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

The 'Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play' is awarded to the actress who was voted as the best actress in a play, whether a new production or a revival. The award has been announced since 1947, but the nominees who did not win have only been announced since 1956.

Contents

1940s

1950s

1960s

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s

Multiple Winners

Multiple Nominees

Trivia

1940s

★ 1947 'Ingrid Bergman in ''Joan of Lorraine'' as "Mary Grey" and Helen Hayes in ''Happy Birthday'' as "Addie" (tie)'

★ 1948 'Judith Anderson in ''Medea'' as "Medea", Katharine Cornell in ''Antony and Cleopatra'' as "Cleopatra" and Jessica Tandy in ''A Streetcar Named Desire'' as "Blanche DuBois" (tie) '

★ 1949 'Martita Hunt in ''The Madwoman of Chaillot'' '

1950s

★ 1950 'Shirley Booth in ''Come Back, Little Sheba'' as "Lola"

★ 1951 'Uta Hagen in ''The Country Girl'' as "Georgie Elgin"

★ 1952 'Julie Harris in ''I Am a Camera'' as "Sally Bowles"

★ 1953 'Shirley Booth in ''Time of the Cuckoo'' as "Leona Samish"

★ 1954 'Audrey Hepburn in ''Ondine'' '

★ 1955 'Nancy Kelly in ''The Bad Seed'' '

★ 1956 'Julie Harris in ''The Lark'' as "Joan"

★
★ Barbara Bel Geddes in ''Cat on a Hot Tin Roof''

★
★ Gladys Cooper in ''The Chalk Garden''

★
★ Ruth Gordon in ''The Matchmaker''

★
★ Siobhán McKenna in ''The Chalk Garden''

★
★ Susan Strasberg in ''The Diary of Anne Frank''

★ 1957 'Margaret Leighton in ''Separate Tables'' as "Mrs. Shankland" / "Miss Railton-Bell"

★
★ Florence Eldridge in ''Long Day's Journey Into Night''

★
★ Rosalind Russell in ''Auntie Mame''

★
★ Sybil Thorndike in ''The Potting Shed''

★ 1958 'Helen Hayes in ''Time Remembered'' as "The Duchess of Pont-Au-Bronc"

★
★ Wendy Hiller in ''A Moon For the Misbegotten''

★
★ Eugenie Leontovich in ''The Cave Dwellers''

★
★ Siobhán McKenna in ''The Rope Dancers''

★
★ Mary Ure in ''Look Back in Anger''

★
★ Jo Van Fleet in ''Look Homeward Angel''

★ 1959 'Gertrude Berg in ''A Majority of One'' '

★
★ Claudette Colbert in ''The Marriage-Go-Round''

★
★ Lynn Fontanne in ''The Visit''

★
★ Kim Stanley in ''A Touch of the Poet''

★
★ Maureen Stapleton in ''The Cold Wind and the Warm''

1960s

★ 1960 'Anne Bancroft in ''The Miracle Worker'' '

★
★ Margaret Leighton in ''Much Ado About Nothing''

★
★ Claudia McNeil in ''A Raisin in the Sun''

★
★ Geraldine Page in ''Sweet Bird of Youth''

★
★ Maureen Stapleton in ''Toys in the Attic''

★
★ Irene Worth in ''Toys in the Attic''

★ 1961 'Joan Plowright. in ''A Taste of Honey'' '

★
★ Tallulah Bankhead in ''Midgie Purvis''

★
★ Barbara Baxley in ''Period of Adjustment''

★
★ Barbara Bel Geddes in ''Mary, Mary''

★ 1962 'Margaret Leighton in ''The Night of the Iguana'' as "Hannah Jelkes"

★
★ Gladys Cooper in ''A Passage to India''

★
★ Colleen Dewhurst in ''Great Day in the Morning'' as "Phoebe Flaherty"

★
★ Kim Stanley in ''A Far Country''

★ 1963 'Uta Hagen in ''Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'' as "Martha"

★
★ Hermione Baddeley in ''The Milk Train Doesn't Stop Here Anymore''

★
★ Margaret Leighton in ''Tchin-Tchin''

★
★ Claudia McNeil in ''Tiger Tiger Burning Bright''

★ 1964 'Sandy Dennis in ''Any Wednesday'' '

★
★ Elizabeth Ashley in ''Barefoot in the Park''

★
★ Colleen Dewhurst in ''The Ballad of the Sad Café'' as "Miss Amelia Evans"

★
★ Julie Harris in ''Marathon '33'' as "June"

★ 1965 'Irene Worth in ''Tiny Alice'' '

★
★ Marjorie Rhodes in ''All in Good Time''

★
★ Beah Richards in ''The Amen Corner''

★
★ Diana Sands in ''The Owl and the Pussycat''

★ 1966 'Rosemary Harris in ''The Lion in Winter'' as "Eleanor"

★
★ Sheila Hancock in ''Entertaining Mr. Sloan''

★
★ Kate Reid in ''Slapstick Tragedy''

★
★ Lee Remick in ''Wait Until Dark''

★ 1967 'Beryl Reid in ''The Killing of Sister George'' '

★
★ Eileen Atkins in ''The Killing of Sister George''

★
★ Vivien Merchant in ''The Homecoming''

★
★ Rosemary Murphy in ''A Delicate Balance''

★ 1968 'Zoe Caldwell in ''The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie'' as "Jean Brodie"

★
★ Colleen Dewhurst in ''More Stately Mansions'' as "Sara"

★
★ Maureen Stapleton in ''Plaza Suite''

★
★ Dorothy Tutin in ''Portrait of a Queen''

★ 1969 'Julie Harris in ''Forty Carats'' as "Ann Stanley"

★
★ Estelle Parsons in ''Seven Descents of Myrtle''

★
★ Charlotte Rea in ''Morning, Noon and Night''

★
★ Brenda Vaccaro in ''The Goodbye People''

1970s

★ 1970 'Tammy Grimes in ''Private Lives'' '

★
★ Geraldine Brooks in ''Brightower''

★
★ Helen Hayes in ''Harvey''

★ 1971 'Maureen Stapleton in ''The Gingerbread Lady'' '

★
★ Estelle Parsons in ''And Miss Reardon Drinks a Little''

★
★ Diana Rigg in ''Abelard and Heloise''

★
★ Marian Seldes in ''Father's Day''

★ 1972 'Sada Thompson in ''Twigs'' '

★
★ Eileen Atkins in ''Vivat! Vivat Regina!''

★
★ Colleen Dewhurst in ''All Over'' as "The Mistress"

★
★ Rosemary Harris in ''Old Times'' as "Anna"

★ 1973 'Julie Harris in ''The Last of Mrs. Lincoln'' as "Mary Lincoln"

★
★ Jane Alexander in ''6 Rms Riv Vu'' as "Anne Miller"

★
★ Colleen Dewhurst in ''Mourning Becomes Electra'' as "Christine Mannon"

★
★ Kathleen Widdoes in ''Much Ado About Nothing''

★ 1974 'Colleen Dewhurst in ''A Moon for the Misbegotten'' as "Josie Hogan"

★
★ Jane Alexander.in ''Find Your Way Home'' as "Jacqueline Harrison"

★
★ Julie Harris in ''The Au Pair Man'' as "Mrs. Rogers"

★
★ Madeline Kahn in ''In the Boom Boom Room'' as "Chrissy"

★
★ Rachel Roberts in ''The Visit'' and ''Chemin de Fer'' (performances with the New Phoenix Repertory Company)

★ 1975 'Ellen Burstyn in ''Same Time, Next Year'' '

★
★ Elizabeth Ashley in ''Cat on a Hot Tin Roof''

★
★ Diana Rigg in ''The Misanthrope''

★
★ Maggie Smith in ''Private Lives''

★
★ Liv Ullmann in ''A Doll's House''

★ 1976 'Irene Worth in ''Sweet Bird of Youth'' '

★
★ Tovah Feldshuh in ''Yentl''

★
★ Rosemary Harris in ''The Royal Family'' as "Julie Cavendish"

★
★ Lynn Redgrave in ''Mrs. Warren's Profession''

★ 1977 'Julie Harris in ''The Belle of Amherst'' as "Abby Wood" / "Austin Dickinson" / "Buffy" / "Charles Wadsworth" / "Edward Dickinson" / "Emily Elizabeth Dickinson" / "Emily Norcross Dickinson" / "James Francis Billings" / "Jennie Hitchcock" / "Lavinia Dickinson" / "Maggie Maher" / "Mary Lyon" / "Susan Gilbert Dickinson" / "Thomas Wentworth Higginson" / "Uriah Crowell"

★
★ Colleen Dewhurst in ''Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'' as "Martha"

★
★ Liv Ullmann in ''Anna Christie''

★
★ Irene Worth in ''The Cherry Orchard''

★ 1978 'Jessica Tandy in ''The Gin Game'' as "Fosnia Dorsey"

★
★ Anne Bancroft in ''Golda''

★
★ Anita Gillette in ''Chapter Two''

★
★ Estelle Parsons in ''Miss Margarida's Way''

★ 1979 'Constance Cummings in ''Wings'' and Carole Shelley in ''The Elephant Man'' (tie) '

★
★ Jane Alexander in ''First Monday in October'' as "Judge Ruth Loomis"

★
★ Frances Sternhagen in ''On Golden Pond''

1980s

★ 1980 'Phyllis Frelich in ''Children of a Lesser God'' '

★
★ Blythe Danner in ''Betrayal''

★
★ Maggie Smith in ''Night and Day''

★
★ Anne Twomey in ''Nuts''

★ 1981 'Jane Lapotaire in ''Piaf'' '

★
★ Glenda Jackson in ''Rose''

★
★ Eva Le Gallienne in ''To Grandmother's House We Go''

★
★ Elizabeth Taylor in ''The Little Foxes''

★ 1982 'Zoe Caldwell in ''Medea'' as "Medea" '

★
★ Katharine Hepburn in ''The West Side Waltz''

★
★ Geraldine Page in ''Agnes of God''

★
★ Amanda Plummer in ''A Taste of Honey''

★ 1983 'Jessica Tandy in ''Foxfire'' as "Annie Nations"

★
★ Kathy Bates in '''Night, Mother''

★
★ Kate Nelligan in ''Plenty''

★
★ Anne Pitoniak in '''Night, Mother''

★ 1984 'Glenn Close in ''The Real Thing'' as "Annie"

★
★ Rosemary Harris in ''Heartbreak House'' as "Hesione Hushabye"

★
★ Linda Hunt in ''End of the World''

★
★ Kate Nelligan in ''A Moon for the Misbegotten''

★ 1985 'Stockard Channing in ''A Day in the Death of Joe Egg'' '

★
★ Sinead Cusack in ''Much Ado About Nothing''

★
★ Rosemary Harris in ''Pack of Lies'' as "Barbara Jackson"

★
★ Glenda Jackson in ''Strange Interlude''

★ 1986 'Lily Tomlin in ''The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe'' '

★
★ Rosemary Harris in ''Hay Fever'' as "Judith Bliss"

★
★ Mary Beth Hurt in ''Benefactors''

★
★ Jessica Tandy in ''The Petition'' as "Lady Elizabeth Milne"

★ 1987 'Linda Lavin in ''Broadway Bound'' '

★
★ Lindsay Duncan in ''Les Liaisons Dangereuses''

★
★ Geraldine Page in ''Blithe Spirit''

★
★ Amanda Plummer in ''Pygmalion''

★ 1988 'Joan Allen in ''Burn This'' '

★
★ Blythe Danner in ''A Streetcar Named Desire''

★
★ Glenda Jackson in ''Macbeth''

★
★ Frances McDormand in ''A Streetcar Named Desire''

★ 1989 'Pauline Collins in ''Shirley Valentine'' '

★
★ Joan Allen in ''The Heidi Chronicles''

★
★ Madeline Kahn in ''Born Yesterday'' as "Billie Dawn"

★
★ Kate Nelligan in ''Spoils of War''

1990s

★ 1990 'Maggie Smith in ''Lettice and Lovage'' '

★
★ Geraldine James in ''The Merchant of Venice''

★
★ Mary-Louise Parker in ''Prelude to a Kiss''

★
★ Kathleen Turner in ''Cat on a Hot Tin Roof''

★ 1991 'Mercedes Ruehl in ''Lost in Yonkers'' '

★
★ Stockard Channing in ''Six Degrees of Separation''

★
★ Julie Harris in ''Lucifer's Child''

★
★ Cherry Jones in ''Our Country's Good'' as "Liz Morden" / "Reverend Johnson"

★ 1992 'Glenn Close in ''Death and the Maiden'' as "Paulina Salas"

★
★ Jane Alexander in ''The Visit'' as "Claire Zachanassian"

★
★ Stockard Channing in ''Four Baboons Adoring the Sun''

★
★ Judith Ivey in ''Park Your Car in Harvard Yard''

★ 1993 'Madeline Kahn in ''The Sisters Rosensweig'' as "Gorgeous Teitelbaum"

★
★ Jane Alexander in ''The Sisters Rosensweig'' as "Sarah Goode"

★
★ Lynn Redgrave in ''Shakespeare For My Father''

★
★ Natasha Richardson in ''Anna Christie''

★ 1994 'Diana Rigg in ''Medea'' '

★
★ Nancy Marchand in ''Black Comedy''

★
★ Joan Rivers in ''Sally Marr and Her Escorts''

★
★ Anna Deavere Smith in ''

★ 1995 'Cherry Jones in ''The Heiress'' as "Catherine Sloper"

★
★ Mary Alice in ''Having Our Say''

★
★ Eileen Atkins in ''Indiscretions''

★
★ Helen Mirren in ''A Month in the Country''

★ 1996 'Zoe Caldwell in ''Master Class'' as "Maria Callas" '

★
★ Carol Burnett in ''Moon Over Buffalo''

★
★ Rosemary Harris in ''A Delicate Balance'' as "Agnes"

★
★ Elaine Stritch in ''A Delicate Balance'' as "Claire"

★ 1997 'Janet McTeer in ''A Doll's House'' '

★
★ Julie Harris in ''The Gin Game'' as "Fonsia Dorsey"

★
★ Shirley Knight in ''The Young Man From Atlanta''

★
★ Lia Williams in ''Skylight''

★ 1998 'Marie Mullen in ''The Beauty Queen of Leenane'' '

★
★ Jane Alexander in ''Honour'' as "Honor"

★
★ Allison Janney in ''A View From the Bridge''

★
★ Geraldine McEwan in ''The Chairs''

★ 1999 'Judi Dench in ''Amy's View'' '

★
★ Stockard Channing in ''The Lion in Winter''

★
★ Marian Seldes in ''Ring Round the Moon''

★
★ Zoe Wanamaker in ''Electra''

2000s

★ 2000 'Jennifer Ehle in ''The Real Thing'' as "Annie"

★
★ Jayne Atkinson in ''The Rainmaker''

★
★ Rosemary Harris in ''Waiting in the Wings'' as "May Davenport"

★
★ Cherry Jones in ''A Moon for the Misbegotten'' as "Josie Hogan"

★
★ Claudia Shear in ''Dirty Blonde''

★ 2001 'Mary-Louise Parker in ''Proof'' '

★
★ Juliette Binoche in ''Betrayal''

★
★ Linda Lavin in ''The Tale of the Allergist's Wife''

★
★ Jean Smart in ''The Man Who Came to Dinner''

★
★ Leslie Uggams in ''King Hedley II''

★ 2002 'Lindsay Duncan in ''Private Lives'' '

★
★ Kate Burton in ''Hedda Gabler''

★
★ Laura Linney in ''The Crucible''

★
★ Helen Mirren in ''Dance of Death''

★
★ Mercedes Ruehl in ''The Goat or Who is Sylvia''

★ 2003 'Vanessa Redgrave in ''Long Day's Journey Into Night'' '

★
★ Jayne Atkinson in ''Enchanted April''

★
★ Victoria Hamilton in ''A Day in the Death of Joe Egg''

★
★ Clare Higgins in ''Vincent in Brixton''

★
★ Fiona Shaw in ''Medea''

★ 2004 'Phylicia Rashad in ''A Raisin in the Sun'' '

★
★ Eileen Atkins in ''The Retreat From Moscow''

★
★ Tovah Feldshuh in ''Golda's Balcony''

★
★ Anne Heche in ''Twentieth Century''

★
★ Swoosie Kurtz in ''Frozen''

★ 2005 'Cherry Jones in ''Doubt'' as "Sister Aloysius"

★
★ Laura Linney in ''Sight Unseen''

★
★ Mary-Louise Parker in ''Reckless''

★
★ Phylicia Rashad in ''Gem of the Ocean''

★
★ Kathleen Turner in ''Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'' as "Martha"

★ 2006 'Cynthia Nixon in ''Rabbit Hole'' '

★
★ Kate Burton in ''The Constant Wife''

★
★ Judy Kaye in ''Souvenir''

★
★ Lisa Kron in ''Well''

★
★ Lynn Redgrave in ''The Constant Wife''

★ 2007 'Julie White in ''The Little Dog Laughed''

★
★ Eve Best in ''A Moon for the Misbegotten'' as "Josie Hogan"

★
★ Swoosie Kurtz in ''Heartbreak House''

★
★ Angela Lansbury in ''Deuce''

★
★ Vanessa Redgrave in ''The Year of Magical Thinking''

Multiple Winners

'5 Wins'

★ Julie Harris
'3 Wins'

★ Zoe Caldwell

★ Jessica Tandy
'2 Wins'

★ Shirley Booth

★ Glenn Close

★ Uta Hagen

★ Helen Hayes

★ Cherry Jones

★ Margaret Leighton

Multiple Nominees

'9 Nominations'

★ Julie Harris
'8 Nominations'

★ Rosemary Harris
'7 Nominations'

★ Colleen Dewhurst
'6 Nominations'

★ Jane Alexander
'4 Nominations'

★ Eileen Atkins

★ Stockard Channing

★ Cherry Jones

★ Margaret Leighton

★ Maureen Stapleton

★ Jessica Tandy

★ Irene Worth
'3 Nominations'

★ Zoe Caldwell

★ Helen Hayes

★ Glenda Jackson

★ Madeline Kahn

★ Kate Nelligan

★ Geraldine Page

★ Mary-Louise Parker

★ Estelle Parsons

★ Lynn Redgrave

★ Diana Rigg

★ Maggie Smith
'2 Nominations'

★ Joan Allen

★ Elizabeth Ashley

★ Jayne Atkinson

★ Anne Bancroft

★ Barbara Bel Geddes

★ Shirley Booth

★ Kate Burton

★ Glenn Close

★ Blythe Danner

★ Lindsay Duncan

★ Tovah Feldshuh

★ Uta Hagen

★ Swoosie Kurtz

★ Linda Lavin

★ Laura Linney

★ Siobhán McKenna

★ Claudia McNeil

★ Helen Mirren

★ Amanda Plummer

★ Phylicia Rashad

★ Vanessa Redgrave

★ Mercedes Ruehl

★ Marian Seldes

★ Kim Stanley

★ Kathleen Turner

★ Liv Ullmann

Trivia

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

★
★ 1947: Between 'Ingrid Bergman' (''Joan of Lorraine'') and 'Helen Hayes' (''Happy Birthday'');

★
★ 1948: A triple tie: 'Judith Anderson' (''Medea''), 'Katharine Cornell' (''Antony and Cleopatra''), and 'Jessica Tandy' (''A Streetcar Named Desire'') ;

★
★ 1979: Between 'Constance Cummings' (''Wings'') and 'Carole Shelley' (''The Elephant Man'').

★ The female lead role in ''Medea'', commonly regarded as the greatest theatric role for a female actor, has collected most wins in Tony Awards history in this category:

★
★ 1948 - Judith Anderson

★
★ 1982 - Zoe Caldwell

★
★ 1994 - Diana Rigg
Additionally, one last nomination was announced to Fiona Shaw in 2003.

★ The female lead role in ''Private Lives'', is the only other role with multiple wins in this category:

★
★ 1970 - Tammy Grimes

★
★ 2002 - Lindsay Duncan
Maggie Smith was also nominated for the same role in 1975.

★ Julie Harris reigns supreme in the category with 5 wins among 9 nominations. Closest in nominations are Rosemary Harris (8) and Colleen Dewhurst (7). Each of them has won only once, though.

★ Jane Alexander has been nominated 6 times, but has never won. She's the category's greatest "loser". Other multiple nominees who have never won are Eileen Atkins (4), Glenda Jackson (3), Kate Nelligan (3), Geraldine Page (3), Estelle Parsons (3) and Lynn Redgrave (3).

★ There has never been a consecutive winner in this category. There have been, though, some consecutive nominations. Rosemary Harris and Colleen Dewhurst hold the record with 3 consecutive nominations (1984-1985-1986 and 1972-1973-1974, respectively).

★ Colleen Dewhurst also holds the record for most nominations in a single decade. She was nominated four times in the 70's, three times consecutively (1972-1973-1974) and once more in 1977. She won in 1974, for her performance in ''A Moon for the Misbegotten''.

★ Four other actresses have been nominated for their performances in ''A Moon for the Misbegotten'': Wendy Hiller (1958), Kate Nelligan (1984), Cherry Jones (2000), and Eve Best (2007). None of them won.

★ Phylicia Rashad in the first, and so far only, African-American actress to win a Tony in this category. She won in 2004, for her performance in "A Raisin in the Sun".

★ Albeit being one of the greatest winners in the Tony Awards history, with 4 victories in the category Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical, 'Angela Lansbury' garnered her first nomination as a Leading Actress in a Play in 2007, at the age of 81, for her performance in ''Deuce''.