Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress

The Best Actress Award (French: Prix d'interprétation féminine) is an award presented at the Cannes Film Festival since 1946. It is given to an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance and chosen by the jury from the films in official competition slate at the festival.

Best Actress Award
Prix d'interprétation féminine (French)
2024 recipients, from left to right: Selena Gomez, Karla Sofía Gascón, Adriana Paz, and Zoe Saldaña
Awarded for	Best Performance by an Actress
Country	France
Presented by	Cannes Film Festival
First award	1946
Currently held by	Karla Sofía Gascón Selena Gomez Adriana Paz Zoe Saldaña Emilia Pérez (2024)
Website	www.festival-cannes.com/en/

At the 1st Cannes Film Festival held in 1946, Michèle Morgan was the first winner of this award for her performance in Pastoral Symphony, while Karla Sofía Gascón, Selena Gomez, Adriana Paz, and Zoe Saldaña are the most recent winners in this category for their roles in Emilia Pérez at the 77th Cannes Film Festival in 2024.

History

The award was first presented in 1946. The prize was not awarded on three occasions (1947, 1953, and 1954). The festival was not held at all in 1948, 1950, and 2020. In 1968, no awards were given as the festival was called off mid-way due to the May 1968 events in France.

On five occasions, the jury has awarded multiple women (more than 2) the prize for one film. The five films were A Big Family (1955), Brink of Life (1958), A World Apart (1988), Volver (2006), and Emilia Pérez (2024).

Vanessa Redgrave, Barbara Hershey, Helen Mirren, and Isabelle Huppert have won the most awards in this category, each winning twice. Hershey is the only actress to win the award in consecutive years, for Shy People (1987) and A World Apart (1988).

Isabelle Adjani is the only actress to win for roles in two different films in the same competition, for her performances in Possession and Quartet in 1981.

The award can be for lead or supporting roles, with the exception of the period from 1979 to 1981, when the festival used to award a separate "Best Supporting Actress" prize. The jury also, on occasion, cites actresses with a special citation that is separate from the main award.

Winners

Michèle Morgan was the first recipient for Pastoral Symphony (1946)

Bette Davis won for All About Eve (1950)

Jeanne Moreau won for Seven Days... Seven Nights (1960)

Sophia Loren won for Two Women (1961)

Katharine Hepburn won for Long Day's Journey into Night (1962)

Vanessa Redgrave won twice for Morgan – A Suitable Case for Treatment (1966) and Isadora (1969)

Isabelle Adjani won for two films in the same year, Possession and Quartet in 1981.

Isabelle Huppert won twice for Violette Nozière (1978) and The Piano Teacher (2001)

Dame Helen Mirren won twice for Cal (1984) and The Madness of King George (1995)

Meryl Streep won for A Cry in the Dark (1989)

Penélope Cruz won along with five of her castmates for Volver (2006)

Juliette Binoche won for Certified Copy (2010)

Kirsten Dunst won for Melancholia (2011)

Rooney Mara won for Carol (2015)

Renate Reinsve won for The Worst Person in the World (2021)

Table key

‡	Indicates the Best Supporting Actress winner

1940s

Year	Actress	Role(s)	English Title	Original Title	Ref.
1946	Michèle Morgan	Gertrude	Pastoral Symphony	La Symphonie pastorale	[1]
1949	Isa Miranda	Marta Manfredini	The Walls of Malapaga	Au-delà des grilles	[2]

1950s

Year	Actress	Role(s)	English Title	Original Title	Ref.
1951	Bette Davis	Margo Channing	All About Eve		[3]
1952	Lee Grant	The Shoplifter	Detective Story		[4]
1955 [A] [B]	Elena Dobronravova	Katya Travnikova	A Big Family	Больша́я семья́	[5]
	Vera Kuznetsova	Agafya Karpovna Zhurbina
	Klara Luchko	Lida Zhurbina
	Ekaterina Savinova	Dunyasha Zhurbina
	Iya Arepina	Tanya Zhurbina
	Larisa Kronberg	Zina Ivanova
1956 [A]	Susan Hayward	Lillian Roth	I'll Cry Tomorrow		[6]
1957	Giulietta Masina	Maria "Cabiria" Ceccarelli	Nights of Cabiria	Le notti di Cabiria	[7]
1958	Bibi Andersson[C]	Hjördis Petterson	Brink of Life	Nära livet	[8] [9]
	Eva Dahlbeck[C]	Stina Andersson
	Barbro Hiort af Ornäs[C]	Nurse Brita
	Ingrid Thulin[C]	Cecilia Ellius
1959	Simone Signoret	Alice Aisgill	Room at the Top		[10]

1960s

Year	Actress	Role(s)	English Title	Original Title	Ref.
1960	Melina Mercouri	Ilya	Never on Sunday	Ποτέ την Κυριακή	[11]
	Jeanne Moreau	Anne Desbarèdes	Seven Days... Seven Nights	Moderato cantabile
1961	Sophia Loren	Cesira	Two Women	La ciociara	[12]
1962	Katharine Hepburn[D]	Mary Cavan Tyrone	Long Day's Journey into Night		[13] [14]
	Rita Tushingham[D]	Josephine ("Jo")	A Taste of Honey
1963	Marina Vlady	Regina	The Conjugal Bed	L'ape regina	[15]
1964	Anne Bancroft	Jo Armitage	The Pumpkin Eater		[16]
	Barbara Barrie	Julie Cullen Richards	One Potato, Two Potato
1965	Samantha Eggar	Miranda Grey	The Collector		[17]
1966	Vanessa Redgrave	Leonie Delt	Morgan – A Suitable Case for Treatment		[18]
1967	Pia Degermark	Elvira Madigan	Elvira Madigan		[19] [20]
1969	Vanessa Redgrave	Isadora Duncan	Isadora		[21]

1970s

Year	Actress	Role(s)	English Title	Original Title	Ref.
1970	Ottavia Piccolo	Ersilia	Metello		[22]
1971	Kitty Winn	Helen Reeves	The Panic in Needle Park		[23]
1972	Susannah York	Cathryn	Images		[24]
1973	Joanne Woodward	Beatrice Hunsdorfer	The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds		[25]
1974	Marie-José Nat	Elle / Michel's wife	Violins at the Ball	Les Violons du bal	[26]
1975	Valérie Perrine	Honey Bruce	Lenny		[27]
1976	Dominique Sanda	Irene Carelli Ferramonti	The Inheritance	L'eredità Ferramonti	[28]
	Mari Törőcsik	Déryné	Mrs. Dery Where Are You?	Déryné hol van?
1977	Shelley Duvall	Mildred "Millie" Lammoreaux	3 Women		[29]
	Monique Mercure	Rose-Aimee Martin	J.A. Martin Photographer	J.A. Martin photographe
1978	Jill Clayburgh	Erica Benton	An Unmarried Woman		[30]
	Isabelle Huppert	Violette Nozière	Violette Nozière
1979	Sally Field	Norma Rae Webster	Norma Rae		[31] [32]
	/ Eva Mattes ‡	Marie	Woyzeck

1980s

Year	Actress	Role(s)	English Title	Original Title	Ref.
1980	Anouk Aimée	Marta Ponticelli	A Leap in the Dark	Salto nel vuoto	[33] [34]
	Milena Dravić ‡ #	Kaca	Special Treatment	Посебан третман
	Carla Gravina ‡ #	Carla	La terrazza
1981	Isabelle Adjani [E]	Anna / Helen	Possession		[35] [36]
		Marya 'Mado' Zelli	Quartet
	Elena Solovey ‡	Ona	Faktas	Группа крови „Ноль“
1982	Jadwiga Jankowska-Cieślak	Eva Szalanczky	Another Way	Egymásra nézve	[37]
1983	Hanna Schygulla	Eugenia	The Story of Piera	Storia di Piera	[38]
1984	Helen Mirren	Marcella	Cal		[39]
1985	Norma Aleandro	Alicia Marnet de Ibáñez	The Official Story	La Historia Oficial	[40]
	Cher	Florence "Rusty" Dennis	Mask
1986	Barbara Sukowa	Rosa Luxemburg	Rosa Luxemburg		[41]
	Fernanda Torres	The Woman	Love Me Forever or Never	Eu Sei que Vou Te Amar
1987	Barbara Hershey	Ruth	Shy People		[42]
1988	Barbara Hershey	Diana Roth	A World Apart		[43]
	Jodhi May	Molly Roth
	Linda Mvusi	Elsie
1989	Meryl Streep	Lindy Chamberlain	A Cry in the Dark		[44]

1990s

Year	Actress	Role(s)	English Title	Original Title	Ref.
1990	Krystyna Janda	Antonina 'Tonia' Dziwisz	Interrogation	Przesłuchanie	[45]
1991	/ Irène Jacob	Weronika / Véronique	The Double Life of Veronique	La double vie de Véronique	[46]
1992	Pernilla August	Anna Åkerblom Bergman	The Best Intentions	Den goda viljan	[47]
1993	Holly Hunter	Ada McGrath	The Piano		[48]
1994	Virna Lisi	Catherine de' Medici	La Reine Margot		[49]
1995	Helen Mirren	Queen Charlotte	The Madness of King George		[50]
1996	Brenda Blethyn	Cynthia Rose Purley	Secrets & Lies		[51]
1997	Kathy Burke	Valerie	Nil by Mouth		[52]
1998	Élodie Bouchez	Isabelle 'Isa' Tostin	The Dreamlife of Angels	La Vie rêvée des anges	[53]
	Natacha Régnier	Marie Thomas
1999	Séverine Caneele	Dominio	Humanité	L'humanité	[54]
	Émilie Dequenne	Rosetta	Rosetta

2000s

Year	Actress	Role(s)	English Title	Original Title	Ref.
2000	Björk	Selma Ježková	Dancer in the Dark		[55]
2001	Isabelle Huppert	Erika Kohut	The Piano Teacher	La Pianiste	[56]
2002	Kati Outinen	Irma	The Man Without a Past	Mies vailla menneisyyttä	[57]
2003	Marie-Josée Croze	Nathalie	The Barbarian Invasions	Les Invasions barbares	[58]
2004	/ Maggie Cheung	Emily Wang	Clean		[59]
2005	Hanna Laslo	Hanna	Free Zone		[60]
2006	Penélope Cruz	Raimunda	Volver		[61]
	Carmen Maura	Irene
	Lola Dueñas	Soledad ("Sole")
	Blanca Portillo	Agustina
	Yohana Cobo	Paula
	Chus Lampreave	Tía Paula
2007	Jeon Do-yeon	Lee Shin-ae	Secret Sunshine	밀양	[62]
2008	Sandra Corveloni	Cleuza	Linha de Passe		[63]
2009	/ Charlotte Gainsbourg	She	Antichrist		[64]

2010s

Year	Actress	Role(s)	English Title	Original Title	Ref.
2010	Juliette Binoche	The Woman	Certified Copy	Copie conforme	[65]
2011	/ Kirsten Dunst	Justine	Melancholia		[66]
2012	Cristina Flutur	Alina	Beyond the Hills	După dealuri	[67]
	Cosmina Stratan	Voichita
2013	/ Bérénice Bejo	Marie Brisson	The Past	Le passé / گذشته	[68]
2014	/ Julianne Moore	Havana Segrand	Maps to the Stars		[69]
2015	Emmanuelle Bercot	Marie-Antoinette Jézéquel	My King	Mon Roi	[70]
	Rooney Mara	Therese Belivet	Carol
2016	Jaclyn Jose	Rosa	Ma' Rosa		[71]
2017	/ Diane Kruger	Katja Sekerci	In the Fade	Aus dem Nichts	[72]
2018	Samal Yeslyamova	Ayka	Ayka	Айка	[73]
2019	/ Emily Beecham	Alice Woodard	Little Joe		[74]

2020s

Year	Actress	Role(s)	English Title	Original Title	Ref.
2021	Renate Reinsve	Julie	The Worst Person in the World	Verdens verste menneske	[75]
2022	/ Zar Amir Ebrahimi	Arezoo Rahimi	Holy Spider	عنکبوت مقدس	[76]
2023	Merve Dizdar	Nuray	About Dry Grasses	Kuru Otlar Üstüne	[77]
2024	Karla Sofía Gascón	Emilia Perez	Emilia Pérez		[78]
	Selena Gomez	Jessi del Monte
	Adriana Paz	Epifanía Flores
	/ Zoe Saldaña	Rita Mora Castro

Multiple winners

The following individuals have received multiple Best Actress awards:

Number of Wins	Actress	Nationality	Films
2	Barbara Hershey	United States	Shy People (1987) and A World Apart (1988)
	Helen Mirren	United Kingdom	Cal (1984) and The Madness of King George (1995)
	Isabelle Huppert	France	Violette Nozière (1978) and The Piano Teacher (2001)
	Vanessa Redgrave	United Kingdom	Morgan – A Suitable Case for Treatment (1966) and Isadora (1969)

See also

The following individuals have also received Best Actress award(s) at Venice or Berlin Film Festival.

Winning Year at Cannes	Actress	Festival	Year	English Title	Nationality
1951	Bette Davis	Venice	1937	Kid Galahad and Marked Woman	United States
1958	Bibi Andersson	Berlin	1963	The Mistress	Sweden
1959	Simone Signoret	Berlin	1971	Le Chat	France
1961	Sophia Loren	Venice	1958	The Black Orchid	Italy
1962	Katharine Hepburn	Venice	1934	Little Women	United States
1966 1969	Vanessa Redgrave	Venice ‡	1994	Little Odessa	England
1978 2001	Isabelle Huppert	Venice	1988	Story of Women	France
			1995	La Cérémonie
1981	Isabelle Adjani	Berlin	1989	Camille Claudel	France
1983	Hanna Schygulla	Berlin	1979	The Marriage of Maria Braun	Germany
1984 1995	Helen Mirren	Venice	2006	The Queen	England
1986	Barbara Sukowa	Venice	1981	Marianne and Juliane	Germany
1989	Meryl Streep	Berlin #	2003	The Hours	United States
1993	Holly Hunter	Berlin	1988	Broadcast News	United States
2004	Maggie Cheung	Berlin	1992	Center Stage	Hong Kong
2006	Penélope Cruz	Venice	2021	Parallel Mothers	Spain
2010	Juliette Binoche	Venice	1993	Three Colours: Blue	France
		Berlin	1997	The English Patient
2014	Julianne Moore	Venice	2002	Far from Heaven	United States
		Berlin #	2003	The Hours

Notes

A^ : This year the award was changed to Prix d'Interpretation (Acting Award), without gender differentiation.

B^ : The entire male and female cast of A Big Family (Больша́я семья́) was recipient of this award in a tie with Spencer Tracy for Bad Day at Black Rock.

C^ : This year award was given as Prix collectif d'interprétation féminine Un Certain Regard (Collective Female Acting Award – Un Certain Regard) to the female cast of Brink of Life (Nära livet).

D^ : This year award was given as Prix Le Premier Regard Un Certain Regard (Premiere Award – Un Certain Regard) to the lead male and female cast of Long Day's Journey into Night and A Taste of Honey (ex aequo).

E^ : Performer to receive a joint award which honor the outstanding work in multiple different films in the same official competition slate.