Award for role in Broadway play
The Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play is an honor presented at the Tony Awards , a ceremony established in 1947 as the Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre, to actresses for quality leading roles in a Broadway play. The awards are named after Antoinette Perry , an American actress who died in 1946.
Honors in several categories are presented at the ceremony annually by the Tony Award Productions, a joint venture of The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing , to "honor the best performances and stage productions of the previous year."[ 1] [ 2]
The award was originally called the Tony Award for Actress—Play . It was first presented to Ingrid Bergman and Helen Hayes at the 1st Tony Awards for their portrayals of Mary Grey / Joan of Arc and Addie Bemis in Joan of Lorraine and Happy Birthday , respectively. Before 1956, nominees' names were not made public;[ 3] the change was made by the awards committee to "have a greater impact on theatregoers".[ 4]
There have been two ties and one three-way tie in this category. Julie Harris holds the record for having the most wins and nominations in this category, with a total of five wins from nine nominations. Medea in the play of the same name is the character to take the award the most times, winning three times.
Winners and nominees [ edit ]
indicates the winner
Ingrid Bergman won for Joan of Lorraine (1947)
Helen Hayes won twice
Judith Anderson won the award for Medea (1948)
Shirley Booth won this award twice in 1950 and 1953
Audrey Hepburn won for Ondine (1954)
Julie Harris won a record breaking five times in this category
Anne Bancroft won for The Miracle Worker (1960)
Margaret Leighton won for Night of the Iguana (1962)
Sandy Dennis won for Ash Wednesday (1964)
Rosemary Harris won for The Lion in Winter (1965)
Maureen Stapleton won for The Gingerbread Lady (1971)
Colleen Dewhurst won for A Moon for the Misbegotten (1973)
Ellen Burstyn won for Same Time, Next Year (1975)
Jessica Tandy won twice in 1978 and 1981
Glenn Close won twice in 1984 and 1992
Stockard Channing won for A Day in the Death of Joe Egg (1985)
Lily Tomlin won for The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe (1986)
Joan Allen won for Burn This (1988)
Pauline Collins for Shirley Valentine (1989)
Maggie Smith won for Lettice and Lovage (1990)
Mercedes Ruehl won for Lost in Yonkers (1991)
Madeline Kahn won for The Sisters Rosenweig (1993)
Cherry Jones won twice for The Heiress (1995) and for Doubt (2005)
Janet McTeer won for A Doll's House (1997)
Judi Dench won for Amy's View (1999)
Jennifer Ehle won for The Real Thing (2000)
Mary-Louise Parker won twice for Proof (2001) and The Sound Inside (2020)
Lindsay Duncan won for Private Lives (2002)
Vanessa Redgrave won for Long Day's Journey into Night (2003)
Phylicia Rashad won for Raisin in the Sun (2004)
Marcia Gay Harden won for God of Carnage (2009)
Viola Davis won for Fences (2010)
Cicely Tyson , age 91, won for A Trip to Bountiful (2012)
Audra McDonald won for Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill (2014)
Helen Mirren won for The Audience (2015)
Glenda Jackson won for Three Tall Women (2018)
Elaine May at the age 87 is the oldest winner in this category. She won for The Waverly Gallery (2019)
Jodie Comer won for Prima Facie (2023)
9 nominations
8 nominations
7 nominations
6 Nominations
5 nominations
4 nominations
3 nominations
2 nominations
Character win total [ edit ]
Character nomination total [ edit ]
5 nominations
4 nominations
3 nominations
2 nominations
Productions with multiple nominations [ edit ]
boldface =Winner
Multiple awards and nominations [ edit ]
Actresses who have been nominated multiple times in any acting categories
^ Kirkley, Donald (April 21, 1968). "Operation Frenzy Before the Tony Awards" . The Baltimore Sun . p. T2. Archived from the original on January 11, 2012. Retrieved December 24, 2011 . (subscription required)
^ Gans, Andrew (December 18, 2007). "League of American Theatres and Producers Announces Name Change" . Playbill . Archived from the original on December 21, 2007. Retrieved September 13, 2013 .
^ Simons, Linda Keir (1994). The Performing Arts: a Guide to the Reference Literature . ABC-CLIO . p. 137. ISBN 978-0-87287-982-9 . Archived from the original on 2013-06-22. Retrieved 2012-01-14 .
^ Gelb, Arthur (April 1, 1956). "Popularizing the Tony Awards" . The New York Times . Retrieved January 14, 2011 . (subscription required)
^ "1956 Tony Awards Nominees" . American Theatre Wing . Retrieved August 11, 2023 .
^ "1957 Tony Awards Nominees" . American Theatre Wing . Retrieved August 11, 2023 .
^ "1958 Tony Awards Nominees" . American Theatre Wing . Retrieved August 11, 2023 .
^ "1959 Tony Awards Nominees" . American Theatre Wing . Retrieved August 11, 2023 .
^ "1960 Tony Awards Nominees" . American Theatre Wing . Retrieved August 11, 2023 .
^ "1961 Tony Awards Nominees" . American Theatre Wing . Retrieved August 11, 2023 .
^ "1962 Tony Awards Nominees" . American Theatre Wing . Retrieved August 11, 2023 .
^ "1963 Tony Awards Nominees" . American Theatre Wing . Retrieved August 11, 2023 .
^ "1964 Tony Awards Nominees" . American Theatre Wing . Retrieved August 11, 2023 .
^ "1965 Tony Awards Nominees" . American Theatre Wing . Retrieved August 11, 2023 .
^ "1966 Tony Awards Nominees" . American Theatre Wing . Retrieved August 11, 2023 .
^ "1967 Tony Awards Nominees" . American Theatre Wing . Retrieved August 11, 2023 .
^ "1968 Tony Awards Nominees" . American Theatre Wing . Retrieved August 11, 2023 .
^ "1969 Tony Awards Nominees" . American Theatre Wing . Retrieved August 11, 2023 .
^ "1970 Tony Awards Nominees" . American Theatre Wing . Retrieved August 11, 2023 .
^ "1971 Tony Awards Nominees" . American Theatre Wing . Retrieved August 11, 2023 .
^ "1972 Tony Awards Nominees" . American Theatre Wing . Retrieved August 11, 2023 .
^ "1973 Tony Awards Nominees" . American Theatre Wing . Retrieved August 11, 2023 .
^ "1974 Tony Awards Nominees" . American Theatre Wing . Retrieved August 11, 2023 .
^ "1975 Tony Awards Nominees" . American Theatre Wing . Retrieved August 11, 2023 .
^ "1976 Tony Awards Nominees" . American Theatre Wing . Retrieved August 11, 2023 .
^ "1977 Tony Awards Nominees" . American Theatre Wing . Retrieved August 11, 2023 .
^ "1978 Tony Awards Nominees" . American Theatre Wing . Retrieved August 11, 2023 .
^ "1979 Tony Awards Nominees" . American Theatre Wing . Retrieved August 11, 2023 .
^ "1980 Tony Awards Nominees" . American Theatre Wing . Retrieved August 11, 2023 .
^ "1981 Tony Awards Nominees" . American Theatre Wing . Retrieved August 11, 2023 .
^ "1982 Tony Awards Nominees" . American Theatre Wing . Retrieved August 11, 2023 .
^ "1983 Tony Awards Nominees" . American Theatre Wing . Retrieved August 11, 2023 .
^ "1984 Tony Awards Nominees" . American Theatre Wing . Retrieved August 11, 2023 .
^ "1985 Tony Awards Nominees" . American Theatre Wing . Retrieved August 11, 2023 .
^ "1986 Tony Awards Nominees" . American Theatre Wing . Retrieved August 11, 2023 .
^ "1987 Tony Awards Nominees" . American Theatre Wing . Retrieved August 11, 2023 .
^ "1988 Tony Awards Nominees" . American Theatre Wing . Retrieved August 11, 2023 .
^ "1989 Tony Awards Nominees" . American Theatre Wing . Retrieved August 11, 2023 .
^ "1990 Tony Awards Nominees" . American Theatre Wing . Retrieved August 11, 2023 .
^ "1991 Tony Awards Nominees" . American Theatre Wing . Retrieved August 11, 2023 .
^ "1992 Tony Awards Nominees" . American Theatre Wing . Retrieved August 11, 2023 .
^ "1993 Tony Awards Nominees" . American Theatre Wing . Retrieved August 11, 2023 .
^ "1994 Tony Awards Nominees" . American Theatre Wing . Retrieved August 11, 2023 .
^ "1995 Tony Awards Nominees" . American Theatre Wing . Retrieved August 11, 2023 .
^ "1996 Tony Awards Nominees" . American Theatre Wing . Retrieved August 11, 2023 .
^ "1997 Tony Awards Nominees" . American Theatre Wing . Retrieved August 11, 2023 .
^ "1998 Tony Awards Nominees" . American Theatre Wing . Retrieved August 11, 2023 .
^ "1999 Tony Awards Nominees" . American Theatre Wing . Retrieved August 11, 2023 .
^ "2000 Tony Awards Nominees" . American Theatre Wing . Retrieved August 11, 2023 .
^ "2001 Tony Awards Nominees" . American Theatre Wing . Retrieved August 11, 2023 .
^ "2002 Tony Awards Nominees" . American Theatre Wing . Retrieved August 11, 2023 .
^ "2003 Tony Awards Nominees" . American Theatre Wing . Retrieved August 11, 2023 .
^ "2004 Tony Awards Nominees" . American Theatre Wing . Retrieved August 11, 2023 .
^ "2005 Tony Awards Nominees" . American Theatre Wing . Retrieved August 11, 2023 .
^ "2006 Tony Awards Nominees" . American Theatre Wing . Retrieved August 11, 2023 .
^ "2007 Tony Awards Nominees" . American Theatre Wing . Retrieved August 11, 2023 .
^ "2008 Tony Awards Nominees" . American Theatre Wing . Retrieved August 11, 2023 .
^ "2009 Tony Awards Nominees" . American Theatre Wing . Retrieved August 11, 2023 .
^ "2010 Tony Awards Nominees" . American Theatre Wing . Retrieved August 10, 2023 .
^ "2011 Tony Awards Nominees" . American Theatre Wing . Retrieved August 10, 2023 .
^ "2012 Tony Awards Nominees" . American Theatre Wing . Retrieved August 10, 2023 .
^ "2013 Tony Awards Nominees" . American Theatre Wing . Retrieved August 10, 2023 .
^ "2014 Tony Awards Nominees" . American Theatre Wing . Retrieved August 10, 2023 .
^ "Tony Nominations 2015: Full List" . Variety . April 28, 2015. Retrieved August 10, 2023 .
^ "2016 Tony Awards Nominees" . American Theatre Wing . Retrieved August 10, 2023 .
^ "2017 Tony Awards Nominees" . American Theatre Wing . Retrieved August 10, 2023 .
^ "2018 Tony Awards Nominees" . American Theatre Wing . Retrieved August 10, 2023 .
^ "2019 Tony Awards Nominees" . American Theatre Wing . Retrieved August 10, 2023 .
^ "2020 Tony Awards Nominees" . American Theatre Wing . Retrieved August 10, 2023 .
^ "2022 Tony Awards Nominees" . American Theatre Wing . Retrieved August 10, 2023 .
^ "2023 Tony Awards Nominees" . American Theatre Wing . May 2, 2023. Retrieved August 10, 2023 .
^ "Sarah Paulson Gives Shout Out to Partner Holland Taylor as She Wins Her First Tony: 'Thank You for Loving Me' " . People . Retrieved June 16, 2024 .
1947–1975 1976–2000 2001–present
Play Musical Special (non-competitive) Retired Ceremonies By country * Divided into separate awards for plays and musicals