Country United Kingdom First awarded 1996 Category of Empire Awards | Presented by Empire magazine Instituted 1996 | |
Winners & Nominees Emma StoneLa La Land, Emma Stone, Nominee, Felicity JonesRogue One: A Star Wars Story, Felicity Jones, Nominee, Ruth NeggaLoving, Ruth Negga, Nominee, Natalie PortmanJackie, Natalie Portman, Nominee, Amy AdamsArrival, Amy Adams, Nominee, Alicia VikanderThe Danish Girl, Alicia Vikander, Winner, Brie LarsonRoom, Brie Larson, Nominee, Charlize TheronMad Max: Fury Road, Charlize Theron, Nominee, Emily BluntSicario, Emily Blunt, Nominee, Jennifer LawrenceThe Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2, Jennifer Lawrence, Nominee, Rosamund PikeGone Girl, Rosamund Pike, Winner, Felicity JonesThe Theory of Everything, Felicity Jones, Nominee, Emily BluntEdge of Tomorrow, Emily Blunt, Nominee, Alicia VikanderEx Machina, Alicia Vikander, Nominee, Keira KnightleyThe Imitation Game, Keira Knightley, Nominee, Emma ThompsonSaving Mr Banks, Emma Thompson, Winner, Cate BlanchettBlue Jasmine, Cate Blanchett, Nominee, Sandra BullockGravity, Sandra Bullock, Nominee, Amy AdamsAmerican Hustle, Amy Adams, Nominee, Jennifer LawrenceThe Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Jennifer Lawrence, Nominee, Jennifer LawrenceThe Hunger Games, Jennifer Lawrence, Winner, Jessica ChastainZero Dark Thirty, Jessica Chastain, Nominee, Anne HathawayThe Dark Knight Rises, Anne Hathaway, Nominee, Naomi WattsThe Impossible, Naomi Watts, Nominee, Judi DenchSkyfall, Judi Dench, Nominee | ||
The Empire Award for Best Actress is an Empire Award presented annually by the British film magazine Empire to honor an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance in a leading role while working within the film industry. The Empire Award for Best Actress is one of five ongoing awards which were first introduced at the 1st Empire Awards ceremony in 1996 (the others being Best Actor, Best Director, Best Film and Best British Film) with Nicole Kidman receiving the award for her role in To Die For. Winners are voted by the readers of Empire magazine.
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Since its inception, the award has been given to 19 actress. Nicole Kidman has received the most awards in this category with two awards. Cate Blanchett and Nicole Kidman were nominated on five occasions, more than any other actress. Alicia Vikander is the most recent winner in this category for her role in The Danish Girl.
Winners and nominees
In the list below, winners are listed first in boldface, followed by the other nominees. The number of the ceremony (1st, 2nd, etc.) appears in parentheses after the awards year, linked to the article (if any) on that ceremony.
Multiple awards
The following individual received two or more Best Actress awards:
Multiple nominations
The following individuals received two or more Best Actress nominations: