Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama

The Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama is a Golden Globe Award that was first awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association as a separate category in 1951.

Previously, there was a single award for "Best Actress in a Motion Picture", but the splitting allowed for recognition of it and the Best Actress – Comedy or Musical.

The formal title has varied since its inception.

In 2005, it was officially called "Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama".

As of 2013, the wording is "Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama".

Jennifer Jones is the first winner in the category for The Song of Bernadette (1943).
Black-and-white publicity photo of Ingrid Bergman in 1944.
Ingrid Bergman won three times for Gaslight (1944), The Bells of St. Mary's (1945), and Anastasia (1956).
Rosalind Russell won twice consecutively for Sister Kenny (1946) and Mourning Becomes Electra (1947).
Black-and-white publicity photo of Olivia de Havilland circa 1945.
Olivia de Havilland won for The Heiress (1949).
Black-and-white publicity photo of Audrey Hepburn in 1956.
Audrey Hepburn won for Roman Holiday (1953).
Black-and-white photo publicity of Grace Kelly from MGM and before her 1956 marriage.
Grace Kelly won for The Country Girl (1954).
Anna Magnani received two nominations and won once; she was also the first non-English native speaking actress and first Italian woman to win the award.
Black-and-white publicity photo of Joanne Woodward from MGM.
Joanne Woodward won twice for The Three Faces of Eve (1957) and Rachel, Rachel (1968).
Black-and-white publicity photo of Elizabeth Taylor circa late 1950s.
Elizabeth Taylor won once from four nominations for her role in Suddenly, Last Summer (1959).
Black-and-white publicity photo of Greer Garson in the 1940s.
Greer Garson won for Sunrise at Campobello (1960).
Black-and-white publicity photo of Geraldine Page in 1956.
Geraldine Page won twice for Summer and Smoke (1961) and Sweet Bird of Youth (1962).
Black-and-white publicity photo of Anne Bancroft in 1952.
Anne Bancroft won for The Pumpkin Eater (1964).
Black-and-white publicity photo of Liv Ullmann in 1966.
Liv Ullmann won for The Emigrants (1972).
Black-and-white publicity photo of Gena Rowlands in 1967.
Gena Rowlands won for A Woman Under the Influence (1974).
Louise Fletcher won for One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975).
Black-and-white publicity photo of Jane Fonda in 1963.
Jane Fonda won three times from five nominations for her roles in Klute (1971), Julia (1977), and Coming Home (1978).
Black-and-white publicity photo of Sally Field in 1981.
Sally Field won twice for Norma Rae (1979) and Places in the Heart (1984).
Mary Tyler Moore Won for Ordinary People (1980)
Photo of Meryl Streep circa 1976 and 1979.
Meryl Streep has received 14 nominations for this category, winning three times for her roles in The French Lieutenant's Woman (1981), Sophie's Choice (1982), and The Iron Lady (2011).
Black-and-white publicity photo of Shirley MacLaine in 1960.
Shirley MacLaine won twice for Terms of Endearment (1983) and Madame Sousatzka (1988).
Photo of Whoopi Goldberg in 2006.
Whoopi Goldberg won for The Color Purple (1985).
Marlee Matlin won for Children of a Lesser God (1986)
Sally Kirkland won for Anna (1987)
Sigourney Weaver won for Gorillas in the Mist (1988).
Photo of Jodie Foster in 1995.
Jodie Foster won twice for The Accused (1988) and The Silence of the Lambs (1991).
Photo of Michelle Pfeiffer in 2007.
Michelle Pfeiffer won for The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989).
Photo of Kathy Bates at the 2015 San Diego Comic-Con.
Kathy Bates won for Misery (1990).
Photo of Emma Thompson in 2022.
Emma Thompson won for Howards End (1992).
Photo of Holly Hunter at the 2015 San Diego Comic-Con.
Holly Hunter won for The Piano (1993).
Photo of Jessica Lange in 2008.
Jessica Lange won for Blue Sky (1994).
Photo of Sharon Stone at the 2017 Celebrity Fight Night XXIII in Phoenix, Arizona.
Sharon Stone won for Casino (1995).
Photo of Judi Dench at the 60th British Academy Film Awards in 2007.
Judi Dench won for her portrayal of Queen Victoria in Mrs Brown (1997).
Photo of Cate Blanchett at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.
Cate Blanchett won three times for Elizabeth (1998), Blue Jasmine (2013), and Tár (2022).
Photo of Hilary Swank at the 28th Tokyo International Film Festival in 2015.
Hilary Swank won twice for Boys Don't Cry (1999) and Million Dollar Baby (2004).
Photo of Julia Roberts at the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival.
Julia Roberts won for playing the title role in Erin Brockovich (2000).
Sissy Spacek won for In the Bedroom (2001).
Photo of Nicole Kidman at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival.
Nicole Kidman won twice for The Hours (2002) and Being the Ricardos (2021).
Photo of Charlize Theron at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival.
Charlize Theron won for her portrayal of Aileen Wuornos in Monster (2003).
Photo of Helen Mirren at the 2014 Moët British Independent Film Awards.
Helen Mirren won for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II in The Queen (2006).
Photo of Kate Winslet in 2017.
Kate Winslet won for Revolutionary Road (2008).
Photo of Natalie Portman at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival.
Natalie Portman won for Black Swan (2010).
Photo of Jessica Chastain at the 2015 San Diego Comic-Con.
Jessica Chastain won for Zero Dark Thirty (2012).
Photo of Julianne Moore at the 2009 Venice International Film Festival.
Julianne Moore won for Still Alice (2014).
Photo of Brie Larson at the National Air and Space Museum.
Brie Larson won for Room (2015).
Photo of Isabelle Huppert at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival.
Isabelle Huppert won for Elle (2016).
Photo of Frances McDormand at 21st Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards.
Frances McDormand won for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017).
Photo of Glenn Close at the premiere of "Guardians of the Galaxy" at the El Capitan Theater in Hollywood on July 21, 2014.
Glenn Close won for The Wife (2018).
Zellweger at the 2010 Berlin International Film Festival
Renée Zellweger won for Judy (2019).
Day in 2016
Andra Day won for The United States vs. Billie Holiday (2020).
Actress Lily Gladstone at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival.
Lily Gladstone won for Killers of the Flower Moon (2023).