Oscar Best Actress Winners 2026: Full History & Past Winners List

The 2026 Best Actress race is heating up fast. The 98th Academy Awards ceremony happens on March 15, 2026. Jessie Buckley leads the pack right now after winning major awards like the Golden Globe and Critics’ Choice.

She earned praise for her raw performance in Hamnet. But Emma Stone wants her third Oscar win. Several other talented actresses could still pull off a surprise victory.

The Best Actress Oscar stands as one of Hollywood’s biggest honors. Janet Gaynor became the first winner back in 1929. Since then, this category has celebrated amazing talent and created unforgettable moments.

This guide gives you everything about the 2026 race plus the complete history of all winners from 1929 to 2025.

2026 Oscar Best Actress Nominees & Predictions

The Academy announced five nominees on January 22, 2026. Each performance brings something special to this year’s competition.

Nominee	Film	Studio	Status
Jessie Buckley	Hamnet	Focus Features	Frontrunner
Emma Stone	Bugonia	A24	Going for 3rd win
Rose Byrne	If I Had Legs I’d Kick You	A24	First nomination
Kate Hudson	Song Sung Blue	Focus Features	First nom in 25 years
Renate Reinsve	Sentimental Value	Neon	Second nomination

Jessie Buckley – Hamnet (Focus Features)

Buckley plays Agnes Shakespeare in this story about grief and motherhood in old England. She shows deep sorrow without making it feel fake or overdone. Critics and audiences love her work. She won Best Actress at the Golden Globes and Critics’ Choice Awards.

Most experts think she will win the Oscar too. Hamnet got eight Oscar nominations total. This proves the Academy really likes the film. Buckley earned her first Oscar nomination back in 2022 for The Lost Daughter. She lost that year but seems ready to win now.

Current prediction odds put her at 90% to win. She will probably triumph at BAFTA as well where Hamnet received 11 nominations.

Emma Stone – Bugonia (A24)

Stone teams up again with director Yorgos Lanthimos. She plays Michelle Fuller, a tech CEO who gets kidnapped by two men. They think she’s an alien. Stone makes the weird story feel real and funny at the same time.

This is her sixth Oscar nomination. She already won Best Actress twice. She got her first Oscar for La La Land in 2017. Then she won again for Poor Things in 2024. A third win would put her with Frances McDormand and Katharine Hepburn. But voters might not want to give her another Oscar so soon after last year.

Rose Byrne – If I Had Legs I’d Kick You (A24)

Byrne finally got her first Oscar nomination. She plays a complex mother dealing with hard emotions. Her film didn’t get nominated for Best Picture. That makes winning harder. But it’s not impossible.

Cate Blanchett, Julianne Moore, Renée Zellweger and Jessica Chastain all won Best Actress without their films getting Best Picture nominations. Byrne won the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy. That gives her some real momentum. Current odds put her at 7%.

Kate Hudson – Song Sung Blue (Focus Features)

Hudson comes back 25 years after her first nomination. She got nominated for Almost Famous back in 2001. She changed her body for this role. She gained 15 pounds and sings all her own songs. She plays Claire, a woman chasing her music dreams despite big problems.

The performance shows a different side of Hudson that people haven’t seen before. She got nominations from the Golden Globes, SAG and BAFTA. She missed Critics’ Choice though. Her film only got this one nomination. She needs to win some big precursor awards to have a real shot at the Oscar.

Renate Reinsve – Sentimental Value (Neon)

Reinsve works with director Joachim Trier again after The Worst Person in the World. She plays a woman dealing with depression and family pain. Her performance feels honest and deep. She missed the SAG nomination but still made it into the final five at the Oscars. Experts think her chances are lower than the other nominees. But she earned respect for her brave work.

Current Race Analysis

Prediction Breakdown:

• Jessie Buckley: 90%
• Rose Byrne: 7%
• Others: 3% combined

Key Dates:

• February 22: BAFTA Film Awards
• February 26-March 5: Final Oscar voting period
• March 1: SAG Actor Awards
• March 15: Oscar ceremony

Buckley already won at the Golden Globes and Critics’ Choice. The only way she loses is if another actress wins big at BAFTA or SAG. Those awards happen before Oscar voting closes.

Also check:

What’s New in 2026

The ceremony adds a new category this year. Best Casting becomes the 24th competitive Oscar category. This is the first new category since Best Animated Feature started in 2001. The Academy also made a new rule. Voters must watch all nominated films in each category before they can vote in the final round.

Ryan Coogler’s Sinners broke the all-time nomination record. It got 16 nominations. That beats the old record of 14. All About Eve (1950), Titanic (1997) and La La Land (2016) held that record before. The film also broke the record for most Black individuals nominated for a single film. Ten people from Sinners got nominations.

Also Check: 2026 Oscar Winners List

Recent Best Actress Winners (2020-2025)

The last six years show the range of this category. Winners include intimate character studies and big sci-fi adventures.

Year	Winner	Film	Notable
2025	Mikey Madison	Anora	Breakout performance
2024	Emma Stone	Poor Things	2nd win
2023	Michelle Yeoh	Everything Everywhere All at Once	First Asian woman to win
2022	Jessica Chastain	The Eyes of Tammy Faye	Transformative role
2021	Frances McDormand	Nomadland	3rd win
2020	Renée Zellweger	Judy	Comeback role

2025: Mikey Madison – Anora

Madison won for her breakout role in Sean Baker’s film about a New York sex worker. Her victory helped independent cinema and introduced a major new talent.

2024: Emma Stone – Poor Things

Stone won her second Best Actress Oscar for playing Bella Baxter. The character is an adult woman with a child’s brain. The role required total commitment to weird and challenging moments. The film got 11 nominations and won four Oscars total.

2023: Michelle Yeoh – Everything Everywhere All at Once

Yeoh made history as the first Asian woman to win Best Actress. She plays a laundromat owner who must travel through different universes to save reality. She was 60 years old. Her acceptance speech became one of the most memorable in Oscar history.

2022: Jessica Chastain – The Eyes of Tammy Faye

Chastain transformed herself to play televangelist Tammy Faye Bakker. She wore lots of makeup to look like the real person. She showed both the public side and private struggles of this controversial figure.

2021: Frances McDormand – Nomadland

McDormand earned her third Best Actress Oscar. She also won Best Picture as a producer. She plays a woman who lives in a van after the Great Recession. This win put her with just two other performers who have three lead acting Oscars.

2020: Renée Zellweger – Judy

Zellweger swept awards season. She played Judy Garland during the final months of her life. The win gave Zellweger her second Oscar. She won Supporting Actress for Cold Mountain back in 2004.

Best Actress Records & Statistics

Most Wins

Rank	Actress	Wins	Films
1	Katharine Hepburn	4	Morning Glory, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, The Lion in Winter, On Golden Pond
2	Frances McDormand	3	Fargo, Three Billboards, Nomadland
3	13 actresses	2	Various films

Katharine Hepburn – 4 Wins (Record)

Hepburn is the only person to win four acting Oscars. No one else in any category has matched this. Her wins span almost 50 years. She won for Morning Glory (1933), Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (1967), The Lion in Winter (1968) and On Golden Pond (1981). She tied with Barbra Streisand for the 1968 win. Streisand won for Funny Girl. This is the only tie in Best Actress history.

Frances McDormand – 3 Wins

McDormand joined the three-time winners club in 2021. She won for Fargo (1996), Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017) and Nomadland (2020). She disappears into her characters. She doesn’t just play versions of herself. That makes her different from typical movie stars.

Two-Time Winners (13 Actresses): Emma Stone, Meryl Streep, Hilary Swank, Jodie Foster, Sally Field, Jane Fonda, Vivien Leigh, Bette Davis, Olivia de Havilland, Glenda Jackson, Luise Rainer, Ingrid Bergman and Elizabeth Taylor.

Most Nominations

Rank	Actress	Nominations	Wins
1	Meryl Streep	17	2
2	Katharine Hepburn	12	4
3	Bette Davis	10	2
4	Glenn Close	8	0
5	Greer Garson	7	1

Meryl Streep holds the record with 17 Best Actress nominations. She won twice for Sophie’s Choice (1982) and The Iron Lady (2011). Her nominations span from 1979 to 2018. That’s four decades of great work. She has 21 total Oscar nominations including Supporting Actress. That’s more than any actor in history.

Katharine Hepburn comes second with 12 Best Actress nominations. She won four times. That’s a 33% success rate.

Age Records

Record	Actress	Age	Film	Year
Youngest Winner	Marlee Matlin	21	Children of a Lesser God	1986
Oldest Winner	Jessica Tandy	80	Driving Miss Daisy	1989
Youngest Nominee	Quvenzhané Wallis	9	Beasts of the Southern Wild	2012
Oldest Nominee	Emmanuelle Riva	85	Amour	2012

Marlee Matlin became the youngest winner at age 21 for Children of a Lesser God in 1986. She also became the first deaf performer to win an acting Oscar. Jessica Tandy became the oldest winner at age 80 for Driving Miss Daisy in 1989. She proved Oscar glory can come at any age.

Historic Moments

The first winner was Janet Gaynor in 1929. She won for three films including 7th Heaven, Street Angel and Sunrise. The only tie happened in 1969 between Katharine Hepburn and Barbra Streisand. Halle Berry became the first Black winner for Monster’s Ball in 2001. Michelle Yeoh became the first Asian winner for Everything Everywhere All at Once in 2023. No Latina actress has won Best Actress yet. Greer Garson got nominated five years in a row from 1941 to 1945.

Complete Best Actress Winners List (1929-2025)

Year	Winner	Film
2025	To be determined March 15, 2026	–
2024	Mikey Madison	Anora
2023	Emma Stone	Poor Things
2022	Michelle Yeoh	Everything Everywhere All at Once
2021	Jessica Chastain	The Eyes of Tammy Faye
2020	Frances McDormand	Nomadland
2019	Renée Zellweger	Judy
2018	Olivia Colman	The Favourite
2017	Frances McDormand	Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
2016	Emma Stone	La La Land
2015	Brie Larson	Room
2014	Julianne Moore	Still Alice
2013	Cate Blanchett	Blue Jasmine
2012	Jennifer Lawrence	Silver Linings Playbook
2011	Meryl Streep	The Iron Lady
2010	Natalie Portman	Black Swan
2009	Sandra Bullock	The Blind Side
2008	Kate Winslet	The Reader
2007	Marion Cotillard	La Vie en Rose
2006	Helen Mirren	The Queen
2005	Reese Witherspoon	Walk the Line
2004	Hilary Swank	Million Dollar Baby
2003	Charlize Theron	Monster
2002	Nicole Kidman	The Hours
2001	Halle Berry	Monster’s Ball
2000	Julia Roberts	Erin Brockovich
1999	Hilary Swank	Boys Don’t Cry
1998	Gwyneth Paltrow	Shakespeare in Love
1997	Helen Hunt	As Good as It Gets
1996	Frances McDormand	Fargo
1995	Susan Sarandon	Dead Man Walking
1994	Jessica Lange	Blue Sky
1993	Holly Hunter	The Piano
1992	Emma Thompson	Howards End
1991	Jodie Foster	The Silence of the Lambs
1990	Kathy Bates	Misery
1989	Jessica Tandy	Driving Miss Daisy
1988	Jodie Foster	The Accused
1987	Cher	Moonstruck
1986	Marlee Matlin	Children of a Lesser God
1985	Geraldine Page	The Trip to Bountiful
1984	Sally Field	Places in the Heart
1983	Shirley MacLaine	Terms of Endearment
1982	Meryl Streep	Sophie’s Choice
1981	Katharine Hepburn	On Golden Pond
1980	Sissy Spacek	Coal Miner’s Daughter
1979	Sally Field	Norma Rae
1978	Jane Fonda	Coming Home
1977	Diane Keaton	Annie Hall
1976	Faye Dunaway	Network
1975	Louise Fletcher	One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
1974	Ellen Burstyn	Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore
1973	Glenda Jackson	A Touch of Class
1972	Liza Minnelli	Cabaret
1971	Jane Fonda	Klute
1970	Glenda Jackson	Women in Love
1969	Maggie Smith	The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
1968	Katharine Hepburn & Barbra Streisand (TIE)	The Lion in Winter / Funny Girl
1967	Katharine Hepburn	Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner
1966	Elizabeth Taylor	Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
1965	Julie Christie	Darling
1964	Julie Andrews	Mary Poppins
1963	Patricia Neal	Hud
1962	Anne Bancroft	The Miracle Worker
1961	Sophia Loren	Two Women
1960	Elizabeth Taylor	BUtterfield 8
1959	Simone Signoret	Room at the Top
1958	Susan Hayward	I Want to Live!
1957	Joanne Woodward	The Three Faces of Eve
1956	Ingrid Bergman	Anastasia
1955	Anna Magnani	The Rose Tattoo
1954	Grace Kelly	The Country Girl
1953	Audrey Hepburn	Roman Holiday
1952	Shirley Booth	Come Back, Little Sheba
1951	Vivien Leigh	A Streetcar Named Desire
1950	Judy Holliday	Born Yesterday
1949	Olivia de Havilland	The Heiress
1948	Jane Wyman	Johnny Belinda
1947	Loretta Young	The Farmer’s Daughter
1946	Olivia de Havilland	To Each His Own
1945	Joan Crawford	Mildred Pierce
1944	Ingrid Bergman	Gaslight
1943	Jennifer Jones	The Song of Bernadette
1942	Greer Garson	Mrs. Miniver
1941	Joan Fontaine	Suspicion
1940	Ginger Rogers	Kitty Foyle
1939	Vivien Leigh	Gone with the Wind
1938	Bette Davis	Jezebel
1937	Luise Rainer	The Good Earth
1936	Luise Rainer	The Great Ziegfeld
1935	Bette Davis	Dangerous
1934	Claudette Colbert	It Happened One Night
1933	Katharine Hepburn	Morning Glory
1932	Helen Hayes	The Sin of Madelon Claudet
1931	Marie Dressler	Min and Bill
1930	Mary Pickford	Coquette
1929	Janet Gaynor	7th Heaven, Street Angel, Sunrise

Notable Best Actress Performances & Films

Some Oscar wins stand out more than others. These performances became cultural touchstones.

Vivien Leigh – Gone with the Wind (1939)

Leigh created one of cinema’s most famous characters as Scarlett O’Hara. The film became the biggest success of Hollywood’s Golden Age. Scarlett showed determination and complexity that still resonates today.

Katharine Hepburn – On Golden Pond (1981)

Hepburn won her fourth and final Oscar at age 74. She played opposite Henry Fonda in this story about aging and family. The performance showed warmth and wisdom. It capped her legendary career perfectly.

Meryl Streep – Sophie’s Choice (1982)

Many people think this is the greatest Best Actress performance ever. Streep learned a Polish accent. She handled impossibly difficult emotions. The final scene shows acting at its highest level.

Jodie Foster – The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

Foster played FBI trainee Clarice Starling. She showed intelligence and vulnerability at the same time. The performance helped the film win all five major Oscars. Only three films ever did that.

Halle Berry – Monster’s Ball (2001)

Berry became the first Black woman to win Best Actress. That happened at the 74th Academy Awards. It took too long for this barrier to break. Her raw and emotional performance earned the recognition.

Michelle Yeoh – Everything Everywhere All at Once (2023)

Yeoh made history as the first Asian woman to win Best Actress. She balanced action, emotion, comedy and drama. She played multiple versions of her character across different universes. The role required incredible range.

2026 Oscar Ceremony Special Features

Best Casting Becomes Official Category

The Academy added Best Casting as the 24th competitive category. This is the first new category since 2001. Casting directors play a huge role in making films work. They finally get recognition for their work. The nominees for this category will be chosen by the Casting Directors Branch within the Academy. The branch was established in 2013 and has about 160 members.

Record-Breaking Nominations for Sinners

Ryan Coogler’s Sinners got 16 Oscar nominations. That breaks the all-time record. All About Eve (1950), Titanic (1997) and La La Land (2016) held the old record at 14 nominations. The film also broke the record for most Black individuals nominated for a single film. Ten people from Sinners got nominations. The studio Warner Bros. Pictures earned 30 nominations total. That tied its own record from 2005.

New Voting Rules

The Academy made an important rule change. Voters must watch all nominated films in each category before voting. The Academy tracks viewing through its screening platform. This should make voting more informed and fair. The rule started with the 2026 Oscars. Members who don’t watch all nominees can’t vote in that category’s final round.

How Best Actress Winners Are Chosen

The Nomination Process

The Actors Branch picks the nominees. About 1,300 members work in this branch. They include actors, casting directors and other professionals. They use a system called single transferable vote. Each voter ranks their choices. Through multiple rounds of counting, the top five emerge. This system started in 1937. That’s when the category got limited to five nominees.

Films must have a qualifying theatrical run in Los Angeles County. The run must happen during the calendar year. That makes the film eligible.

Winner Selection

All Academy members vote for the winner. About 9,500 people vote across all branches. Members don’t need to be actors to vote in acting categories. They use a simple system. Whoever gets the most votes wins. The Academy counts the votes carefully. They announce the winner at the ceremony.

Starting in 2026, voters must watch all nominees before voting. The Academy checks viewing records through its platform.

Precursor Awards Influence

Other awards happen before the Oscars. These awards often predict the winner.

• Golden Globes – The Hollywood Foreign Press splits actresses into Drama and Musical/Comedy. Winning either category helps. Drama wins matter more for Oscar prediction.
• SAG Awards (Actor Awards) – SAG voters overlap with Academy actors. A SAG win used to predict the Oscar really well. But the connection has gotten weaker lately.
• BAFTA – The British Academy’s Best Actress winner often matches the Oscar winner. This makes BAFTA one of the best predictors.
• Critics’ Choice Awards – This award happens early. It can build or hurt campaigns. But it predicts less well than SAG or BAFTA.

Winning all four major precursors almost guarantees an Oscar win. Split decisions create suspense before the ceremony.

Frequently Asked Questions

The 98th Academy Awards on March 15, 2026 will add another name to the Best Actress winners list. Jessie Buckley leads the race with strong momentum from precursor wins. The ceremony airs live on ABC and Hulu at 7:00 PM ET.