The David di Donatello Award for Best Actress (Italian: David di Donatello per la migliore attrice protagonista) is a film award presented annually by the Accademia del Cinema Italiano (ACI, Academy of Italian Cinema) to recognize the outstanding performance in a leading role of an actress who has worked within the Italian film industry during the year preceding the ceremony.
[1] Nominees and winner are selected via run-off voting by all the members of the Accademia.
The award was first given in 1956.
[2] Sophia Loren is the record holder in this category, with seven awards, followed by Margherita Buy and Monica Vitti, with five awards each.
[2][3] Below, winners are listed first in the colored row, followed by other nominees.