The Volpi Cup for Best Actress is an award presented by the

Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival he ...

. It is given by the festival jury in honor of an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance from the films in the competition

slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...

. It is named in honor of Count Giuseppe Volpi di Misurata, the founder of the festival. The 1st ceremony was held in 1932, when

Helen Hayes Helen Hayes MacArthur ( Brown; October 10, 1900 – March 17, 1993) was an American actress whose career spanned 80 years. She eventually received the nickname "First Lady of American Theatre" and was the second person and first woman to have w ...

received the Volpi Cup for the title role in ''

The Sin of Madelon Claudet ''The Sin of Madelon Claudet'' is a 1931 American pre-Code drama film directed by Edgar Selwyn and starring Helen Hayes. The screenplay by Charles MacArthur and Ben Hecht was adapted from the play ''The Lullaby'' by Edward Knoblock. It tell ...

'' (1931)—this was the only time that the award was chosen by public voting. From 1942 to 1945, the festival was suspended because of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The student protests in

May 1968 The following events occurred in May 1968: May 1, 1968 (Wednesday) * CARIFTA, the Caribbean Free Trade Association, was formally created as an agreement between Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Guyana, and Trinidad and Tobago. * RAF Strike ...

opened a period of institutional changes, with no prizes were awarded from 1969 to 1979. The official name of the award has changed several times. In

1934 Events January–February * January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established. * January 15 – The 8.0 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake, Nepal–Bihar earthquake strik ...

Katharine Hepburn Katharine Houghton Hepburn (May 12, 1907 – June 29, 2003) was an American actress in film, stage, and television. Her career as a Hollywood leading lady spanned over 60 years. She was known for her headstrong independence, spirited perso ...

was honored with the Great Gold Medal of the National Fascist Association for Entertainment for the Best Actress for her role in '' Little Women''. It was renamed the Volpi Cup for Best Actress the following year. The awards given from

1947 It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country in ...

to 1949 were named the International Award for the Best Actress. The Best Actress Award resumed in 1983, when Darling Légitimus became the first black woman to receive the award for her work '' Sugar Cane Alley''. In

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

Ingrid Bergman Ingrid Bergman (29 August 191529 August 1982) was a Swedish actress who starred in a variety of European and American films, television movies, and plays.Obituary ''Variety'', 1 September 1982. With a career spanning five decades, she is often ...

was honored posthumously for her performance in ''

Europe '51 ''Europe '51'' ( it, Europa '51), also known as ''The Greatest Love'', is a 1952 Italian neorealist film directed by Roberto Rossellini, starring Ingrid Bergman and Alexander Knox. The film follows an industrialist's wife who, after the death ...

'', which was denied by the jury in 1952 because her voice was dubbed from Swedish into Italian. The award can be for lead or supporting roles with the exception of the period, when the additional award for Best Supporting Actress was given from 1993 to

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

. At the age of four,

Victoire Thivisol Victoire Thivisol (born 6 July 1991) is a French film actress. She first gained acclaim for her role as a child coping with her mother's death in the 1996 film ''Ponette'', becoming the youngest actress to win the Volpi Cup Best Actress Award ...

became the youngest recipient for the title role in ''

Ponette ''Ponette'' is a 1996 French film directed by Jacques Doillon. The film centers on four-year-old Ponette ( Victoire Thivisol), who is coming to terms with the death of her mother in a car crash. The film received acclaim for Thivisol's performance ...

'' in 1996. Since its inception, the award has been given to 67 actresses. Only four of them have won more than once:

Shirley MacLaine Shirley MacLaine (born Shirley MacLean Beaty, April 24, 1934) is an American actress, author, and former dancer. Known for her portrayals of quirky, strong-willed and eccentric women, MacLaine has received numerous accolades over her seven-dec ...

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 ...

Valeria Golino Valeria Golino (born 22 October 1965) is an Italian actress and film director. She is best known to English-language audiences for her roles in '' Rain Man'', ''Big Top Pee-wee'' and the two '' Hot Shots!'' films, particularly the olive-in-the-be ...

and

Cate Blanchett Catherine Elise Blanchett (; born 14 May 1969) is an Australian actor. Regarded as one of the finest performers of her generation, she is known for her versatile work across independent films, blockbusters, and the stage. She has received nu ...

, who have each won the cup twice.

Bette Davis Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis (; April 5, 1908 – October 6, 1989) was an American actress with a career spanning more than 50 years and 100 acting credits. She was noted for playing unsympathetic, sardonic characters, and was famous for her pe ...

is the only actress to win the award for her roles in two different films on the same competition; she won in 1937 for her contribution in ''

Marked Woman ''Marked Woman'' is a 1937 American dramatic crime film directed by Lloyd Bacon and starring Bette Davis and Humphrey Bogart, with featured performances by Lola Lane, Isabel Jewell, Rosalind Marquis, Mayo Methot, Jane Bryan, Eduardo Ciannell ...

'' and ''

Kid Galahad ''Kid Galahad'' is a 1962 American musical film starring Elvis Presley as a boxer. It was released by United Artists in August 1962 and opened at #9 at the American box office. ''Variety'' ranked it #37 on its list of the top-grossing films of 1 ...

''. In

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...

, the award was shared by two actresses in different films: Huppert in ''

Story of Women ''Story of Women'' (french: Une affaire de femmes) is a 1988 French drama film directed by Claude Chabrol, based on the true story of Marie-Louise Giraud, guillotined on 30 July 1943 for having performed 27 abortions in the Cherbourg area, and ...

'' and MacLaine in ''

Madame Sousatzka ''Madame Sousatzka'' is a 1988 drama film directed by John Schlesinger, with a screenplay by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala. It is based upon the 1962 novel of the same name by Bernice Rubens. __TOC__ Plot Bengali immigrant Sushila Sen (Shabana Azmi) l ...

''. There have been two films, ''

She's Been Away ''She's Been Away'' is a 1989 British television play by Stephen Poliakoff and directed by Sir Peter Hall. In her final appearance it starred Dame Peggy Ashcroft, who won two awards at the Venice International Film Festival The Venice F ...

'' in 1989 and ''

La Cérémonie ''La Cérémonie'' is a 1995 crime drama film by Claude Chabrol, adapted from the 1977 novel ''A Judgement in Stone'' by Ruth Rendell. The film echoes the case of Christine and Lea Papin, two French maids who brutally murdered their employer's wif ...

'' in

, that garnered multiple winners in one year. ,

is the most recent winner in this category for her portrayal of Lydia Tár in ''

Tár ''Tár'' (stylized as ''TÁR'') is a 2022 psychological drama film written and directed by Todd Field and starring Cate Blanchett. The film charts the downfall of fictional composer and conductor Lydia Tár. The supporting cast includes Noémie ...

''.

Winners

Multiple winners

The following individuals have received multiple Best Actress awards:

Notes

References

External links

Volpi Cup winners since 1935
at

Venice Biennale The Venice Biennale (; it, La Biennale di Venezia) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy by the Biennale Foundation. The biennale has been organised every year since 1895, which makes it the oldest of ...

{{featured list Venice Film Festival Awards for actresses Film awards for lead actress Film awards for supporting actress Italian film awards

Winners

Multiple winners

See also

Notes

References

External links