The

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical is awarded to the best actress in a Musical theatre, musical, whether a new production or a revival. The award has been given since 1948, but the nominees who did not win have only been publicly announced since 1956.

History

The award was not presented in 1st Tony Awards, 1947 or 39th Tony Awards, 1985. Ken Mandelbaum wrote about the 1985 season: "Things get bad enough musically to require the elimination of the Best Musical Actor and Actress categories, as well as the choreography prize." There have been three ties in this category, in 1958, 1962 and 1968.History, Ties in Tony History"
tonyawards.com, accessed June 13, 2014 In 1965, Liza Minnelli, Liza Minelli, age 19, became the youngest actress to win the award, a record she still holds today. She is followed by Lea Salonga, age 20, in 1991. In 2017, Bette Midler, age 71, became the oldest actress to win the award, a record she still holds today. She is followed by Ruth Brown, age 61, in 1989.

Winners and nominees

1940s

1950s

1960s

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s

2010s

2020s

Multiple wins

;4 Wins * Angela Lansbury ;3 Wins * Mary Martin * Gwen Verdon ;2 Wins * Lauren Bacall * Christine Ebersole * Sutton Foster * Patti Lupone * Liza Minnelli * Donna Murphy * Bernadette Peters * Chita Rivera

Multiple nominations

;8 Nominations * Chita Rivera ;7 Nominations * Sutton Foster ;6 Nominations * Kelli O'Hara * Bernadette Peters ;5 Nominations * Patti LuPone * Donna Murphy * Gwen Verdon ;4 Nominations * Carol Channing * Angela Lansbury * Mary Martin ;3 Nominations * Julie Andrews * Jessie Mueller * Christine Ebersole * Dee Hoty * Dorothy Loudon * Audra McDonald * Ethel Merman * Liza Minnelli * Faith Prince ;2 Nominations * Lauren Bacall * Stephanie J. Block * Georgia Brown (English singer), Georgia Brown * Carolee Carmello * Kristin Chenoweth * Carmen Cusack * Sandy Duncan * Nanette Fabray * Dolores Gray * Barbara Harris (actress), Barbara Harris * Judy Kuhn * LaChanze * Beth Leavel * Beatrice Lillie * Rebecca Luker * Marin Mazzie * Patina Miller * Idina Menzel * Eva Noblezada * Laura Osnes * Tonya Pinkins * Alice Ripley * Sherie Rene Scott * Alexis Smith * Elaine Stritch * Inga Swenson * Nancy Walker

Multiple character wins

;3 Wins * Anna Leonowens from ''The King and I'' * Rose Thompson Hovick, Rose from ''Gypsy (musical), Gypsy'' ;2 Wins * Desiree Armfeldt from ''A Little Night Music'' * Celie Harris Johnson from ''The Color Purple (musical), The Color Purple'' * Dolly Gallagher Levi from ''Hello, Dolly! (musical), Hello, Dolly!''

Multiple character nominations

;5 Nominations * Rose Thompson Hovick, Rose from ''Gypsy (musical), Gypsy'' ;4 Nominations * Peter Pan from ''Peter Pan (1954 musical), Peter Pan'' and ''Jerome Robbins' Broadway'' ;3 Nominations * Anna Leonowens from ''The King and I'' * Charity Hope Valentine from ''Sweet Charity'' * Mrs. Lovett from ''Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Sweeney Todd'' * Phyllis Rogers Stone from ''Follies'' ;2 Nominations * Amalia Balash from ''She Loves Me'' * Bess from ''Porgy and Bess'' * Caroline Thibodeaux from ''Caroline, or Change'' * Celie Harris Johnson from ''The Color Purple (musical), The Color Purple'' * Desiree Armfeldt from ''A Little Night Music'' * Dolly Gallagher Levi from ''Hello, Dolly! (musical), Hello, Dolly!'' * Dot / Marie from ''Sunday in the Park with George'' * Eliza Doolittle from ''My Fair Lady'' * Ella Peterson from ''Bells Are Ringing (musical), Bells Are Ringing'' * Ensign Nellie Forbush from ''South Pacific (musical), South Pacific'' * Fiona MacLaren from ''Brigadoon'' * Kim from ''Miss Saigon'' * Lilli Vanessi / Katharine from ''Kiss Me, Kate'' * Lily Garland / Mildred Plotka from ''On the Twentieth Century'' * Lizzie Curry from ''110 in the Shade'' * Marian Paroo from ''The Music Man'' * Mother from ''Ragtime (musical), Ragtime'' * Reno Sweeney from ''Anything Goes'' * Ruth Sherwood from ''Wonderful Town'' * Sarah Brown from ''Guys and Dolls'' * Velma Kelly from ''Chicago (musical), Chicago''

Musicals with multiple lead nominations

* ''New Girl in Town'' – Thelma Ritter (winner) and Gwen Verdon (winner) * ''Company (musical), Company'' – Susan Browning and Elaine Stritch * ''Follies'' – Dorothy Collins and Alexis Smith (winner) * ''Chicago (musical), Chicago'' – Chita Rivera and Gwen Verdon * ''Annie (musical), Annie'' – Dorothy Loudon (winner) and Andrea McArdle * ''Dreamgirls'' – Jennifer Holliday (winner) and Sheryl Lee Ralph * ''The Rink (musical), The Rink'' – Liza Minnelli and Chita Rivera (winner) * ''Black and Blue (musical), Black and Blue'' – Ruth Brown (winner) and Linda Hopkins * ''Guys and Dolls'' – Josie de Guzman and Faith Prince (winner) * ''Urinetown'' – Nancy Opel and Jennifer Laura Thompson * ''Wicked (musical), Wicked'' – Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel (winner) * ''War Paint (musical), War Paint'' – Christine Ebersole and Patti LuPone * ''The Prom (musical), The Prom'' – Caitlin Kinnunen and Beth Leavel

Multiple awards and nominations

Actress who have been nominated multiple times in any acting categories

References

External links

Internet Broadway Database Awards Archive

{{TonyAwardsbyYear Theatre acting awards Tony Awards Awards established in 1948 1948 establishments in the United States Awards for actresses