous year's
Best Actor winner.
In the first three years of the awards, actors and actresses were nominated as the best individuals in their categories. At that time, all of their work during the qualifying period (as many as three films, in some cases) was listed after the award.[2] Despite this, at the
3rd Academy Awards, held in 1930, only one film was cited in each winner's award regardless of how many they were eligible to be considered for during that span.[3] The current system, in which an actress is nominated for a specific performance in a single film, was introduced for the
4th Academy Awards.[2] Starting with the
9th Academy Awards, held in 1937, the category was limited to a maximum five nominations per year.[2]
In the following table, the years are listed as per Academy convention, and generally correspond to the year of film release in
Los Angeles County; the ceremonies are always held the following year.[4] For the first five ceremonies, the eligibility period spanned twelve months, from August 1 to July 31.[5] For the 6th ceremony held in 1934, the eligibility period lasted from August 1, 1932, to December 31, 1933.[5] Since the 7th ceremony held in 1935, the period of eligibility became the full previous calendar year from January 1 to December 31.[5]
The following were nominated for their portrayals of the same fictional or non-fictional character in separate films (including variations of the original).
^The 2nd Academy Awards is unique in being the only occasion where there were no official nominees. Subsequent research by AMPAS has resulted in a list of unofficial or de facto nominees, based on records of which films were evaluated by the judges.
A12 : Rules at the time of the first three ceremonies allowed for a performer to receive a single nomination which could honor their work in more than one film.
Greta Garbo and
Norma Shearer were both nominated for two different roles in the same category. Current Academy rules forbid this from happening. No official reason was ever given as to why Shearer won the award for only one of the two films she was listed for.[105]
B^ :
Bette Davis's performance in Of Human Bondage was not nominated for an Oscar.[106] Several influential people at the time campaigned to have her name included on the list, so for that year (and the following year also) the Academy relaxed its rules and allowed a write-in vote.[107] Technically this meant that any performance was eligible to win the award, whether or not the person was an official nominee. While the Academy does not officially recognize this as a nomination for Davis,[108][109] it has included her in the list of nominees for the 1935 ceremony on its official website.[12]
C12 :
Katharine Hepburn and
Barbra Streisand received the same number of votes, resulting in both actresses receiving the award, according to Academy rules.[110]