Tony Award
The Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical 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 featured roles in a musical play , whether a new production or a revival. 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]
The award was originally called the Tony Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured or Supporting Role in a Musical . It was first presented to Juanita Hall at the 4th Tony Awards for her portrayal of Bloody Mary in South Pacific . Before 1956, nominees' names were not made public;[ 2] the change was made by the awards committee to "have a greater impact on theatregoers".[ 3] The category was renamed to its current title in 1976.
Judy Kaye , Andrea Martin and Audra McDonald share the record for having the most wins in this category, with a total of two. Carrie Pipperidge in Carousel and Marge MacDougall in Promises, Promises are the characters to take the award the most times, winning twice.
Winners and nominees [ edit ]
indicates the winner
Juanita Hall won for South Pacific (1950)
Helen Gallagher won for Pal Joey (1952)
Gwen Verdon won for Can-Can (1954)
Edie Adams won for Lil' Abner (1957)
Barbara Cook won for The Music Man (1958)
Tammy Grimes won for The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1961)
Phyllis Newman won for Subways Are for Sleeping (1962)
Bea Arthur won for Mame (1966)
Melba Moore won for Purlie (1970)
Dee Dee Bridgewater won for The Wiz (1975)
Kelly Bishop won for A Chorus Line (1976)
Betty Buckley won for Cats (1983)
Lila Kedrova won for Zorba (1984)
Bebe Neuwirth won for Sweet Charity (1986)
Tonya Pinkins won for Jelly's Last Jam (1992)
Andrea Martin won twice: for My Favorite Year (1993) and Pippin (2013)
Audra McDonald won twice: for Carousel (1994) and Ragtime (1998)
Kristin Chenoweth won for You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown (1999)
Jane Krakowski won for Nine (2003)
Anika Noni Rose won for Caroline, or Change (2004)
Sara Ramirez won for Spamalot (2005)
Beth Leavel won for The Drowsy Chaperone (2006)
Laura Benanti won for Gypsy (2008)
Karen Olivo won for West Side Story (2009)
Katie Finneran won for Promises, Promises (2010)
Nikki M. James won for The Book of Mormon (2011)
Lena Hall won for Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2014)
Ruthie Ann Miles won for The King and I (2015)
Renée Elise Goldsberry won for Hamilton (2016)
Lindsay Mendez won for Carousel (2018)
Ali Stroker won for Oklahoma! (2019)
Lauren Patten won for Jagged Little Pill (2021)
Patti LuPone won for Company (2022)
Bonnie Milligan won for Kimberly Akimbo (2023)
2 wins
5 nominations
4 nominations
3 nominations
2 nominations
Character win total [ edit ]
2 wins
Character nomination total [ edit ]
5 nominations
4 nominations
3 nominations
2 nominations
Productions with multiple nominations [ edit ]
boldface =winner
The Sound of Music – Patricia Neway and Lauri Peters , Kathy Dunn, Evanna Lien, Mary Susan Locke, Marilyn Robers, William Snowden & Joseph Stewart
A Joyful Noise – Leland Palmer and Susan Watson
Applause – Bonnie Franklin and Penny Fuller
Company – Barbara Barrie and Pamela Myers
A Little Night Music – Patricia Elliott and Hermione Gingold
Candide – Maureen Brennan and June Gable
A Chorus Line – Kelly Bishop and Priscilla Lopez
Side by Side by Sondheim – Millicent Martin and Julia McKenzie
Ain't Misbehavin' – Nell Carter and Charlayne Woodard
The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas – Carlin Glynn and Joan Ellis
West Side Story – Debbie Allen and Josie de Guzman
Nine – Karen Akers , Liliane Montevecchi and Anita Morris
Quilters – Evalon Baron and Lenka Peterson
The Mystery of Edwin Drood – Patti Cohenour and Jana Schneider
Les Misérables – Frances Ruffelle and Judy Kuhn
Me and My Girl – Jane Connell and Jane Summerhays (Les Misérables and Me and My Girl were nominated the same year)
Cabaret – Alyson Reed and Regina Resnik
Jerome Robbins' Broadway – Debbie Gravitte , Jane Lanier and Faith Prince
The Secret Garden – Daisy Eagan and Alison Fraser
Smokey Joe's Cafe – Brenda Braxton, B.J. Crosby and DeLee Lively
Contact – Deborah Yates and Karen Ziemba
Swing! – Laura Benanti and Ann Hampton Callaway (Contact and Swing! were nominated the same year)
42nd Street – Kate Levering and Mary Testa
Nine – Jane Krakowski , Mary Stuart Masterson and Chita Rivera (This is the second time the show had multiple nominations)
The Boy from Oz – Beth Fowler and Isabel Keating
The Color Purple – Felicia P. Fields and Elisabeth Withers
Billy Elliot the Musical – Haydn Gwynne and Carole Shelley
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown – Laura Benanti and Patti LuPone
Fun Home – Judy Kuhn , Sydney Lucas and Emily Skeggs
Carousel – Renée Fleming and Lindsay Mendez
Oklahoma! – Ali Stroker and Mary Testa
Tootsie – Lilli Cooper and Sarah Stiles (Oklahoma! and Tootsie were nominated the same year)
Jagged Little Pill – Kathryn Gallagher , Celia Rose Gooding and Lauren Patten
Company – Patti LuPone and Jennifer Simard (This is the second time the show had multiple nominations)
Hell's Kitchen – Shoshana Bean and Kecia Lewis
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. Retrieved December 24, 2011 . (subscription required)
^ 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 .
^ "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 .
^ Garvey, Marianne (September 26, 2021). "See who won at the Tony Awards" . CNN . Retrieved September 27, 2021 .
^ "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 .
^ Nordyke, Kimberly (June 16, 2024). "Tony Awards: Winners List" . The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved June 17, 2024 .
1950–1975 1976–2000 2001–present
Play Musical Special (non-competitive) Retired Ceremonies By country * Divided into separate awards for plays and musicals