Kerala State Film Award for Best Actress

The Kerala State Film Award for Best Actress is an honour presented annually at the Kerala State Film Awards of India since 1969 to an actress for the best performance in a leading role within the Malayalam film industry. Until 1997, the awards were managed directly by the Department of Cultural Affairs, Government of Kerala. Since 1998, the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy, an autonomous non-profit organisation functioning under the Department of Cultural Affairs, has been exercising control over the awards. The awardees, decided by an independent jury formed by the academy, are declared by the Minister for Cultural Affairs and are presented by the Chief Minister.

The 1st Kerala State Film Awards ceremony was held in 1970 with Sheela receiving the Best Actress award for her role in Kallichellamma (1969). The following year, Sharada was recognised for her performances in two films—Thriveni and Thara. Since then, several actresses have been awarded for more than one film during a year.

Throughout the years, accounting for ties and repeat winners, the Government of Kerala has presented a total of 49 Best Actress awards to 33 different actresses. Urvashi has been the most frequent winner in this category, with five awards. She is followed by Sheela and Srividya with three awards each. As of 2016, eight actresses—Jayabharathi, Seema, Samyuktha Varma, Suhasini Maniratnam, Navya Nair, Meera Jasmine, Kavya Madhavan, and Shweta Menon—have won the award two times in their careers. The 2005 ceremony was the only occasion when the category was tied; Kavya Madhavan and Geetu Mohandas shared the award for their performances in Perumazhakkalam, and Akale and Oridam respectively. Rajisha Vijayan is the most recipient, winning the award for her debut film Anuraga Karikkin Vellam (2016).