TONY AWARD FOR BEST PERFORMANCE BY A LEADING ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL

(Redirected from Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical)
The 'Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical' is awarded to the actress who was voted as the best actress in a musical, whether a new production or a revival. The award has been announced since 1948, but the nominees who did not win have only been announced since 1956.
In the lists below, the winner is displayed first, the non-winning nominees second.

Contents

1940s

1950s

1960s

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s

Multiple Winners

Multiple Nominees

Trivia

1940s

★ 1948' Grace Hartman in ''Angel in the Wings'' as "Nettie / Mrs. Blodgett / Ruth / Mrs. Hutchinson"

★ 1949' Nanette Fabray in ''Love Life'' as "Susan Cooper"

1950s

★ 1950 'Mary Martin in ''South Pacific'' as "Nellie Forbush"

★ 1951' Ethel Merman in ''Call Me Madam'' as "Sally Adams"

★ 1952' Gertrude Lawrence in ''The King and I'' as "Anna Leonowens"

★ 1953' Rosalind Russell in ''Wonderful Town'' as "Ruth Sherwood"

★ 1954' Dolores Gray in ''Carnival in Flanders'' as "Cornelia"

★ 1955' Mary Martin in ''Peter Pan'' as "Peter
Pan"

★ 1956' Gwen Verdon in ''Damn Yankees'' as "Lola"

★
★ Carol Channing in ''The Vamp'' as "Flora Weems"

★
★ Nancy Walker in ''Phoenix '55'' as "A Funny Heart" Performer / "Down to the Sea" Performer / "Finale" Performer / "Tomorrow Is Here" Performer / Annie Snodgrass / Chickie Popjoy / Millie Wubble / The Maiden"

★ 1957' Judy Holliday in ''Bells Are Ringing'' as "Ella Peterson"

★
★ Julie Andrews in ''My Fair Lady'' as "Eliza Doolittle"

★
★ Ethel Merman in ''Happy Hunting'' as "Liz Livingstone"

★ 1958' (tie) Thelma Ritter in ''New Girl In Town'' as "Marthy"; Gwen Verdon in ''New Girl In Town'' as "Anna"

★
★ Lena Horne in ''Jamaica'' as "Savannah"

★
★ Beatrice Lillie in ''Ziegfeld Follies'' as "Hostess / Kabuki Lil / Lucille / Singer / The Lady / The Original Cast / The Rajah's Favorite"

★ 1959' Gwen Verdon in ''Redhead'' as "Essie Whimple"

★
★ Miyoshi Umeki in ''Flower Drum Song'' as "Mei-Li"

1960s

★ 1960 'Mary Martin in ''The Sound of Music'' as "Maria Rainer"

★
★ Carol Burnett in ''Once Upon a Mattress'' as "Princess Winnifred"

★
★ Dolores Gray in ''Destry Rides Again'' as "Frenchy"

★
★ Eileen Herlie in ''Take Me Along'' as "Lily Miller"

★
★ Ethel Merman in '' as "Mama Rose"

★ 1961 'Elizabeth Seal in ''Irma La Douce'' as "Irma-La-Douce"

★
★ Julie Andrews in ''Camelot'' as "Guenevere"

★
★ Carol Channing in ''Show Girl'' as ""Calypso Pete" Performer" / ""My Kind of Love" Performer" / ""The Girl in the Show" Performer" / ""The Story of Marie" Performer" / "Carol's Musical Theatre" / "Lynn" / "Naomi" / "Report from Las Vegas" / "The Foreign Star" / "The Inside Story" / "The Palace Theatre"

★
★ Nancy Walker in ''Do Re Mi'' as "Kay Cram"

★ 1962' (tie) Anna Maria Alberghetti in ''Carnival!'' as "Lili"; Diahann Carroll in ''No Strings'' as "Barbara Woodruff"

★
★ Molly Picon in ''Milk and Honey'' as "Clara Weiss"

★
★ Elaine Stritch in ''Sail Away'' as "Mimi Paragon"

★ 1963' Vivien Leigh in ''Tovarich'' as "Tatiana"

★
★ Georgia Brown in ''Oliver!'' as "Nancy"

★
★ Nanette Fabray in ''Mr. President'' as "Nell Henderson"

★
★ Sally Ann Howes in ''Brigadoon'' as "Fiona MacLaren"

★ 1964' Carol Channing in ''Hello, Dolly!'' as "Dolly Levi"

★
★ Beatrice Lillie in ''High Spirits'' as "Madame Arcati"

★
★ Barbra Streisand in ''Funny Girl'' as "Fanny Brice"

★
★ Inga Swenson in ''110 in the Shade'' as "Lizzy Curry"

★ 1965' Liza Minnelli in ''Flora the Red Menace'' as "Flora"

★
★ Elizabeth Allen in ''Do I Hear a Waltz?'' as "Leona Samish"

★
★ Nancy Dussault in ''Bajour'' as "Emily Kirsten"

★
★ Inga Swenson in ''Baker Street'' as "Irene Adler"

★ 1966' Angela Lansbury in ''Mame'' as "Mame Dennis"

★
★ Barbara Harris in ''On a Clear Day You Can See Forever'' as "Daisy Gamble" / "Melinda"

★
★ Julie Harris in ''Skyscraper'' as "Georgina"

★
★ Gwen Verdon in ''Sweet Charity'' as "Charity Hope Valentine"

★ 1967' Barbara Harris in ''The Apple Tree'' as "Eve" / "Princess Barbara" / "Ella" / "Passionella"

★
★ Lotte Lenya in ''Cabaret'' as "Fraulein Schneider"

★
★ Mary Martin in ''I Do! I Do!'' as "She (Agnes)"

★
★ Louise Troy in ''Walking Happy'' as "Maggie Hobson"

★ 1968' (tie) Patricia Routledge in ''Darling of the Day'' as "Alice Challice"; Leslie Uggams in ''Hallelujah, Baby!'' as "Georgina"

★
★ Melina Mercouri in ''Illya Darling'' as "Illya"

★
★ Brenda Vaccaro in ''How Now, Dow Jones'' as "Cynthia"

★ 1969' Angela Lansbury in ''Dear World'' as "Countess Aurelia"

★
★ Maria Karnilova in ''Zorba'' as "Madame Hortense"

★
★ Dorothy Loudon in ''The Fig Leaves Are Falling'' as "Lillian Stone"

★
★ Jill O'Hara in ''Promises, Promises'' as "Fran Kubelik"

1970s

★ 1970' Lauren Bacall in ''Applause'' as "Margo Channing"

★
★ Katharine Hepburn in ''Coco'' as "Coco Chanel"

★
★ Dilys Watling in ''Georgy'' as "Georgy"

★ 1971 'Helen Gallagher in ''No, No Nanette'' as "Lucille Early"

★
★ Susan Browning in ''Company'' as "April"

★
★ Sandy Duncan in ''The Boy Friend'' as "Maisie"

★
★ Elaine Stritch in ''Company'' as "Joanne"

★ 1972 'Alexis Smith in ''Follies'' as "Phyllis Rogers Stone"

★
★ Jonelle Allen in ''Two Gentlemen of Verona'' as "Silvia"

★
★ Dorothy Collins in ''Follies'' as "Sally Durant Plummer"

★
★ Mildred Natwick in ''70, Girls, 70'' as "Ida Dodd"

★ 1973 'Glynis Johns in ''A Little Night Music'' as "Desiree Armfeldt"

★
★ Leland Palmer in ''Pippin'' as "Fastrada"

★
★ Debbie Reynolds in ''Irene'' as "Irene O'Dare"

★
★ Marcia Rodd in ''Shelter'' as "Maud"

★ 1974' Virginia Capers in ''Raisin'' as "Lena Younger"

★
★ Carol Channing in ''Lorelei'' as "Dessert" / "Lorelei Lee"

★
★ Michele Lee in ''Seesaw'' as "Gittel Mosca"

★ 1975' Angela Lansbury in '' as "Mama Rose"

★
★ Lola Falana in ''Doctor Jazz'' as "Edna Mae Sheridan"

★
★ Bernadette Peters in ''Mack and Mabel'' as "Mabel Normand"

★
★ Ann Reinking in ''Goodtime Charley'' as "Joan of Arc"

★ 1976' Donna McKechnie in ''A Chorus Line'' as "Cassie"

★
★ Vivian Reed in ''Bubbling Brown Sugar'' as "Marsha" / "Young Irene"

★
★ Chita Rivera in ''Chicago'' as "Velma Kelly"

★
★ Gwen Verdon in ''Chicago'' as "Roxie Hart"

★ 1977' Dorothy Loudon in ''Annie'' as "Miss Hannigan"

★
★ Clamma Dale in ''Porgy and Bess'' as "Bess"

★
★ Ernestine Jackson in ''Guys and Dolls'' as "Sarah Brown"

★
★ Andrea McArdle in ''Annie'' as "Annie"

★ 1978' Liza Minnelli in ''The Act'' as "Michelle Craig"

★
★ Madeline Kahn in ''On the Twentieth Century'' as "Lily Garland"

★
★ Eartha Kitt in ''Timbuktu!'' as "Shaleem-La-Lume"

★
★ Frances Sternhagen in ''Angel'' as "Eliza Gant"

★ 1979' Angela Lansbury in ''Sweeney Todd'' as "Mrs. Lovett"

★
★ Tovah Feldshuh in ''Sarava'' as "Flor"

★
★ Dorothy Loudon in ''Ballroom'' as "Bea Asher"

★
★ Alexis Smith in ''Platinum'' as "Lila Halliday"

1980s

★ 1980' Patti LuPone in ''Evita'' as "Eva Peron"

★
★ Christine Andreas in ''Oklahoma!'' as "Laurey"

★
★ Sandy Duncan in ''Peter Pan'' as "Peter Pan"

★
★ Ann Miller in ''Sugar Babies'' as "Ann"

★ 1981' Lauren Bacall in ''Woman of the Year'' as "Tess Harding"

★
★ Meg Bussert in ''Brigadoon'' as "Fiona MacLaren"

★
★ Chita Rivera in ''Bring Back Birdie'' as "Rose Grant"

★
★ Linda Ronstadt in ''The Pirates of Penzance'' as "Mabel"

★ 1982' Jennifer Holliday in ''Dreamgirls'' as "Effie Melody White"

★
★ Lisa Mordente in ''Marlowe'' as "Emelia Bossano"

★
★ Mary Gordon Murray in ''Little Me'' as "Belle"

★
★ Sheryl Lee Ralph in ''Dreamgirls'' as "Deena Jones"

★ 1983' Natalia Makarova in ''On Your Toes'' as "Vera Barnova" / "Princess Zenobia" / "Strip Tease Girl"

★
★ Lonette McKee in ''Show Boat'' as "Julie"

★
★ Chita Rivera in ''Merlin'' as "The Queen"

★
★ Twiggy in ''My One and Only'' as "Edith Herbert"

★ 1984 'Chita Rivera in ''The Rink'' as "Anna"

★
★ Rhetta Hughes in ''Amen Corner'' as "Margaret Alexander"

★
★ Liza Minnelli in ''The Rink'' as "Angel"

★
★ Bernadette Peters in ''Sunday in the Park with George'' as "Dot" / "Marie"

★ 1985 - Due to a lack of successful musicals, there were no actresses nominated in this category in 1985

★ 1986 'Bernadette Peters in ''Song and Dance'' as "Emma"

★
★ Debbie Allen in ''Sweet Charity'' as "Charity Hope Valentine"

★
★ Cleo Laine in ''The Mystery of Edwin Drood'' as "The Princess Puffer" / "Miss Angela Prysock"

★
★ Chita Rivera in ''Jerry's Girls'' as "Performer"

★ 1987' Maryann Plunkett in ''Me and My Girl'' as "Sally Smith"

★
★ Catherine Cox in ''Oh Coward!'' as "Performer"

★
★ Teresa Stratas in ''Rags'' as "Rebecca Hershkowitz"

★ 1988 'Joanna Gleason in ''Into the Woods'' as "The Baker's Wife"

★
★ Alison Fraser in ''Romance/Romance'' as "Josefine Weninger" / "Monica"

★
★ Judy Kuhn in ''Chess'' as "Florence"

★
★ Patti LuPone in ''Anything Goes'' as "Reno Sweeney"

★ 1989 'Ruth Brown in ''Black and Blue'' as "Singer"

★
★ Charlotte d'Amboise in ''Jerome Robbins' Broadway'' as "Anita" / "Company Member of "...Forum"" / "Peter Pan"

★
★ Linda Hopkins in ''Black and Blue'' as "Singer"

★
★ Sharon McNight in ''Starmites'' as "Diva / Mother"

1990s

★ 1990 'Tyne Daly in '' as "Mama Rose"

★
★ Georgia Brown in ''Threepenny Opera'' as "Mrs. Peachum"

★
★ Beth Fowler in ''Sweeney Todd'' as "Mrs. Lovett"

★
★ Liliane Montevecchi in ''Grand Hotel'' as "Elizaveta Grushinskaya"

★ 1991' Lea Salonga in ''Miss Saigon'' as "Kim"

★
★ June Angela in '' as "Lady Mariko"

★
★ Dee Hoty in ''The Will Rogers Follies'' as "Betty Blake"

★
★ Cathy Rigby in ''Peter Pan'' as "Peter Pan"

★ 1992 'Faith Prince in ''Guys and Dolls'' as "Miss Adelaide"

★
★ Jodi Benson in ''Crazy for You'' as "Polly Baker"

★
★ Josie de Guzman in ''Guys and Dolls'' as "Sarah Brown"

★
★ Sophie Hayden in ''The Most Happy Fella'' as "Rosabella"

★ 1993' Chita Rivera in ''Kiss of the Spider Woman'' as "Aurora" / "Spider Woman"

★
★ Ann Crumb in ''Anna Karenina'' as "Anna Karenina"

★
★ Stephanie Lawrence in ''Blood Brothers'' as "Mrs. Johnstone"

★
★ Bernadette Peters in ''The Goodbye Girl'' as "Paula"

★ 1994' Donna Murphy in ''Passion'' as "Fosca"

★
★ Susan Egan in ''Beauty and the Beast'' as "Belle"

★
★ Dee Hoty in ''The Best Little Whorehouse Goes Public'' as "Mona Stangley"

★
★ Judy Kuhn in ''She Loves Me'' as "Amalia Balash"

★ 1995 'Glenn Close in ''Sunset Boulevard'' as "Norma Desmond"

★
★ Rebecca Luker in ''Show Boat'' as "Magnolia"

★ 1996 'Donna Murphy in ''The King and I'' as "Anna Leonowens"

★
★ Julie Andrews in ''Victor/Victoria'' as "Victoria Grant" (did not accept nomination)

★
★ Crista Moore in ''Big - The Musical'' as "Susan"

★
★ Daphne Rubin-Vega in ''Rent'' as "Mimi Marquez"

★ 1997' Bebe Neuwirth in ''Chicago'' as "Velma Kelly"

★
★ Pamela Isaacs in ''The Life'' as "Queen"

★
★ Tonya Pinkins in ''Play On!'' as "Lady Liv"

★
★ Karen Ziemba in ''Steel Pier'' as "Rita Racine"

★ 1998' Natasha Richardson in ''Cabaret'' as "Sally Bowles"

★
★ Betty Buckley in ''Triumph of Love'' as "Hesione"

★
★ Marin Mazzie in ''Ragtime'' as "Mother"

★
★ Alice Ripley and Emily Skinner in ''Side Show'' as "Violet Hilton" and "Daisy Hilton"

★ 1999' Bernadette Peters in ''Annie Get Your Gun'' as "Annie Oakley"

★
★ Carolee Carmello in ''Parade'' as "Lucille Frank"

★
★ Dee Hoty in ''Footloose'' as "Vi Moore"

★
★ Sian Phillips in ''Marlene'' as "Marlene Dietrich"

2000s

★ '2000 Heather Headley in ''Aida'' as "Aida"

★
★ Toni Collette in ''The Wild Party'' as "Queenie"

★
★ Rebecca Luker in ''The Music Man'' as "Marian Paroo"

★
★ Marin Mazzie in ''Kiss Me, Kate'' as "Lilli Vanessi" / "Katharine"

★
★ Audra McDonald in ''Marie Christine'' as "Marie Christine L'Adrese"

★ '2001 Christine Ebersole in ''42nd Street'' as "Dorothy Brock"

★
★ Blythe Danner in ''Follies'' as "Phyllis Rogers Stone"

★
★ Randy Graff in ''A Class Act'' as "Sophie"

★
★ Faith Prince in ''Bells Are Ringing'' as "Ella Peterson"

★
★ Marla Schaffel in ''Jane Eyre'' as "Jane Eyre"

★ '2002 Sutton Foster in ''Thoroughly Modern Millie'' as "Millie Dillmount"

★
★ Louise Pitre in ''Mamma Mia!'' as "Donna Sheridan "

★
★ Vanessa Williams in ''Into the Woods'' as "The Witch"

★
★ Nancy Opel in ''Urinetown'' as "Penelope Pennywise"

★
★ Jennifer Laura Thompson in ''Urinetown'' as "Hope Cladwell"

★ '2003 Marissa Jaret Winokur in ''Hairspray'' as "Tracy Turnblad"

★
★ Melissa Errico in ''Amour'' as "Isabelle"

★
★ Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio in ''Man of La Mancha'' as "Aldonza" / "Dulcinea"

★
★ Elizabeth Parkinson in ''Movin' Out'' as "Brenda"

★
★ Bernadette Peters in '' as "Mama Rose"

★ '2004 Idina Menzel in ''Wicked'' as "Elphaba"

★
★ Kristin Chenoweth in ''Wicked'' as "Glinda"

★
★ Stephanie D'Abruzzo in ''Avenue Q'' as "Kate Monster" / "Lucy T. Slut"

★
★ Donna Murphy in ''Wonderful Town'' as "Ruth Sherwood"

★
★ Tonya Pinkins in ''Caroline, or Change'' as "Caroline Thibodeaux"

★ '2005 Victoria Clark in ''The Light in the Piazza'' as "Margaret Johnson"

★
★ Christina Applegate in ''Sweet Charity'' as "Charity Hope Valentine"

★
★ Erin Dilly in ''Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'' "Truly Scrumptious"

★
★ Sutton Foster in ''Little Women'' as "Jo March"

★
★ Sherie Rene Scott in ''Dirty Rotten Scoundrels'' as "Christine Colgate"

★ '2006 LaChanze in ''The Color Purple'' as "Celie"

★
★ Sutton Foster in ''The Drowsy Chaperone'' as "Janet Van De Graaff"

★
★ Patti LuPone in ''Sweeney Todd'' as "Mrs. Lovett"

★
★ Kelli O'Hara in ''The Pajama Game'' as "Babe Williams"

★
★ Chita Rivera in '' as "Chita Rivera"

★ '2007 Christine Ebersole in ''Grey Gardens'' as "Edith Bouvier Beale" / ""Little" Edie Beale"

★
★ Laura Bell Bundy in '' as "Elle Woods"

★
★ Audra McDonald in ''110 in the Shade'' as "Lizzie Curry"

★
★ Debra Monk in ''Curtains'' as "Carmen Bernstein"

★
★ Donna Murphy in ''LoveMusik'' as "Lotte Lenya"

Multiple Winners

'4 Wins'

★ Angela Lansbury
'3 Wins'

★ Mary Martin

★ Gwen Verdon (tied with Thelma Ritter in 1958)
'2 Wins'

★ Lauren Bacall

★ Christine Ebersole

★ Liza Minnelli

★ Donna Murphy

★ Bernadette Peters

★ Chita Rivera

Multiple Nominees

'7 Nominations'

★ Chita Rivera
'6 Nominations'

★ Bernadette Peters
'5 Nominations'

★ Gwen Verdon
'4 Nominations'

★ Carol Channing

★ Angela Lansbury

★ Mary Martin

★ Donna Murphy
'3 Nominations'

★ Julie Andrews (however, Ms. Andrews did not accept her third nomination)

★ Sutton Foster

★ Dee Hoty

★ Dorothy Loudon

★ Patti LuPone

★ Ethel Merman

★ Liza Minelli
'2 Nominations'

★ Lauren Bacall

★ Sandy Duncan

★ Christine Ebersole

★ Nanette Fabray

★ Dolores Gray

★ Barbara Harris

★ Judy Kuhn

★ Beatrice Lillie

★ Rebecca Luker

★ Marin Mazzie

★ Audra McDonald

★ Idina Menzel

★ Tonya Pinkins

★ Faith Prince

★ Alexis Smith

★ Elaine Stritch

★ Inga Swenson

★ Nancy Walker

Trivia

★ There have only been three ties in the history of this category:

★
★ 1958: Between 'Gwen Verdon' (''New Girl in Town'') and 'Thelma Ritter' (''New Girl In Town'');

★
★ 1962: Between 'Anna Maria Alberghetti' (''Carnival!'') and 'Diahann Carroll' (''No Strings'');

★
★ 1968: Between 'Patricia Routledge' (''Darling of the Day'') and 'Leslie Uggams' (''Hallelujah, Baby!'').

★ The female lead role of Mama Rose in ''Gypsy'' has collected most nominations in Tony Awards history in this category, with 4. There have been two winners, as follows:

★
★ 1960 - Ethel Merman;

★
★ 1975 - Angela Lansbury (winner);

★
★ 1990 - Tyne Daly (winner);

★
★ 2003 - Bernadette Peters.

★ The only other female role with multiple wins is that of Anna Leonowens in ''The King and I'', with 2 victories out of 2 nominations:

★
★ 1952 - Gertrude Lawrence;

★
★ 1996 - Donna Murphy.

★ The closest in nominations is the female lead role of Mrs. Lovett in ''Sweeney Todd'', with 3. There has only been one victory, though:

★
★ 1979 - Angela Lansbury (winner);

★
★ 1990 - Beth Fowler;

★
★ 2006 - Patti LuPone.

★ Also with 3 nominations is the female lead role of Charity Hope Valentine in ''Sweet Charity''. Curiously, between each nomination there has been a gap of nearly two decades:

★
★ 1966 - Gwen Verdon;

★
★ 1986 - Debbie Allen;

★
★ 2005 - Christina Applegate;
However, not once has an actress won a Tony Award for this role.

★ Mary Martin is the only actress to win an award in this category by portraying a male character. In 1955, she won the Tony for her performance as the title character in ''Peter Pan''. Two other actresses were nominated for playing this very same character:

★
★ 1980 - Sandy Duncan;

★
★ 1991 - Cathy Rigby;
In 1989, Charlotte d’Amboise was also nominated in this category, for a multitude of characters portrayed in ''Jerome Robbins’ Broadway'', amongst them, Peter Pan.

★ Chita Rivera is the first and, so far, only actress to be nominated to a Tony Award by portraying herself. In 2006, she was honored for her performance in ''Chita Rivera: The Dancer’s Life'', which offered a retrospect of her remarkable career in Broadway.

★ Lotte Lenya is the first Tony-Award-nominee to be turned into a Tony-Award-nominated character. Lenya was honored in 1967, for her performance in ''Cabaret'' (she did not win, however). Forty years later, and over 25 years after her passing, her romance with Kurt Weill was transformed into the Musical ''Lovemusik''. Actress Donna Murphy embodied the character and earned herself the fourth Tony nomination of her career in this category.

★ Chita Rivera holds the record for most nominations (7). She has won twice. Closest in nominations is Bernadette Peters (6), who has also won twice. The record of victories, however, belongs to Angela Lansbury with 4 wins out of 4 nominations, a perfect score.

★ Chita Rivera also holds the record for most nominations in a single decade. She was nominated four times in the 1980's: 1981, 1983, 1984 and 1986. She won in 1984, for her performance in ''The Rink''.

★ Gwen Verdon is the only one to achieve the honor of two consecutive victories in this category, in 1958 (albeit tied with Thelma Ritter) and 1959. Other consecutive nominations include: Inga Swenson (1964/1965), Barbara Harris (1966/1967), Chita Rivera (1983/1984) and Sutton Foster (2005/2006);

★ Both Dee Hoty and Julie Andrews have been nominated thrice, but neither one has ever won. They are the category’s greatest “losers”. Ms. Andrews has, however, refused to accept her third nomination, for Victor/Victoria, feeling that the cast and production crew of the Musical had been neglected by the Academy.

★ Albeit being one of the greatest winners in the Tony Awards history, with 5 victories amongst 9 nominations in the category Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play, 'Julie Harris' has only been nominated once as a Leading Actress in a Musical, in 1966, for her performance in ''Skyscraper''. She did not win.