Country Australia Category of AACTA Awards | First awarded 1971 Instituted 1971 | |
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Awarded for To identify, award, promote and celebrate Australia's greatest achievements in film and television. Currently held by Odessa Young for The Daughter (2016) Presented by Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts People also search for AACTA Award for Best Lead Actor Winners & Nominees Odessa YoungThe Daughter, Odessa Young, Winner, Maggie NaouriJoe Cinque's Consolation, Maggie Naouri, Nominee, Maeve DermodyPawno, Maeve Dermody, Nominee, Teresa PalmerHacksaw Ridge, Teresa Palmer, Nominee, Kate WinsletThe Dressmaker, Kate Winslet, Winner, Robyn ButlerNow Add Honey, Robyn Butler, Nominee, Charlize TheronMad Max: Fury Road, Charlize Theron, Nominee, Ningali LawfordLast Cab to Darwin, Ningali Lawford, Nominee, Sarah SnookPredestination, Sarah Snook, Winner, Essie DavisThe Babadook, Essie Davis, Nominee, Mia WasikowskaTracks, Mia Wasikowska, Nominee, Kate BoxThe Little Death, Kate Box, Nominee, Rose ByrneThe Turning, Rose Byrne, Winner, Naomi WattsAdore, Naomi Watts, Nominee, Carey MulliganThe Great Gatsby, Carey Mulligan, Nominee, Tasma WaltonMystery Road, Tasma Walton, Nominee, Deborah MailmanThe Sapphires, Deborah Mailman, Winner, Felicity PriceWish You Were Here, Felicity Price, Nominee, Toni ColletteMental, Toni Collette, Nominee, Sarah SnookNot Suitable for Children, Sarah Snook, Nominee | ||
The AACTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role is an award presented by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA), a non-profit organisation whose aim is to "identify, award, promote and celebrate Australia's greatest achievements in film and television." The award is presented at the annual AACTA Awards, which hands out accolades for achievements in feature films, television, documentaries and short films. From 1971–2010, the category was presented by the Australian Film Institute (AFI), the Academy's parent organisation, at the annual Australian Film Institute Awards (known as the AFI Awards). When the AFI launched the Academy in 2011, it changed the annual ceremony to the AACTA Awards, with the current award being a continuum of the AFI Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role.
It was presented as a special award, from 1971–1975, and was accompanied with a cash prize, before it became a competitive award from 1976, onward. Judy Davis is the most nominated actress in this category, with five wins from eight nominations, most recently for her role in The Eye of the Storm (2011).
Candidates for this award must be human and female, and cannot be nominated for the same role in the supporting actress category.
Winners and nominees
In the following table, the years listed correspond to the year of film release; the ceremonies are usually held the same year. The actress in bold and in dark blue background have received a special award; those in bold and in yellow background have won a regular competitive award. Those that are neither highlighted nor in bold are the nominees. When sorted chronologically, the table always lists the winning actress first and then the other nominees.