A list of actresses and films that won and were nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama.
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1940s
- 1943note : Jennifer Jones for The Song of Bernadette as Bernadette Soubirous
- 1944note : Ingrid Bergman for Gaslight as Paula Alquist-Anton
- 1945note : Ingrid Bergman for The Bells of St. Mary's as Sister Mary Benedict
- 1946note : Rosalind Russell for Sister Kenny as Sister Elizabeth Kenny
- 1947note : Rosalind Russell for Mourning Becomes Electra as Lavinia Mannon
- 1948note : Jane Wyman for Johnny Belinda as Belinda MacDonald
- 1949note : Olivia de Havilland for The Heiress as Catherine Sloper
- Deborah Kerr for Edward, My Son as Evelyn Boult
1950s
- 1950: Gloria Swanson for Sunset Boulevard as Norma Desmond
- Bette Davis for All About Eve as Margo Channing
- Judy Holliday for Born Yesterday as Emma "Billie" Dawn
- 1951: Jane Wyman for The Blue Veil as Louise "LouLou" Mason
- Vivien Leigh for A Streetcar Named Desire as Blanche DuBois
- Shelley Winters for A Place in the Sun as Alice Tripp
- 1952: Shirley Booth for Come Back, Little Sheba as Lola Delaney
- Joan Crawford for Sudden Fear as Myra Hudson
- Olivia de Havilland for My Cousin Rachel as Rachel Sangalletti-Ashley
- 1953: Audrey Hepburn for Roman Holiday as Princess Ann / Anya Smith
- 1954: Grace Kelly for The Country Girl as Georgie Elgin
- 1955: Anna Magnani for The Rose Tattoo as Serafina Delle Rose
- 1956: Ingrid Bergman for Anastasia as Anna Koreff / Anastasia
- Carroll Baker for Baby Doll as Baby Doll Meighan
- Helen Hayes for Anastasia as Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna
- Audrey Hepburn for War and Peace as Countess Natalya "Natasha" Rostova
- Katharine Hepburn for The Rainmaker as Lizzie Curry
- 1957: Joanne Woodward for The Three Faces of Eve as Eve White / Eve Black / Jane
- Marlene Dietrich for Witness for the Prosecution as Christine Vole
- Deborah Kerr for Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison as Sister Angela
- Anna Magnani for Wild Is the Wind as Gioia
- Eva Marie Saint for A Hatful of Rain as Celia Pope
- 1958: Susan Hayward for I Want to Live! as Barbara Graham
- Ingrid Bergman for The Inn of the Sixth Happiness as Gladys Aylward
- Deborah Kerr for Separate Tables as Sibyl Railton-Bell
- Shirley MacLaine for Some Came Running as Ginny Moorehead
- Jean Simmons for Home Before Dark as Charlotte Bronn
- 1959: Elizabeth Taylor for Suddenly, Last Summer as Catherine Holly
- Audrey Hepburn for The Nun's Story as Gabrielle "Gaby" van der Mal / Sister Luke
- Katharine Hepburn for Suddenly, Last Summer as Violet Venable
- Lee Remick for Anatomy of a Murder as Laura Manion
- Simone Signoret for Room at the Top as Alice Aisgill
1960s
- 1960: Greer Garson for Sunrise at Campobello as Eleanor Roosevelt
- Doris Day for Midnight Lace as Kit Preston
- Nancy Kwan for The World of Suzie Wong as Suzie Wong / Mei Lin
- Jean Simmons for Elmer Gantry as Sister Sharon Falconer
- Elizabeth Taylor for BUtterfield 8 as Gloria Wandrous
- 1961: Geraldine Page for Summer and Smoke as Alma Winemiller
- Leslie Caron for Fanny as Fanny
- Shirley MacLaine for The Children's Hour as Martha Dobie
- Claudia McNeil for A Raisin in the Sun as Lena Younger
- Natalie Wood for Splendor in the Grass as Wilma Dean "Deanie" Loomis
- 1962: Geraldine Page for Sweet Bird of Youth as Alexandra Del Lago
- Anne Bancroft for The Miracle Worker as Anne Sullivan
- Bette Davis for What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? as Baby Jane Hudson
- Katharine Hepburn for Long Day's Journey Into Night as Mary Tyrone
- Glynis Johns for The Chapman Report as Theresa Harnish
- Melina Mercouri for Phaedra as Phaedra
- Lee Remick for Days of Wine and Roses as Kirsten Arnesen-Clay
- Susan Strasberg for Hemingway's Adventures of a Young Man as Rosanna
- Shelley Winters for Lolita as Charlotte Haze-Humbert
- Susannah York for Freud: The Secret Passion as Cecily Koertner
- 1963: Leslie Caron for The L-Shaped Room as Jane Fosset
- Polly Bergen for The Caretakers as Lorna Melford
- Geraldine Page for Toys in the Attic as Carrie Berniers
- Rachel Roberts for This Sporting Life as Margaret Hammond
- Romy Schneider for The Cardinal as Annemarie von Hartmann
- Alida Valli for The Paper Man as La Italiana
- Marina Vlady for The Conjugal Bed as Regina
- Natalie Wood for Love with the Proper Stranger as Angie Rossini
- 1964: Anne Bancroft for The Pumpkin Eater as Jo Armitage
- Ava Gardner for The Night of the Iguana as Maxine Faulk
- Rita Hayworth for Circus World as Lili Alfredo
- Geraldine Page for Dear Heart as Evie Jackson
- Jane Seberg for Lilith as Lilith Arthur
- 1965: Samantha Eggar for The Collector as Miranda Grey
- Julie Christie for Darling as Diana Scott
- Elizabeth Hartman for A Patch of Blue as Selina D'Arcy
- Simone Signoret for Ship of Fools as La Condesa
- Maggie Smith for Othello as Desdemona
- 1966: Anouk Aimee for A Man and a Woman as Anne Gauthier
- Ida Kaminska for The Shop on Main Street as Rozália Lautmannová
- Virginia McKenna for Born Free as Joy Adamson
- Elizabeth Taylor for Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? as Martha
- Natalie Wood for This Property Is Condemned as Alva Starr
- 1967: Edith Evans for The Whisperers as Margaret "Maggie" Ross
- Faye Dunaway for Bonnie and Clyde as Bonnie Parker
- Audrey Hepburn for Wait Until Dark as Susy Hendrix
- Katharine Hepburn for Guess Who's Coming to Dinner as Christina Drayton
- Anne Heywood for The Fox as Ellen March
- 1968: Joanne Woodward for Rachel, Rachel as Rachel Cameron
- Mia Farrow for Rosemary's Baby as Rosemary Woodhouse
- Katharine Hepburn for The Lion in Winter as Queen Eleanor Of Aquitaine
- Vanessa Redgrave for Isadora as Isadora Duncan
- Beryl Reid for The Killing of Sister George as June Buckridge / Sister George
- 1969: Geneviève Bujold for Anne of the Thousand Days as Anne Boleyn
- Jane Fonda for They Shoot Horses, Don't They? as Gloria Beatty
- Liza Minnelli for The Sterile Cuckoo as Mary Ann "Pookie" Adams
- Jean Simmons for The Happy Ending as Mary Wilson
- Maggie Smith for The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie as Jean Brodie
1970s
- 1970: Ali MacGraw for Love Story as Jennifer "Jenny" Cavalleri-Barrett
- Faye Dunaway for Puzzle of a Downfall Child as Lou Andreas Sand
- Glenda Jackson for Women in Love as Gudrun Brangwen
- Melina Mercouri for Promise at Dawn as Nina Kacew
- Sarah Miles for Ryan's Daughter as Rosy Ryan
- 1971: Jane Fonda for Klute as Bree Daniels
- Glenda Jackson for Mary, Queen of Scots as Queen Elizabeth I of England
- Vanessa Redgrave for Mary, Queen of Scots as Queen Mary I of Scotland
- Dyan Cannon for Such Good Friends as Julie Messinger
- Jessica Walter for Play Misty for Me as Evelyn Draper
- 1972: Liv Ullmann for The Emigrants as Kristina Nilsson
- Diana Ross for Lady Sings the Blues as Billie Holiday
- Cicely Tyson for Sounder as Rebecca Morgan
- Trish Van Devere for One Is a Lonely Number as Aimee Brower
- Tuesday Weld for Play It as It Lays as Maria Wyeth
- Joanne Woodward for The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds as Beatrice Hunsdorfer
- 1973: Marsha Mason for Cinderella Liberty as Maggie Paul
- Ellen Burstyn for The Exorcist as Chris MacNeil
- Barbra Streisand for The Way We Were as Katie Morosky
- Elizabeth Taylor for Ash Wednesday as Barbara Sawyer
- Joanne Woodward for Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams as Rita Walden
- 1974: Gena Rowlands for A Woman Under the Influence as Mabel Longhetti
- Ellen Burstyn for Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore as Alice Hyatt
- Faye Dunaway for Chinatown as Evelyn Cross Mulwray
- Valerie Perrine for Lenny as Honey Bruce
- Liv Ullmann for Scenes from a Marriage as Marianne
- 1975: Louise Fletcher for One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest as Nurse Mildred Ratched
- Karen Black for The Day of the Locust as Faye Greener
- Faye Dunaway for Three Days of the Condor as Kathy Hale
- Marilyn Hassett for The Other Side of the Mountain as Jill Kinmont
- Glenda Jackson for Hedda as Hedda Gabler
- 1976: Faye Dunaway for Network as Diana Christensen
- Glenda Jackson for The Incredible Sarah as Sarah Bernhardt
- Sarah Miles for The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea as Anne Osborne
- Talia Shire for Rocky as Adrian Pennino
- Liv Ullmann for Face to Face as Dr. Jenny Isaksson
- 1977: Jane Fonda for Julia as Lillian Hellman
- Anne Bancroft for The Turning Point as Emma Jacklin
- Diane Keaton for Looking for Mr. Goodbar as Theresa Dunn
- Kathleen Quinlan for I Never Promised You a Rose Garden as Deborah Blake
- Gena Rowlands for Opening Night as Myrtle Gordon
- 1978: Jane Fonda for Coming Home as Sally Hyde
- Ingrid Bergman for Autumn Sonata as Charlotte Andergast
- Jill Clayburgh for An Unmarried Woman as Erica Benton
- Glenda Jackson for Stevie as Stevie Smith
- Geraldine Page for Interiors as Eve
- 1979: Sally Field for Norma Rae as Norma Rae Webster
- Jill Clayburgh for La Luna as Caterina Silveri
- Lisa Eichhorn for Yanks as Jean Moreton
- Jane Fonda for The China Syndrome as Kimberly Wells
- Marsha Mason for Promises in the Dark as Dr. Alexandra Kendall
1980s
- 1980: Mary Tyler Moore for Ordinary People as Beth Jarrett
- Ellen Burstyn for Resurrection as Edna Mae Harper-McCauley
- Nastassja Kinski for Tess as Tess Durbeyfield
- Deborah Raffin for Touched by Love as Lena Canada
- Gena Rowlands for Gloria as Gloria Swenson
- 1981: Meryl Streep for The French Lieutenant's Woman as Sarah Woodruff / Anna
- Sally Field for Absence of Malice as Megan Carter
- Katharine Hepburn for On Golden Pond as Ethel Thayer
- Diane Keaton for Reds as Louise Bryant
- Sissy Spacek for Raggedy Man as Nita Longley
- 1982: Meryl Streep for Sophie's Choice as Zofia "Sophie" Zawistowski
- Diane Keaton for Shoot the Moon as Faith Dunlap
- Jessica Lange for Frances as Frances Farmer
- Sissy Spacek for missing. as Beth Horman
- Debra Winger for An Officer and a Gentleman as Paula Pokrifki
- 1983: Shirley MacLaine for Terms of Endearment as Aurora Greenway
- Debra Winger for Terms of Endearment as Emma Greenway-Horton
- Jane Alexander for Testament as Carol Wetherly
- Bonnie Bedelia for Heart Like a Wheel as Shirley Muldowney
- Meryl Streep for Silkwood as Karen Silkwood
- 1984: Sally Field for Places in the Heart as Edna Spalding
- Diane Keaton for Mrs. Soffel as Kate Soffel
- Jessica Lange for Country as Jewell Ivy
- Vanessa Redgrave for The Bostonians as Olive Chancellor
- Sissy Spacek for The River as Mae Garvey
- 1985: Whoopi Goldberg for The Color Purple as Celie Harris-Johnson
- Anne Bancroft for Agnes of God as Mother Miriam Ruth / Anna Maria Burchetti
- Cher for Mask as Florence "Rusty" Dennis
- Geraldine Page for The Trip to Bountiful as Carrie Watts
- Meryl Streep for Out of Africa as Baroness Karen Blixen
- 1986: Marlee Matlin for Children of a Lesser God as Sarah Norman
- Julie Andrews for Duet for One as Stephanie Anderson
- Anne Bancroft for 'night, Mother as Thelma Cates
- Farrah Fawcett for Extremities as Marjorie
- Sigourney Weaver for Aliens as Ellen Ripley
- 1987: Sally Kirkland for Anna as Anna
- Rachel Chagall for Gaby: A True Story as Gabriela "Gaby" Brimmer
- Glenn Close for Fatal Attraction as Alexandra "Alex" Forrest
- Faye Dunaway for Barfly as Wanda Wilcox
- Barbra Streisand for Nuts as Claudia Draper
- 1988: Tie
- Jodie Foster for The Accused as Sarah Tobias
- Shirley MacLaine for Madame Sousatzka as Madame Sousatzka
- Sigourney Weaver for Gorillas in the Mist as Dian Fossey
- Christine Lahti for Running on Empty as Annie Pope / Cynthia Manfield
- Meryl Streep for Evil Angels as Alice Lynn "Lindy" Chamberlain
- 1989: Michelle Pfeiffer for The Fabulous Baker Boys as Susie Diamond
- Sally Field for Steel Magnolias as M'Lynn Eatenton
- Jessica Lange for Music Box as Ann Talbot
- Andie MacDowell for sex, lies, and videotape as Ann Bishop Mullany
- Liv Ullmann for The Rose Garden as Gabriele Schlüter-Freund
1990s
- 1990: Kathy Bates for Misery as Annie Wilkes
- Anjelica Huston for The Grifters as Lilly Dillon
- Michelle Pfeiffer for The Russia House as Katya Orlova
- Susan Sarandon for White Palace as Nora Baker
- Joanne Woodward for Mr. and Mrs. Bridge as India Bridge
- 1991: Jodie Foster for The Silence of the Lambs as Clarice Starling
- Annette Bening for Bugsy as Virginia Hill
- Geena Davis for Thelma & Louise as Thelma Dickinson
- Susan Sarandon for Thelma and Louise as Louise Sawyer
- Laura Dern for Rambling Rose as Rose
- 1992: Emma Thompson for Howards End as Margaret Schlegel
- Mary McDonnell for Passion Fish as Mary-Alice Culhane
- Michelle Pfeiffer for Love Field as Louise Irene "Lurene" Hallett
- Susan Sarandon for Lorenzo's Oil as Michaela Odone
- Sharon Stone for Basic Instinct as Catherine Tramell
- 1993: Holly Hunter for The Piano as Ada McGrath
- Juliette Binoche for Three Colors: Blue as Julie de Courcy
- Michelle Pfeiffer for The Age of Innocence as Ellen Olenska
- Emma Thompson for The Remains of the Day as Sarah "Sally" Kenton
- Debra Winger for A Dangerous Woman as Martha Horgan
- 1994: Jessica Lange for Blue Sky as Carly Marshall
- Jodie Foster for Nell as Nell Kellty
- Jennifer Jason Leigh for Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle as Dorothy Parker
- Miranda Richardson for Tom & Viv as Vivienne Haigh-Wood Eliot
- Meryl Streep for The River Wild as Gail Hartman
- 1995: Sharon Stone for Casino as Ginger McKenna
- Susan Sarandon for Dead Man Walking as Sister Helen Prejean
- Elisabeth Shue for Leaving Las Vegas as Sera
- Meryl Streep for The Bridges of Madison County as Francesca Johnson
- Emma Thompson for Sense and Sensibility as Elinor Dashwood
- 1996: Brenda Blethyn for Secrets & Lies as Cynthia Purley
- Courtney Love for The People vs. Larry Flynt as Althea Leasure
- Kristin Scott Thomas for The English Patient as Katharine Clifton
- Meryl Streep for Marvin's Room as Lee Wakefield-Lacker
- Emily Watson for Breaking the Waves as Bess McNeil
- 1997: Judi Dench for Mrs Brown as Queen Victoria
- Helena Bonham Carter for The Wings of the Dove as Kate Croy
- Jodie Foster for Contact as Dr. Eleanor "Ellie" Arroway
- Jessica Lange for A Thousand Acres as Ginny Cook-Smith
- Kate Winslet for Titanic as Rose DeWitt Bukater
- 1998: Cate Blanchett for Elizabeth as Queen Elizabeth I of England
- Fernanda Montenegro for Central Station as Isadora "Dora" Teixeido
- Susan Sarandon for Stepmom as Jackie Harrison
- Meryl Streep for One True Thing as Kate Gulden
- Emily Watson for Hilary and Jackie as Jacqueline "Jackie" du Pré
- 1999: Hilary Swank for Boys Don't Cry as Brandon Teena
- Annette Bening for American Beauty as Carolyn Burnham
- Julianne Moore for The End of the Affair as Sarah Miles
- Meryl Streep for Music of the Heart as Roberta Guaspari
- Sigourney Weaver for A Map of the World as Alice Goodwin
2000s
- 2000: Julia Roberts for Erin Brockovich as Erin Brockovich
- Joan Allen for The Contender as Senator Laine Hanson
- Björk for Dancer in the Dark as Selma Ježková
- Ellen Burstyn for Requiem for a Dream as Sara Goldfarb
- Laura Linney for You Can Count on Me as Samantha "Sammy" Prescott
- 2001: Sissy Spacek for In the Bedroom as Ruth Fowler
- Halle Berry for Monster's Ball as Leticia Musgrove
- Judi Dench for Iris as Iris Murdoch
- Nicole Kidman for The Others as Grace Stewart
- Tilda Swinton for The Deep End as Margaret Hall
- 2002: Nicole Kidman for The Hours as Virginia Woolf
- Meryl Streep for The Hours as Clarissa Vaughan
- Salma Hayek for Frida as Frida Kahlo
- Diane Lane for Unfaithful as Constance "Connie" Sumner
- Julianne Moore for Far from Heaven as Cathleen "Cathy" Whitaker
- 2003: Charlize Theron for Monster as Aileen Wuornos
- Cate Blanchett for Veronica Guerin as Veronica Guerin
- Scarlett Johansson for Girl with a Pearl Earring as Griet Huller
- Nicole Kidman for Cold Mountain as Ada Monroe
- Uma Thurman for Kill Bill: Vol. 1 as Beatrix Kiddo / The Bride
- Evan Rachel Wood for Thirteen as Tracy Freeland
- 2004: Hilary Swank for Million Dollar Baby as Margaret "Maggie" Fitzgerald
- Scarlett Johansson for A Love Song for Bobby Long as Purslane "Pursy" Will
- Nicole Kidman for Birth as Anna Wicker
- Imelda Staunton for Vera Drake as Vera Drake
- Uma Thurman for Kill Bill: Vol. 2 as Beatrix Kiddo / The Bride
- 2005: Felicity Huffman for Transamerica as Sabrina "Bree" Osbourne / Stanley Schupak
- Maria Bello for A History of Violence as Edie Stall
- Gwyneth Paltrow for Proof as Catherine Llewellyn
- Charlize Theron for North Country as Josephine "Josey" Aimes
- Zhang Ziyi for Memoirs of a Geisha as Chiyo Sakamoto / Sayuri Nitta
- 2006: Helen Mirren for The Queen as Queen Elizabeth II of England
- Penélope Cruz for Volver as Raimunda
- Judi Dench for Notes on a Scandal as Barbara Covett
- Maggie Gyllenhaal for Sherrybaby as Sherry Swanson
- Kate Winslet for Little Children as Sarah Pierce
- 2007: Julie Christie for Away from Her as Fiona Anderson
- Cate Blanchett for Elizabeth: The Golden Age as Queen Elizabeth I of England
- Jodie Foster for The Brave One as Erica Bain
- Angelina Jolie for A Mighty Heart as Mariane Pearl
- Keira Knightley for Atonement as Cecilia Tallis
- 2008: Kate Winslet for Revolutionary Road as April Wheeler
- Anne Hathaway for Rachel Getting Married as Kym Buchman
- Angelina Jolie for Changeling as Christine Collins
- Kristin Scott Thomas for I've Loved You So Long as Juliette Fontaine
- Meryl Streep for Doubt as Sister Aloysius Beauvier
- 2009: Sandra Bullock for The Blind Side as Leigh Anne Tuohy
- Emily Blunt for The Young Victoria as Queen Victoria
- Helen Mirren for The Last Station as Countess Sofia Tolstaya
- Carey Mulligan for An Education as Jenny Mellor
- Gabourey Sidibe for Precious as Claireece "Precious" Jones
2010s
- 2010: Natalie Portman for Black Swan as Nina Sayers / The White Swan
- Halle Berry for Frankie and Alice as Frankie Murdoch / Genius / Alice
- Nicole Kidman for Rabbit Hole as Rebecca "Becca" Corbett
- Jennifer Lawrence for Winter's Bone as Ree Dolly
- Michelle Williams for Blue Valentine as Cynthia "Cindy" Heller
- 2011: Meryl Streep for The Iron Lady as Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher
- Glenn Close for Albert Nobbs as Albert Nobbs
- Viola Davis for The Help as Aibileen Clark
- Rooney Mara for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo as Lisbeth Salander
- Tilda Swinton for We Need to Talk About Kevin as Eva Khatchadourian
- 2012: Jessica Chastain for Zero Dark Thirty as Maya Harris
- Marion Cotillard for Rust and Bone as Stéphanie
- Helen Mirren for Hitchcock as Alma Reville
- Naomi Watts for The Impossible as Maria Bennett
- Rachel Weisz for The Deep Blue Sea as Hester Collyer
- 2013: Cate Blanchett for Blue Jasmine as Jeanette "Jasmine" Francis
- Sandra Bullock for Gravity as Dr. Ryan Stone
- Judi Dench for Philomena as Philomena Lee
- Emma Thompson for Saving Mr. Banks as P.L. Travers
- Kate Winslet for Labor Day as Adele Wheeler
- 2014: Julianne Moore for Still Alice as Dr. Alice Howland
- Jennifer Aniston for Cake as Claire Bennett
- Felicity Jones for The Theory of Everything as Jane Hawking
- Rosamund Pike for Gone Girl as Amy Elliot-Dunne / Nancy
- Reese Witherspoon for Wild as Cheryl Strayed
- 2015: Brie Larson for Room as Joy "Ma" Newsome
- Cate Blanchett for Carol as Carol Aird
- Rooney Mara for Carol as Therese Belivet
- Saoirse Ronan for Brooklyn as Ellis Lacey
- Alicia Vikander for The Danish Girl as Gerda Wegener
- 2016: Isabelle Huppert for Elle as Michèle Leblanc
- Amy Adams for Arrival as Dr. Louise Banks
- Jessica Chastain for Miss Sloane as Elizabeth Sloane
- Ruth Negga for Loving as Mildred Loving
- Natalie Portman for Jackie as Jacqueline "Jackie" Kennedy
- 2017: Frances McDormand for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri as Mildred Hayes
- Jessica Chastain for Molly's Game as Molly Bloom
- Sally Hawkins for The Shape of Water as Elisa Esposito
- Meryl Streep for The Post as Katharine "Kay" Graham
- Michelle Williams for All the Money in the World as Gail Harris
- 2018: Glenn Close for The Wife as Joan Castleman
- Lady Gaga for A Star Is Born as Ally Campana-Maine
- Nicole Kidman for Destroyer as Erin Bell
- Melissa McCarthy for Can You Ever Forgive Me? as Lee Israel
- Rosamund Pike for A Private War as Marie Colvin
- 2019: Renée Zellweger for Judy as Judy Garland
- Cynthia Erivo for Harriet as Harriet Tubman
- Scarlett Johansson for Marriage Story as Nicole Barber
- Saoirse Ronan for Little Women as Josephine "Jo" March
- Charlize Theron for Bombshell as Megyn Kelly
2020s
- 2020: Andra Day for The United States vs. Billie Holiday as Billie Holiday
- Viola Davis for Ma Rainey's Black Bottom as Gertrude "Ma" Rainey
- Vanessa Kirby for Pieces of a Woman as Martha Weiss
- Frances McDormand for Nomadland as Fern
- Carey Mulligan for Promising Young Woman as Cassandra "Cassie" Thomas
- 2021: Nicole Kidman for Being the Ricardos as Lucille Ball
- Jessica Chastain for The Eyes of Tammy Faye as Tammy Faye Bakker
- Olivia Colman for The Lost Daughter as Leda Caruso
- Lady Gaga for House of Gucci as Patrizia Reggiani
- Kristen Stewart for Spencer as Diana, Princess of Wales
- 2022: Cate Blanchett for Tár as Lydia Tár
- Olivia Colman for Empire of Light as Hilary Small
- Viola Davis for The Woman King as General Nanisca
- Ana de Armas for Blonde as Norma Jeane Mortensen / Marilyn Monroe
- Michelle Williams for The Fabelmans as Mitzi Schildkraut-Fabelman
- 2023: Lily Gladstone for Killers of the Flower Moon as Mollie Burkhart
- Annette Bening for Nyad as Diana Nyad
- Sandra Hüller for Anatomy of a Fall as Sandra Voyter
- Greta Lee for Past Lives as Nora Moon / Moon Na Young
- Carey Mulligan for Maestro as Felicia Montealegre Bernstein
- Cailee Spaeny for Priscilla as Priscilla Presley