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A visual history · Golden Globes

The winners who defined Film Actress (Drama).

75 ceremonies, 1951–2025. 64 different winners. The longest run belongs to Geraldine Page, with 2 straight wins.

Who won most recently?
Fernanda Torres in 2025 for I'm Still Here.
Who has won the most?
Cate Blanchett, Jane Fonda and Meryl Streep, tied on 3 wins each.
  1. I'm Still HereFernanda Torres
  2. Killers of the Flower MoonLily Gladstone
  3. TárCate Blanchett
  4. Being the RicardosNicole Kidman
  5. The United States vs. Billie HolidayAndra Day
  6. JudyRenée Zellweger
Years explored
1951–2025
Different winners
64
Category leader
Cate Blanchett · 3
About this record

Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama was first awarded in 1951, so it does not run the full 1944–2025 window.

2000–2025

26 ceremonies

19512025

01 / The reigns

23 winners shaped this category.

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

  1. 01
    Cate Blanchett2 wins
  2. 02
    Hilary Swank2 wins
  3. 03
    Nicole Kidman2 wins
One band per year, because no winner has gone back-to-back in the years on record. Colored by network / distributor; scroll sideways for the full run.
Hilary Swank'00
Julia Roberts'01
Sissy Spacek'02
Nicole Kidman'03
Charlize Theron'04
Hilary Swank'05
Felicity Huffman'06
Helen Mirren'07
Julie Christie'08
Kate Winslet'09
Sandra Bullock'10
Natalie Portman'11
Meryl Streep'12
Jessica Chastain'13
Cate Blanchett'14
Julianne Moore'15
Brie Larson'16
Isabelle Huppert'17
Frances McDormand'18
Glenn Close'19
Renée Zellweger'20
Andra Day'21
Nicole Kidman'22
Cate Blanchett'23
Lily Gladstone'24
Fernanda Torres'25

02 / The power map

Who stood behind the winners?

Sony leads the recorded network / distributor credits with 6 wins, 2000–2025. The full distribution shows whether power was concentrated or shared.

Sony6 wins
Searchlight3 wins
Universal3 wins
Miramax2 wins
The Weinstein Company2 wins
Warner Bros.2 wins
Wins by network / distributor
  1. Sony623%
  2. Searchlight312%
  3. Universal312%
  4. Miramax28%
  5. The Weinstein Company28%
  6. Warner Bros.28%
  7. Other831%

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
    Angelina Jolie
    3 noms
  2. 02
    Carey Mulligan
    3 noms
  3. 03
    Judi Dench
    3 noms
  4. 04
    Michelle Williams
    3 noms
  5. 05
    Scarlett Johansson
    3 noms
  6. 06
    Tilda Swinton
    3 noms

Most losses in this category

  1. 01
    Nicole Kidman
    6L · 2W
  2. 02
    Meryl Streep
    4L · 1W
  3. 03
    Angelina Jolie
    3L · 0W
  4. 04
    Carey Mulligan
    3L · 0W
  5. 05
    Cate Blanchett
    3L · 2W
  6. 06
    Jessica Chastain
    3L · 1W

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 / Distributor
2025Fernanda Torres (I'm Still Here)
beat 5 others
  • Pamela Anderson (The Last Showgirl)
  • Angelina Jolie (Maria)
  • Nicole Kidman (Babygirl)
  • Tilda Swinton (The Room Next Door)
  • Kate Winslet (Lee)
Sony Pictures Classics
2024Lily Gladstone (Killers of the Flower Moon)
beat 5 others
  • Annette Bening (Nyad)
  • Sandra Hüller (Anatomy of a Fall)
  • Greta Lee (Past Lives)
  • Carey Mulligan (Maestro)
  • Cailee Spaeny (Priscilla)
Apple/Paramount
2023Cate Blanchett (Tár)
beat 4 others
  • Olivia Colman (Empire of Light)
  • Viola Davis (The Woman King)
  • Ana de Armas (Blonde)
  • Michelle Williams (The Fabelmans)
Focus Features
2022Nicole Kidman (Being the Ricardos)
beat 4 others
  • Jessica Chastain (The Eyes of Tammy Faye)
  • Olivia Colman (The Lost Daughter)
  • Lady Gaga (House of Gucci)
  • Kristen Stewart (Spencer)
Amazon Studios
2021Andra Day (The United States vs. Billie Holiday)
beat 4 others
  • Viola Davis (Ma Rainey's Black Bottom)
  • Vanessa Kirby (Pieces of a Woman)
  • Frances McDormand (Nomadland)
  • Carey Mulligan (Promising Young Woman)
Hulu/Paramount
2020Renée Zellweger (Judy)
beat 4 others
  • Cynthia Erivo (Harriet)
  • Scarlett Johansson (Marriage Story)
  • Saoirse Ronan (Little Women)
  • Charlize Theron (Bombshell)
Roadside Attractions
2019Glenn Close (The Wife)
beat 4 others
  • Lady Gaga (A Star Is Born)
  • Nicole Kidman (Destroyer)
  • Melissa McCarthy (Can You Ever Forgive Me?)
  • Rosamund Pike (A Private War)
Sony Pictures Classics
2018Frances McDormand (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri)
beat 4 others
  • Jessica Chastain (Molly's Game)
  • Sally Hawkins (The Shape of Water)
  • Meryl Streep (The Post)
  • Michelle Williams (All the Money in the World)
Fox Searchlight
2017Isabelle Huppert (Elle)
beat 4 others
  • Amy Adams (Arrival)
  • Jessica Chastain (Miss Sloane)
  • Ruth Negga (Loving)
  • Natalie Portman (Jackie)
Sony Pictures Classics
2016Brie Larson (Room)
beat 4 others
  • Cate Blanchett (Carol)
  • Rooney Mara (Carol)
  • Saoirse Ronan (Brooklyn)
  • Alicia Vikander (The Danish Girl)
A24
2015Julianne Moore (Still Alice)
beat 4 others
  • Jennifer Aniston (Cake)
  • Felicity Jones (The Theory of Everything)
  • Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl)
  • Reese Witherspoon (Wild)
Sony Pictures Classics
2014Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine)
beat 4 others
  • Sandra Bullock (Gravity)
  • Judi Dench (Philomena)
  • Emma Thompson (Saving Mr. Banks)
  • Kate Winslet (Labor Day)
Sony Pictures Classics
2013Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty)
beat 4 others
  • Marion Cotillard (Rust and Bone)
  • Helen Mirren (Hitchcock)
  • Naomi Watts (The Impossible)
  • Rachel Weisz (The Deep Blue Sea)
Columbia/Sony
2012Meryl Streep (The Iron Lady)
beat 4 others
  • Glenn Close (Albert Nobbs)
  • Viola Davis (The Help)
  • Rooney Mara (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo)
  • Tilda Swinton (We Need to Talk About Kevin)
The Weinstein Company
2011Natalie Portman (Black Swan)
beat 4 others
  • Halle Berry (Frankie & Alice)
  • Nicole Kidman (Rabbit Hole)
  • Jennifer Lawrence (Winter's Bone)
  • Michelle Williams (Blue Valentine)
Fox Searchlight
2010Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side)
beat 4 others
  • Emily Blunt (The Young Victoria)
  • Helen Mirren (The Last Station)
  • Carey Mulligan (An Education)
  • Gabourey Sidibe (Precious)
Warner Bros.
2009Kate Winslet (Revolutionary Road)
beat 4 others
  • Anne Hathaway (Rachel Getting Married)
  • Angelina Jolie (Changeling)
  • Kristin Scott Thomas (I've Loved You So Long)
  • Meryl Streep (Doubt)
DreamWorks/Paramount Vantage
2008Julie Christie (Away from Her)
beat 4 others
  • Cate Blanchett (Elizabeth: The Golden Age)
  • Jodie Foster (The Brave One)
  • Angelina Jolie (A Mighty Heart)
  • Keira Knightley (Atonement)
Lionsgate
2007Helen Mirren (The Queen)
beat 4 others
  • Penélope Cruz (Volver)
  • Judi Dench (Notes on a Scandal)
  • Maggie Gyllenhaal (Sherrybaby)
  • Kate Winslet (Little Children)
Miramax
2006Felicity Huffman (Transamerica)
beat 4 others
  • Maria Bello (A History of Violence)
  • Gwyneth Paltrow (Proof)
  • Charlize Theron (North Country)
  • Zhang Ziyi (Memoirs of a Geisha)
The Weinstein Company/IFC
2005Hilary Swank (Million Dollar Baby)
beat 4 others
  • Scarlett Johansson (A Love Song for Bobby Long)
  • Nicole Kidman (Birth)
  • Imelda Staunton (Vera Drake)
  • Uma Thurman (Kill Bill: Volume 2)
Warner Bros.
2004Charlize Theron (Monster)
beat 5 others
  • Cate Blanchett (Veronica Guerin)
  • Scarlett Johansson (Girl with a Pearl Earring)
  • Nicole Kidman (Cold Mountain)
  • Uma Thurman (Kill Bill: Volume 1)
  • Evan Rachel Wood (Thirteen)
Newmarket Films
2003Nicole Kidman (The Hours)
beat 4 others
  • Salma Hayek (Frida)
  • Diane Lane (Unfaithful)
  • Julianne Moore (Far from Heaven)
  • Meryl Streep (The Hours)
Paramount/Miramax
2002Sissy Spacek (In the Bedroom)
beat 4 others
  • Halle Berry (Monster's Ball)
  • Judi Dench (Iris)
  • Nicole Kidman (The Others)
  • Tilda Swinton (The Deep End)
Miramax
2001Julia Roberts (Erin Brockovich)
beat 4 others
  • Joan Allen (The Contender)
  • Björk (Dancer in the Dark)
  • Ellen Burstyn (Requiem for a Dream)
  • Laura Linney (You Can Count on Me)
Universal/Columbia
2000Hilary Swank (Boys Don't Cry)
beat 4 others
  • Annette Bening (American Beauty)
  • Julianne Moore (The End of the Affair)
  • Meryl Streep (Music of the Heart)
  • Sigourney Weaver (A Map of the World)
Fox Searchlight