Join with a codeGuideBallotsDataToolsBlog

A visual history · Emmys

The winners who defined Lead Actress (Limited).

47 ceremonies, 1979–2025. 37 different winners. The longest run belongs to Helen Mirren, with 2 straight wins.

Who won most recently?
Cristin Milioti in 2025 for The Penguin.
Who has won the most?
Helen Mirren, 4 wins (1996, 1999, 2006, 2007).
  1. The PenguinCristin Milioti
  2. True Detective: Night CountryJodie Foster
  3. BeefAli Wong
  4. The DropoutAmanda Seyfried
  5. Mare of EasttownKate Winslet
  6. WatchmenRegina King
Years explored
1979–2025
Different winners
37
Category leader
Helen Mirren · 4
About this record

Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie was first awarded in 1979, so it does not run the full 1951–2025 window.

It was previously known as Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Movie.

It has been Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie since 2015 and Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie since 2021. The race itself never split: one award has covered both miniseries and television movies for the whole window.

2000–2025

26 ceremonies

19792025

01 / The reigns

Helen Mirren set the longest run.

The timeline turns the 2000–2025 record into a sequence of reigns. Longer bands reveal sustained runs; color shows the credited network.

  1. 01
    Laura Linney3 wins
  2. 02
    Helen Mirren2 wins
  3. 03
    Jessica Lange2 wins
  4. 04
    Kate Winslet2 wins
  5. 05
    Regina King2 wins
Each band is one winner’s reign. Wider means a longer run. Colored by network; hover for details.
Halle Berry'00
Judy Davis'01
Laura Linney'02
Maggie Smith'03
Meryl Streep'04
S. Epatha Merkerson'05
Helen Mirren'06–'07×2
Laura Linney'08
Jessica Lange'09
Claire Danes'10
Kate Winslet'11
Julianne Moore'12
Laura Linney'13
Jessica Lange'14
Frances McDormand'15
Sarah Paulson'16
Nicole Kidman'17
Regina King'18
Michelle Williams'19
Regina King'20
Kate Winslet'21
Amanda Seyfried'22
Ali Wong'23
Jodie Foster'24
Cristin Milioti'25

02 / The power map

Who stood behind the winners?

HBO leads the recorded network credits with 16 wins, 2000–2025. The full distribution shows whether power was concentrated or shared.

HBO16 wins
FX3 wins
Netflix2 wins
Showtime2 wins
ABC1 win
Hulu1 win
Wins by network
  1. HBO1662%
  2. FX312%
  3. Netflix28%
  4. Showtime28%
  5. ABC14%
  6. Hulu14%
  7. Other14%

03 / The near misses

The names that kept coming back without the ending they wanted.

Counting nominations in this category only, 2000–2025.

Most nominated, never won this award

  1. 01
    Emma Thompson
    4 noms
  2. 02
    Felicity Huffman
    3 noms
  3. 03
    Gena Rowlands
    3 noms
  4. 04
    Judi Dench
    3 noms
  5. 05
    Blythe Danner
    2 noms
  6. 06
    Cate Blanchett
    2 noms

Most losses in this category

  1. 01
    Emma Thompson
    4L · 0W
  2. 02
    Jessica Lange
    4L · 2W
  3. 03
    Felicity Huffman
    3L · 0W
  4. 04
    Gena Rowlands
    3L · 0W
  5. 05
    Helen Mirren
    3L · 2W
  6. 06
    Judi Dench
    3L · 0W

04 / The archive

Every year.
Every winner.

The complete reference behind the story, showing 2000–2025. Open any year to see the rest of the field when nominee records are available.

YearWinnerNetwork
2025Cristin Milioti (The Penguin)
beat 4 others
  • Cate Blanchett (Disclaimer)
  • Meghann Fahy (Sirens)
  • Rashida Jones (Black Mirror)
  • Michelle Williams (Dying for Sex)
HBO
2024Jodie Foster (True Detective: Night Country)
beat 4 others
  • Brie Larson (Lessons in Chemistry)
  • Juno Temple (Fargo)
  • Sofía Vergara (Griselda)
  • Naomi Watts (Feud: Capote vs. The Swans)
HBO
2023Ali Wong (Beef)
beat 5 others
  • Lizzy Caplan (Fleishman Is in Trouble)
  • Jessica Chastain (George & Tammy)
  • Dominique Fishback (Swarm)
  • Kathryn Hahn (Tiny Beautiful Things)
  • Riley Keough (Daisy Jones & the Six)
Netflix
2022Amanda Seyfried (The Dropout)
beat 5 others
  • Toni Collette (The Staircase)
  • Julia Garner (Inventing Anna)
  • Lily James (Pam & Tommy)
  • Sarah Paulson (Impeachment: American Crime Story)
  • Margaret Qualley (Maid)
Hulu
2021Kate Winslet (Mare of Easttown)
beat 4 others
  • Michaela Coel (I May Destroy You)
  • Cynthia Erivo (Genius: Aretha)
  • Elizabeth Olsen (WandaVision)
  • Anya Taylor-Joy (The Queen's Gambit)
HBO
2020Regina King (Watchmen)
beat 4 others
  • Cate Blanchett (Mrs. America)
  • Shira Haas (Unorthodox)
  • Octavia Spencer (Self Made)
  • Kerry Washington (Little Fires Everywhere)
HBO
2019Michelle Williams (Fosse/Verdon)
beat 5 others
  • Amy Adams (Sharp Objects)
  • Patricia Arquette (Escape at Dannemora)
  • Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor (When They See Us)
  • Joey King (The Act)
  • Niecy Nash (When They See Us)
FX
2018Regina King (Seven Seconds)
beat 5 others
  • Jessica Biel (The Sinner)
  • Laura Dern (The Tale)
  • Michelle Dockery (Godless)
  • Edie Falco (Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders)
  • Sarah Paulson (American Horror Story: Cult)
Netflix
2017Nicole Kidman (Big Little Lies)
beat 5 others
  • Carrie Coon (Fargo)
  • Felicity Huffman (American Crime)
  • Jessica Lange (Feud: Bette and Joan)
  • Susan Sarandon (Feud: Bette and Joan)
  • Reese Witherspoon (Big Little Lies)
HBO
2016Sarah Paulson (The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story)
beat 5 others
  • Kirsten Dunst (Fargo)
  • Felicity Huffman (American Crime)
  • Audra McDonald (Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill)
  • Lili Taylor (American Crime)
  • Kerry Washington (Confirmation)
FX
2015Frances McDormand (Olive Kitteridge)
beat 5 others
  • Maggie Gyllenhaal (The Honorable Woman)
  • Felicity Huffman (American Crime)
  • Jessica Lange (American Horror Story: Freak Show)
  • Queen Latifah (Bessie)
  • Emma Thompson (Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (Live from Lincoln Center))
HBO
2014Jessica Lange (American Horror Story: Coven)
beat 5 others
  • Helena Bonham Carter (Burton & Taylor)
  • Minnie Driver (Return to Zero)
  • Sarah Paulson (American Horror Story: Coven)
  • Cicely Tyson (The Trip to Bountiful)
  • Kristen Wiig (The Spoils of Babylon)
FX
2013Laura Linney (The Big C: Hereafter)
beat 4 others
  • Jessica Lange (American Horror Story: Asylum)
  • Helen Mirren (Phil Spector)
  • Elisabeth Moss (Top of the Lake)
  • Sigourney Weaver (Political Animals)
Showtime
2012Julianne Moore (Game Change)
beat 4 others
  • Connie Britton (American Horror Story)
  • Ashley Judd (Missing)
  • Nicole Kidman (Hemingway & Gellhorn)
  • Emma Thompson (The Song of Lunch)
HBO
2011Kate Winslet (Mildred Pierce)
beat 4 others
  • Taraji P. Henson (Taken from Me: The Tiffany Rubin Story)
  • Diane Lane (Cinema Verite)
  • Jean Marsh (Upstairs, Downstairs)
  • Elizabeth McGovern (Downton Abbey)
HBO
2010Claire Danes (Temple Grandin)
beat 4 others
  • Joan Allen (Georgia O'Keeffe)
  • Hope Davis (The Special Relationship)
  • Judi Dench (Return to Cranford)
  • Maggie Smith (Capturing Mary)
HBO
2009Jessica Lange (Grey Gardens)
beat 4 others
  • Drew Barrymore (Grey Gardens)
  • Shirley MacLaine (Coco Chanel)
  • Sigourney Weaver (Prayers for Bobby)
  • Chandra Wilson (Accidental Friendship)
HBO
2008Laura Linney (John Adams)
beat 4 others
  • Judi Dench (Cranford)
  • Catherine Keener (An American Crime)
  • Phylicia Rashad (A Raisin in the Sun)
  • Susan Sarandon (Bernard and Doris)
HBO
2007Helen Mirren (Prime Suspect: The Final Act)repeat
beat 4 others
  • Queen Latifah (Life Support)
  • Debra Messing (The Starter Wife)
  • Mary-Louise Parker (The Robber Bride)
  • Gena Rowlands (What If God Were the Sun?)
PBS
2006Helen Mirren (Elizabeth I)
beat 4 others
  • Gillian Anderson (Bleak House)
  • Kathy Bates (Ambulance Girl)
  • Annette Bening (Mrs. Harris)
  • Judy Davis (A Little Thing Called Murder)
HBO
2005S. Epatha Merkerson (Lackawanna Blues)
beat 4 others
  • Halle Berry (Their Eyes Were Watching God)
  • Blythe Danner (Back When We Were Grownups)
  • Cynthia Nixon (Warm Springs)
  • Debra Winger (Dawn Anna)
HBO
2004Meryl Streep (Angels in America)
beat 4 others
  • Glenn Close (The Lion in Winter)
  • Judy Davis (The Reagans)
  • Helen Mirren (Prime Suspect 6: The Last Witness)
  • Emma Thompson (Angels in America)
HBO
2003Maggie Smith (My House in Umbria)
beat 4 others
  • Thora Birch (Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story)
  • Helena Bonham Carter (Live from Baghdad)
  • Jessica Lange (Normal)
  • Helen Mirren (The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone)
HBO
2002Laura Linney (Wild Iris)
beat 4 others
  • Angela Bassett (The Rosa Parks Story)
  • Blythe Danner (We Were the Mulvaneys)
  • Vanessa Redgrave (The Gathering Storm)
  • Gena Rowlands (Wild Iris)
Showtime
2001Judy Davis (Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows)
beat 4 others
  • Judi Dench (The Last of the Blonde Bombshells)
  • Holly Hunter (When Billie Beat Bobby)
  • Hannah Taylor-Gordon (Anne Frank: The Whole Story)
  • Emma Thompson (Wit)
ABC
2000Halle Berry (Introducing Dorothy Dandridge)
beat 4 others
  • Judy Davis (A Cooler Climate)
  • Sally Field (A Cooler Climate)
  • Holly Hunter (Harlan County War)
  • Gena Rowlands (The Color of Love: Jacey's Story)
HBO