The Silver Bear for Best Actress (german: Silberner Bär/Beste Darstellerin) was an award presented at the

Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the fest ...

from 1956 to 2020. It was given to an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance and was chosen by the International Jury from the films in the Competition slate at the festival. Beginning with the 71st Berlin International Film Festival, the award was replaced with two

gender-neutral Gender neutrality (adjective form: gender-neutral), also known as gender-neutralism or the gender neutrality movement, is the idea that policies, language, and other social institutions ( social structures or gender roles) should avoid disting ...

categories, Silver Bear for Best Leading Performance and

Silver Bear for Best Supporting Performance The Silver Bear for Best Supporting Performance (german: Silberner Bär/Beste Schauspielerische Leistung in einer Nebenrolle) is an award presented at the Berlin International Film Festival for an outstanding performance in a supporting role and ...

. At the

6th Berlin International Film Festival The 6th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 22 June to 3 July 1956. The FIAPF granted the festival the "A status" during this year, which was previously only reserved for Cannes and Venice. The awards for the first time, w ...

held in 1956,

Elsa Martinelli Elsa Martinelli (born Elisa Tia; 30 January 1935 – 8 July 2017) was an Italian actress and fashion model. Life and career Born Elisa Tia in Grosseto, Tuscany, she moved to Rome with her family. In 1953, she was discovered by Roberto Capu ...

was the first winner of this award for her performance in '' Donatella'', and

Paula Beer Paula Beer (; born 23 February 1995 in Mainz) is a German actress. She first became known as a teenager for her main role in Chris Kraus' 2010 film ''Poll''. Her breakthrough was in 2016, when she starred in François Ozon's '' Frantz'' (2016), f ...

was the last winner in this category for her role in '' Undine'' at the

70th Berlin International Film Festival The 70th annual Berlin International Film Festival took place from 20 February to 1 March 2020. It was the first under the leadership of new Berlin Film Festival heads, business administration director Mariette Rissenbeek and artistic director C ...

in 2020.

History

The award was first presented in 1956, and can be for lead or supporting roles. The prize was not awarded on four occasions (1969, 1973–74, and 1990). In 1970, no awards were given as the festival was called off mid-way due to the controversy over official selection film, '' o.k.'' by

Michael Verhoeven Michael Verhoeven (born 13 July 1938) is a German film director. Life and work Verhoeven is the son of the German film director Paul Verhoeven (not to be confused with the Dutch film director Paul Verhoeven). He married actress Senta Berger in ...

, which led to the resignation of the international jury. In 2011, the entire female cast of '' A Separation'' received the award.

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 ...

has won the most awards in this category, with two.

Sachiko Hidari was a Japanese actress and film director. Life Hidari was born in Asahi, Toyama, as the eldest of 8 children. She graduated from Tokyo Women's College of Physical Education and gave her film debut in 1952 in ''Wakaki hi no ayamachi''. Betw ...

is the only actress to win the award for two different films in the same competition, for her roles in ''

The Insect Woman is a 1963 Japanese drama film directed by Shōhei Imamura. It was entered into the 14th Berlin International Film Festival, where Sachiko Hidari won the Silver Bear for Best Actress award. It was also awarded numerous national film prizes. Plo ...

'' and '' She and He'' (1964). The last of this award was given out in 2020, after which it was replaced with a

categories, Best Leading Performance and Best Supporting Performance the following year.

Winners

MJK 335158 Paula Beer (NRW-Empfang, Berlinale 2019)

Multiple winners

The following individual(s) have received multiple Best Actress awards:

Notes

:A: Performer to receive a single award which honor the outstanding work in multiple different films in the same official competition slate. :B: The entire male and female cast of '' A Separation'' (''جدایی نادر از سیمین'') was recipient of this award.

References

External links

Berlinale website

Berlin Film Festival at IMDb
{{DEFAULTSORT:Silver Bear For Best Actress

Actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a 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 term is (), li ...