- 1928: Janet Gaynor
- 1929: Mary Pickford
- 1930: Norma Shearer
- 1931: Marie Dressler
- 1932: Helen Hayes
- 1933: Katharine Hepburn
- 1934: Claudette Colbert
- 1935: Bette Davis
- 1936: Luise Rainer
- 1937: Luise Rainer
- 1938: Bette Davis
- 1939: Vivien Leigh
- 1940: Ginger Rogers
- 1941: Joan Fontaine
- 1942: Greer Garson
- 1943: Jennifer Jones
- 1944: Ingrid Bergman
- 1945: Joan Crawford
- 1946: Olivia de Havilland
- 1947: Loretta Young
- 1948: Jane Wyman
- 1949: Olivia de Havilland
- 1950: Judy Holliday
- 1951: Vivien Leigh
- 1952: Shirley Booth
- 1953: Audrey Hepburn
- 1954: Grace Kelly
- 1955: Anna Magnani
- 1956: Ingrid Bergman
- 1957: Joanne Woodward
- 1958: Susan Hayward
- 1959: Simone Signoret
- 1960: Elizabeth Taylor
- 1961: Sophia Loren
- 1962: Anne Bancroft
- 1963: Patricia Neal
- 1964: Julie Andrews
- 1965: Julie Christie
- 1966: Elizabeth Taylor
- 1967: Katharine Hepburn
- 1968: Barbra Streisand
- 1968: Katharine Hepburn
- 1969: Maggie Smith
- 1970: Glenda Jackson
- 1971: Jane Fonda
- 1972: Liza Minnelli
- 1973: Glenda Jackson
- 1974: Ellen Burstyn
- 1975: Louise Fletcher
- 1976: Faye Dunaway
- 1977: Diane Keaton
- 1978: Jane Fonda
- 1979: Sally Field
- 1980: Sissy Spacek
- 1981: Katharine Hepburn
- 1982: Meryl Streep
- 1983: Shirley MacLaine
- 1984: Sally Field
- 1985: Geraldine Page
- 1986: Marlee Maitlin
- 1987: Cher
- 1988: Jodie Foster
- 1989: Jessica Tandy
- 1990: Kathy Bates
- 1991: Jodie Foster
- 1992: Emma Thompson
- 1993: Holly Hunter
- 1994: Jessica Lange
- 1995: Susan Sarandan
- 1996: Frances McDormand
- 1997: Helen Hunt
- 1998: Gwyneth Paltrow
- 1999: Hilary Swank
- 2000: Julia Roberts
- 2001: Hallie Berry
- 2002: Nicole Kidman
- 2003: Charlize Theron
- 2004: Hilary Swank
- 2005: Reese Witherspoon
- 2006: Helen Mirren
- 2007: Marion Cotillard
- 2008: Kate Winslet
Best Actress by Year