The European Film Award for Best Actress is an award given out at the annual

European Film Awards The European Film Awards (or European Film Academy Awards) have been presented annually since 1988 by the European Film Academy to recognize excellence in European cinematic achievements. The awards are given in 19 categories, of which the mo ...

to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding leading performance in a

film industry The film industry or motion picture industry comprises the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking, i.e., film production companies, film studios, cinematography, animation, film production, screenwriting, pre-production, post ...

. The awards are presented by the

European Film Academy The European Film Academy is an initiative of a group of European filmmakers who came together in Berlin on the occasion of the first presentation of the European Film Awards in November 1988. The Academy—under the name of European Cinema Soci ...

(EFA) and was first presented in 1988 to Spanish actress

Carmen Maura María del Carmen García Maura (born 15 September 1945) is a Spanish actress. In a career that has spanned six decades, she has starred in films such as ''Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown'', ''¡Ay Carmela!'', '' Common Wealth'', and ...

for her role as Pepa in ''

Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown ''Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown'' ( es, Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios) is a 1988 Spanish black comedy film written and directed by Pedro Almodóvar, starring Carmen Maura and Antonio Banderas. The film brought Almodóvar to ...

''.

Juliette Binoche Juliette Binoche (; born 9 March 1964) is a French actress and dancer. She has appeared in more than sixty feature films and has been the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Silver Bear, ...

Isabelle Huppert Isabelle Anne Madeleine Huppert (; born 16 March 1953) is a French actress. Described as "one of the best actresses in the world", she is known for her portrayals of cold and disdainful characters devoid of morality. She is the recipient of sev ...

and

Charlotte Rampling Tessa Charlotte Rampling (born 5 February 1946) is an English actress, known for her work in European arthouse films in English, French, and Italian. An icon of the Swinging Sixties, she began her career as a model. She was cast in the role ...

are the only actresses who have received this award more than once with two wins each.

Penélope Cruz Penélope Cruz Sánchez (; ; born 28 April 1974) is a Spanish actress. Known for her roles in films of several genres, particularly those in the Spanish language, she has received various accolades, including an Academy Award and a British A ...

is the most nominated actress in the category with five nominations followed by

and

with four.

Winners and nominees

(Carmen Maura) Entrega de la Medalla internacional de las Artes de la Comunidad de Madrid a Carmen Maura (33552184358) (cropped)

MJK 330427 Juliette Binoche (Berlinale 2019) (cropped)

Emily Watson (25831419375) cropped (cropped)

MJK 330400 Sandra Hüller (Berlinale 2019)

Alexandra Borbély Photo Call On Body and Soul Berlinale 2017 01

1980s

1990s

2000s

2010s

2020s

Multiple wins and nominations

Multiple wins

Multiple nominations

Superlatives

Age superlatives

Multiple nominations from the same film

References

External links

European Film Academy archive
{{European Film Award for Best Actress

Actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a Character (arts), character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek ...

Film awards for lead actress Awards established in 1988 1988 establishments in Europe