Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Actress

The awards are presented by the Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA), and was first presented in 1995.

There are currently six nominees annually, and there have been three ties in this category (2008, 2009, 2018).

The record for most wins is three, held by Cate Blanchett, and six other actresses have won the award twice.

Previously, two other genre-specific categories were presented: Best Actress in a Comedy (from 2012 to 2019); and Best Actress in an Action Movie (from 2012 to 2016).

For the Supporting Actress category, see Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Nicole Kidman was the first recipient of this category in 1995
Julianne Moore won twice for Far from Heaven (2002) and Still Alice (2013)
Charlize Theron won for Monster (2013)
Reese Witherspoon won for Walk the Line (2005)
Dame Helen Mirren won for The Queen (2006)
Meryl Streep won twice consecutively for Doubt (2008) and Julie & Julia (2009)
Anne Hathaway won for Rachel Getting Married (2008)
Natalie Portman won twice for Black Swan (2010) and Jackie (2016)
Viola Davis won for The Help (2011)
Jessica Chastain won twice for Zero Dark Thirty (2012) and The Eyes of Tammy Faye (2021)
Cate Blanchett won thrice for Elizabeth (1998) Blue Jasmine (2013) and Tár (2022)
Brie Larson won for Room (2015)
Glenn Close won for The Wife (2018)
Lady Gaga won for A Star is Born (2018
Renée Zellweger won for Judy (2019)
Carey Mulligan won for Promising Young Woman (2020)
Emma Stone for Poor Things (2023)