Prix D'Interprétation Féminine (Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Female Actor)

1. Michèle Morgan

A classic beauty, blonde French actress Michèle Morgan was one of her country's most popular leading ladies for over five decades. Born Simone Renee Roussel on Leap Year Day (February 29) in 1920, she ran away from home as a teenager and studied acting under René Simon, beginning her film career at...

1946: as Gertrude in "La Symphonie Pastorale"

2. Isa Miranda

Actress | Le mura di Malapaga

Isa Miranda was one of the most significant actresses in Europe from the 1930s-'50s. Her remarkable talent expressed itself both in cinema and theater. She reached international popularity in the 1930s, especially in France, Germany and Austria, and became the only international movie star produced...

1949: as Marta Manfredini in "The Walls of Malapaga"

3. Bette Davis

Actress | All About Eve

Ruth Elizabeth Davis was born April 5, 1908, in Lowell, Massachusetts, to Ruth Augusta (Favor) and Harlow Morrell Davis, a patent attorney. Her parents divorced when she was 10. She and her sister were raised by their mother. Her early interest was dance. To Bette, dancers led a glamorous life, but...

1951: as Margo Channing in "All About Eve"

4. Lee Grant

Actress | In the Heat of the Night

Academy Award-winner Lee Grant was born Lyova Haskell Rosenthal on October 31, 1925 in Manhattan, New York City, to Witia (Haskell), a teacher and model, and Abraham Rosenthal, an educator and realtor. Her father was of Romanian Jewish descent, and her mother was a Russian Jewish immigrant. Lee ...

1952: as The Shoplifter in "Detective Story"

5. Shirley Booth

Actress | Come Back, Little Sheba

Character actress Shirley Booth could play everything in all facets of show business, whether it was Miss Duffy the Tavern Owner's Man Crazy Daughter on "Duffy's Tavern", the sassy maid on TV's Hazel (1961) or the pathetic woman in Come Back, Little Sheba (1952). For those who only know her through...

1953: as Lola Delaney in "Come Back, Little Sheba"

6. Maria Schell

Actress | Superman

Maria Schell studied in a religious institution in Colmar (Haut-Rhin, France). She received a dramatic training in Zurich, Switzerland. To pay her studies, she was a secretary there. Besides being a film star; Maria appeared in plays in Zurich, Basel, in Vienna (Josefstad Theater), Berlin, Munich (...

1954: as Helga Reinbeck in "The Last Bridge"

7. Vera Kuznetsova

Actress | Bolshaya semya

Vera Andreevna Kuznetsova was born on October 6, 1907, in Saratov, Russian Empire (now Saratov, Russia). In 1928 she made her stage debut, while being a student of Theatre Workers' Acting Studio in Leningrad. In 1933 Kuznetsova was one of the founders of the Lensoveta theatre in St. Petersburg (...

1955: as Agafya Karpovna Zhurbina in "Big Family"

*1 of 3 honorees (This year the award was rewarded to the entire ensemble of "Big Family")

8. Iya Arepina

Actress | Bolshaya semya

Iya Arepina was born on July 2, 1930 in Ardatov, Mordovian AO, RSFSR, USSR [now Mordovia, Russia]. She was an actress, known for A Big Family (1954), Kapitanskaya dochka (1958) and Pod stuk kolyos (1959). She was married to Yuli Kun and Vadim Milstein. She died on July 24, 2003 in Moscow, Russia.

1955: as Tanya Zhurbina in "Big Family"

*1 of 3 honorees (This year the award was rewarded to the entire ensemble of "Big Family")

9. Klara Luchko

Actress | Kubanskie kazaki

Klara Luchko was a Soviet Russian and Ukrainian actress best known as Dasha, a Cossack woman in the popular movie Cossacks of the Kuban (1950) by director Ivan Pyrev.

She was born Klara Stepanovna Luchko on 1 July 1925, in a village near Poltava, Ukraine, Soviet Union, into a peasant family. Her ...

1955: as Lida Zhurbina in "Big Family"

1 of 3 honorees (This year the award was rewarded to the entire ensemble of "Big Family")

10. Susan Hayward

Actress | With a Song in My Heart

Susan Hayward was born Edythe Marrener in Brooklyn, New York, on June 30, 1917. Her father was a transportation worker, and Susan lived a fairly comfortable life as a child, but the precocious little redhead had no idea of the life that awaited her. She attended public school in Brooklyn, where she...

1956: as Lillian Roth in "I'll Cry Tomorrow"

11. Giulietta Masina

Actress | Le notti di Cabiria

Born in San Giorgio di Piano, Giulietta Masina spent part of her teenage years living with a widowed aunt in Rome, where she cultivated a passion for the theater and studied for a degree in Philosophy. She began her career on the radio with the program "Terzoglio" (1942), about the adventures of ...

1957: as Maria "Cabiria" Ceccarelli in "Nights of Cabiria"

12. Eva Dahlbeck

Actress | Sommarnattens leende

Eva Dahlbeck was born on March 8, 1920 in Saltsjö-Duvnäs, Stockholms län, Sweden. She was an actress and writer, known for Smiles of a Summer Night (1955), Brink of Life (1958) and A Lesson in Love (1954). She was married to Sven Lampell. She died on February 8, 2008 in Hässelby, Stockholm, ...

1958: as Stina Andersson in "Brink of Life"

*1 of 4 honorees (This year the award was rewarded to the entire female ensemble of "Brink of Life")

**Plus a fifth special award for Tatiana Samoilova

13. Bibi Andersson

Actress | Persona

Her artistic dreams came early in life and were further supported by her older sister Gerd Andersson who became a ballet dancer at the Royal Opera and made her acting debut in 1951. Bibi, on the other side, had to make do with bit parts and commercials. She debuted in Dum-Bom (1953), playing ...

1958: as Hjordis Petterson in "Brink of Life"

*1 of 4 honorees (This year the award was rewarded to the entire female ensemble of "Brink of Life")

**Plus a fifth special award for Tatiana Samoilova

14. Barbro Hiort af Ornäs

Actress | Nära livet

Barbro Hiort af Ornäs was born on August 28, 1921 in Gothenburg, Västra Götalands län, Sweden. She was an actress, known for Brink of Life (1958), All These Women (1964) and Den ofrivillige golfaren (1991). She died on November 27, 2015 in Stockholm, Sweden.

1958: as Nurse Brita in "Brink of Life"

*1 of 4 honorees (This year the award was rewarded to the entire female ensemble of "Brink of Life")

**Plus a fifth special award for Tatiana Samoilova

15. Ingrid Thulin

Actress | Smultronstället

Ingrid trained as a ballet dancer and attended Stockholm's Royal Dramatic Theatre. She came to fame thanks to Bergman's "Wild Strawberries". She acted in 9 Ingmar Bergman's films. Her fame allowed her to act in Luchino Visconti's "The Damned" in 1969. Ingrid Thulin lived in Rome since the 1960's. ...

1958: as Cecilia Ellius in "Brink of Life"

*1 of 4 honorees (This year the award was rewarded to the entire female ensemble of "Brink of Life")

**Plus a fifth special award for Tatiana Samoilova

16. Tatyana Samoylova

Actress | Letyat zhuravli

Tatiana Samoilova (Tatyana Samojlova) is a Russian film actress known for the leading roles in The Cranes Are Flying (1957) and Anna Karenina (1967).

She was born Tatiana Evgenievna Samoilova on May 4, 1934, in Leningrad (St. Petersburg), Russia. Her father, Evgeniy Samoylov, was a notable Russian ...

1958, special award: as Veronika in "The Cranes are Flying"

17. Simone Signoret

Actress | Les diaboliques

The face of Simone Signoret on the Paris Metro movie posters in March 1982 looked even older than her 61 years. She was still a box-office draw, but the film L'étoile du Nord (1982) would be her last theatrical release; she played the landlady. Signoret had a long film apprenticeship during ...

1959: as Alice Aisgill in "Room at the Top"

18. Jeanne Moreau

Actress | Jules et Jim

When people gave Louis Malle credit for making a star of Jeanne Moreau in Elevator to the Gallows (1958) immediately followed by The Lovers (1958), he would point out that Moreau by that time had already been "recognized as the prime stage actress of her generation." She had made it to the Comédie ...

1960: as Anne Desbarèdes in "Seven Days... Seven Nights"

*1 of 2 roles awarded for 1960 (along with Melina Mercouri)

19. Melina Mercouri

Actress | Pote tin Kyriaki

Melina Mercouri was born in Athens, Greece on October 18, 1920. An early woman activist, she was elected to the Greek Parliament in 1977. Later Miss Mercouri was to become the first woman to hold a Senior cabinet post "Minister of Culture" in the Greek government. In 1971 she wrote her ...

1960: as Ilya in "Never on Sunday"

*1 of 2 roles awarded for 1960 (along with Jeanne Moreau)

20. Sophia Loren

Actress | La ciociara

Sophia Loren was born as Sofia Scicolone at the Clinica Regina Margherita in Rome on September 20, 1934. Her father Riccardo was married to another woman and refused to marry her mother Romilda Villani, despite the fact that she was the mother of his two children (Sophia and her younger sister ...

1961: as Cesira in "Two Women"

21. Katharine Hepburn

Actress | The Lion in Winter

Katharine Houghton Hepburn was born on May 12, 1907 in Hartford, Connecticut to a suffragist, Katharine Martha (Houghton), and a doctor, Thomas Norval Hepburn, who both always encouraged her to speak her mind, develop it fully, and exercise her body to its full potential. An athletic tomboy as a ...

1962: as Mary Cavan Tyrone in "Long Day's Journey into Night"

*1 of 2 roles awarded for 1962 (along with Rita Tushingham)

22. Rita Tushingham

Actress | The Knack ...and How to Get It

Rita Tushingham was born in Liverpool on March 14, 1942, and did her professional apprenticeship with the Liverpool Playhouse. In 1961, she made her film debut as a teenager in Tony Richardson's adaption of Shelagh Delaney's kitchen sink drama, A Taste of Honey (1961). For her work in that film, ...

1962: as Josephine in "A Taste of Honey"

*1 of 2 roles awarded for 1962 (along with Katherine Hepburn)

23. Marina Vlady

Actress | Una storia moderna - L'ape regina

This provocative sex kitten had the obvious makings of a superstar blonde bombshell and could have ended up in film history annals as merely a second-rate Brigitte Bardot, but Marina Vlady rose above her sex symbol status and proved she was capable of so much more. In her prime she was nominated ...

1963: as Regina in "The Conjugal Bed"

24. Barbara Barrie

Actress | Breaking Away

After endless stage and television work, Barrie received a Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress for her performance in the ground-breaking racial drama One Potato, Two Potato (1964), as Julie, a young, white mother who marries a black man after she and her daughter are abandoned by her ...

1964: as Julie Cullen Richards in "One Potato, Two Potato"

*1 of 2 roles awarded for 1964 (along with Anne Bancroft)

25. Anne Bancroft

Actress | The Graduate

Anne Bancroft was born on September 17, 1931 in The Bronx, NY, the middle daughter of Michael Italiano (1905-2001), a dress pattern maker, and Mildred DiNapoli (1907-2010), a telephone operator. She made her cinema debut in Don't Bother to Knock (1952) in 1952, and over the next five years appeared...

1964: as Jo Armitage in "The Pumpkin Eater"

*1 of 2 roles awarded for 1964 (along with Barbara Barrie)

26. Samantha Eggar

Actress | The Collector

Samantha Eggar was born on March 5, 1939 in Hampstead, London, England, UK. She is an actress, known for The Collector (1965), Hercules (1997) and The Brood (1979). She was previously married to Tom Stern.

1965: as Miranda Grey in "The Collector"

*Plus a second, special award for Vera Kuznetsova

27. Vera Kuznetsova

Actress | Bolshaya semya

Vera Andreevna Kuznetsova was born on October 6, 1907, in Saratov, Russian Empire (now Saratov, Russia). In 1928 she made her stage debut, while being a student of Theatre Workers' Acting Studio in Leningrad. In 1933 Kuznetsova was one of the founders of the Lensoveta theatre in St. Petersburg (...

1965, special award: as Natalia in "There Was an Old Couple"

*Vera Kuznetsova becomes the first actor in history to be awarded two Prix D'Interprétation Féminine.

28. Vanessa Redgrave

Actress | Coriolanus

On January 30, 1937, renowned theatre actor Michael Redgrave was performing in a production of Hamlet in London. During the curtain call, the show's lead, Laurence Olivier, announced to the audience: "tonight a great actress was born". This was in reference to his co-star's newborn daughter, ...

1966: as Leonie Delt in "Morgan!"

29. Pia Degermark

Actress | Elvira Madigan

Director Bo Widerberg first spotted the teenage Pia Degermark in a newspaper photo, dancing at a party with the Swedish Crown Prince Carl Gustaf (later King Carl XVI Gustaf. Her career seemed assured after Widerberg cast her in the lead of Elvira Madigan (1967), which debuted at Cannes and garnered...

1967: as Elvira Madigan in "Elvira Madigan"

30. Vanessa Redgrave

Actress | Coriolanus

On January 30, 1937, renowned theatre actor Michael Redgrave was performing in a production of Hamlet in London. During the curtain call, the show's lead, Laurence Olivier, announced to the audience: "tonight a great actress was born". This was in reference to his co-star's newborn daughter, ...

1969: as Isadora in "Isadora Duncan"

*Vanessa Redgrave becomes the second actor in history to be awarded two Prix D'Interprétation Féminine.

31. Ottavia Piccolo

Actress | Il gattopardo

Ottavia Piccolo was born on October 9, 1949 in Bolzano, Italy. She is an actress, known for The Leopard (1963), Metello (1970) and The Family (1987). She has been married to Claudio Rossoni since December 11, 1974. They have one child.

1970: as Ersilia in "Metello"

32. Kitty Winn

Actress | The Panic in Needle Park

Kitty Winn was born in Washington D.C. and spent much of her childhood time traveling to China, India and Japan. She made her Broadway debut in 1969 in "The Three Sisters" and won the Golden Palm Award at the 1971 Cannes Film Festival for her role opposite Al Pacino in The Panic in Needle Park (...

1971: as Helen Reeves in "Panic in Needle Park"

*Plus, a special award for the cast of "Love"

33. Mari Törőcsik

Actress | Kölyök

She graduated in 1957 after which she went to work to the National Theatre. Her first role was Solveig in Peer Gynt. She was a student in the College when Zoltan Fabri gave her the main character cast in the film: Korhinta (1955). She is a well-balanced (sense and sensibility) actress, who can act ...

1971, special award: as Luca in "Love"

*Shared with her costar, Lili Darvas

34. Lili Darvas

Actress | Szerelem

Hungarian-born Lili Darvas (pronounced 'Darvash') was a major star first in Budapest, then on the German stage with Max Reinhardt's theatre company during the 1920s, touring Europe with plays by Goethe, Shakespeare, Tolstoy and Shaw. She received her education at the Budapest Lyceum and made her ...

1971, special award: as The Old Lady in "Love"

*Shared with her costar, Mari Torocsik

35. Susannah York

Actress | A Man for All Seasons

The lovely Susannah York, a gamine, blue-eyed, cropped-blonde British actress, displayed a certain crossover star quality when she dared upon the Hollywood scene in the early 1960s. A purposefully intriguing, enigmatic and noticeably uninhibited talent, she was born Susannah Yolande Fletcher on ...

1972: as Cathryn in "Images"

36. Joanne Woodward

Actress | Rachel, Rachel

Joanne Gignilliat Trimmier Woodward was born on February 27, 1930, in Thomasville, Georgia, to Wade Woodward and Elinor Gignilliat Trimmier Woodward in a modest household. Her one older brother, Wade Jr., who was the favorite of her father, eventually became an architect. Elinor Woodward was a ...

1973: as Beatrice Hunsdorfer in "The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds"

37. Marie-José Nat

Actress | Le passé simple

Marie-José Nat was born on April 22, 1940 in Bonifacio, Corse, France. She was an actress, known for Replay (1977), Les violons du bal (1974) and Éducation sentimentale (1962). She was married to Serge Rezvani, Michel Drach and Roger Dumas. She died on October 10, 2019 in Paris, France.

1974: as Elle in "Violins at the Ball"

38. Valerie Perrine

Actress | Superman

Valerie Ritchie Perrine is an American actress and model. For her role as Honey Bruce in the 1974 film Lenny, she won the BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles, the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress, and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress. Her ...

1975: as Honey Bruce in "Lenny"

39. Dominique Sanda

Actress | Il conformista

Dominique Sanda was born in 1951, in Paris, France. When she was 16, she left her upper-class family and married, but divorced two years later. She found a temporary job as a Vogue model, when Robert Bresson gave her the starring part in his absorbing drama A Gentle Woman (1969); she was quite ...

1976: as Irene Carelli Ferramonti in "The Inheritance"

*1 of 2 roles awarded for 1976 (along with Mari Torocsik)

40. Mari Törőcsik

Actress | Kölyök

She graduated in 1957 after which she went to work to the National Theatre. Her first role was Solveig in Peer Gynt. She was a student in the College when Zoltan Fabri gave her the main character cast in the film: Korhinta (1955). She is a well-balanced (sense and sensibility) actress, who can act ...

1976: as Déryné in "Mrs. Dery Where Are You?"

*1 of 2 roles awarded for 1976 (along with Dominique Sanda)

**Mari Torocsik becomes the third actor in history to be awarded two Prix D'Interprétation Féminine.

41. Shelley Duvall

Actress | The Shining

Shelley Alexis Duvall was born in Fort Worth, Texas, the first child to Bobbie Ruth (Massengale, 1929-2020), a real estate broker, and Robert Richardson Duvall (1919-1994), a lawyer. At the time of her birth, her mother was visiting her grandmother in Fort Worth, though Duvall was raised in Houston...

1977: as Millie in "3 Women"

*1 of 2 roles awarded for 1977 (along with Monique Mercure)

42. Monique Mercure

Actress | Naked Lunch

Monique Mercure was born on November 14, 1930 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. She was an actress, known for Naked Lunch (1991), The Red Violin (1998) and J.A. Martin photographe (1977). She was married to Pierre Mercure. She died on May 16, 2020 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

1977: as Rose-Aimee Martin in "J.A. Martin Photographer"

*1 of 2 roles awarded for 1977 (along with Shelley Duvall)

43. Jill Clayburgh

Actress | Bridesmaids

It came as no surprise to film aficionados when, in 1999, Entertainment Weekly named Jill Clayburgh on its list of Hollywood's 25 Greatest Actresses. For decades, she delivered stellar performances in a wide variety of roles.

Jill Clayburgh was born in 1944 in New York City, into a wealthy family, ...

1978: as Erica Benton in "An Unmarried Woman"

*1 of 2 roles awarded for 1978 (along with Isabelle Huppert)

44. Isabelle Huppert

Actress | Elle

Isabelle Huppert was born March 16, 1953, in Paris, France, but spent her childhood in Ville d'Avray. Encouraged by her mother Annick Huppert (who was a teacher of English), she followed the Conservatory of Versailles and won an acting prize for her work in Alfred de Musset's "Un caprice". She then...

1978: as Violette Noziere in "Violette Noziere"

*1 of 2 roles awarded for 1978 (along with Jill Clayburgh)

45. Sally Field

Actress | Forrest Gump

Sally Margaret Field was born November 6, 1946 in Pasadena, California, to actress Margaret Field (née Morlan) and salesman Richard Dryden Field. Her parents divorced in 1950 and her mother then married stuntman Jock Mahoney, and they had a daughter, Princess O'Mahoney. She also has a brother, ...

1979, as leading: as Norma Rae Webster in "Norma Rae"

*1 of 2 for 1979 (Along with Eva Mattes)

46. Eva Mattes

Actress | Enemy at the Gates

Versatile stage and screen actress best known for Werner Herzog films (Best Supporting winner at Cannes for "Woyzeck"). Possibly her most acclaimed starring role is as her mentor 'Rainer Werner Fassbinder' in "A Man Called EVA" (Fassbinder, who treated Eva Mattes kindly, was sometimes referred to ...

1979, as supporting: as Marie in "Woyzeck"

*1 of 2 for 1979 (along with Sally Field)

47. Anouk Aimée

Actress | 8½

The daughter of actress Geneviève Sorya, in 1948 she played the part of Juliette in The Lovers of Verona (1949). During the 1950s and 1960s she made various films, including Montparnasse 19 (1958) and La Dolce Vita (1960), but only Lola (1961) , Jacques Demy, and A Man and a Woman (1966) Claude ...

1980, leading: as Marta Ponticelli in "A Leap in the Dark"

*1 of 3 roles awarded for 1980 (along with Milena Dravic & Carla Gravina)

48. Milena Dravic

Actress | Horoskop

Born in Belgrade, Dravic was involved with the performing arts from the age of four: first with dance and later classical ballet. In 1959, while in high school, director Frantisek Cap saw her on the cover of a youth magazine in a ballet dancers group photo and decided on the spot to approach her ...

1980, supporting: as Kaca in "Special Treatment"

*1 of 3 roles awarded for 1980 (along with Anouk Aimee & Carla Gravina)

49. Carla Gravina

Actress | Il lungo silenzio

Carla Gravina was born on August 5, 1941 in Gemona del Friuli, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy. She is an actress, known for Il lungo silenzio (1993), Esterina (1959) and La terrazza (1980).

1980, supporting: as Carla in "The Terrace"

*1 of 3 roles awarded for 1980 (along with Milena Dravic & Anouk Aimee)

50. Isabelle Adjani

Actress | Possession

Isabelle Yasmine Adjani was born in Gennevilliers, Hauts-de-Seine, a suburb of Paris, to Emma Augusta "Gusti" (Schweinberger) and Mohammed Adjani. Her father was a Kabyle Algerian, from Iferhounène, and her mother was a Bavarian German. She grew up speaking German fluently. After winning a school ...

1981, for two roles: as Marya 'Mado' Zelli in "Quartet" & as Anna/Helen in "Possession"

*1 of 2 women awarded for 1980 (along with Elena Solovey)

51. Elena Solovey

Actress | We Own the Night

Elena Solovey is a Russian-American film and stage actress best known for her works with director Nikita Mikhalkov.

She was born Elena Yakovlevna Solovey on February 24, 1947, in Neustrelitz, East Germany. Her parents met in Berlin at the end of the Second World War. Her father, Yakov Solovey, was ...

1981, as supporting: as Tekle in "Fact"

*1 of 2 women awarded for 1980 (along with Isabelle Adjani)

52. Jadwiga Jankowska-Cieslak

Actress | Rysa

Jadwiga Jankowska-Cieslak was born on February 15, 1951 in Gdansk, Pomorskie, Poland. She is an actress, known for Rysa (2008), Another Way (1982) and Sam na sam (1977). She was previously married to Piotr Cieslak.

1982: as Eva Szalanczky in "Another Way"

53. Hanna Schygulla

Actress | Die Ehe der Maria Braun

Lead icon of the influential New German Cinema of the 70's & 80's, Schygulla's natural blonde beauty and amazing versatility keep her among the world's top actresses. She won best actress at Cannes in 1983 for The Story of Piera (1983) (aka "The Story of Piera"), an Italian/German co-production. The...

1983: as Eugenia in "The Story of Piera"

54. Helen Mirren

Actress | The Queen

Dame Helen Mirren was born in Queen Charlotte's Hospital in West London. Her mother, Kathleen Alexandrina Eva Matilda (Rogers), was from a working-class English family, and her father, Vasiliy Petrovich Mironov, was a Russian-born civil servant, from Kuryanovo, whose own father was a diplomat. ...

1984: as Marcella in "Cal"

55. Cher

Actress | Moonstruck

The beat goes on ... and on ... and as strong as ever for this superstar entertainer who has well surpassed the half-century mark while improbably transforming herself from an artificial, glossy "flashionplate" singer into a serious, Oscar-worthy, dramatic actress ... and back again! With more ups ...

1985: as Rusty in "Mask"

*1 of 2 roles awarded for 1985 (along with Norma Aleandro)

56. Norma Aleandro

Actress | La historia oficial

Norma Aleandro is the Grande Dame of Argentine theater and cinema not only because she was not content to have trodden the stage as early as the the age of nine, she is still active in theater and cinema in 2011. Her last film to date, Daniel Burman's La suerte en tus manos (2012) is in ...

1985: as Alicia Marnet de Ibanez in "The Official Story"

*1 of 2 roles awarded for 1985 (along with Cher)

57. Barbara Sukowa

Actress | Hannah Arendt

A strikingly beautiful German lead actress, Barbara Sukowa broke into TV and films as the protégée of famed director Rainer Werner Fassbinder with his masterpiece mini-series Berlin Alexanderplatz (1980) and the moody film drama Lola (1981) in the title role. In the latter, Barbara won critical ...

1986: as Rosa Luxemburg in "Rosa Luxemburg"

*1 of 2 roles awarded for 1986 (along with Fernanda Torres)

58. Fernanda Torres

Actress | Terra Estrangeira

Fernanda Torres was born on September 15, 1965 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She is an actress and writer, known for Terra Estrangeira (1995), Gêmeas (1999) and Normal People (2001). She has been married to Andrucha Waddington since 1997. They have two children. She was previously married to ...

1986: as The Woman in "Love Me Forever or Never"

*1 of 2 roles awarded for 1986 (along with Barbara Sukowa)

**Fernanda Torres becomes the 1st of 2 Latina actors in history to be awarded the Prix D'Interprétation Féminine.

59. Barbara Hershey

Actress | Black Swan

Barbara Hershey was born Barbara Lynn Herzstein in Hollywood, California, to Melrose (Moore) and Arnold Nathan Herzstein, a horse racing columnist. Her father, born in Manhattan, was from a Jewish family (from Hungary and Russia), and her mother, originally from Arkansas, had English and ...

1987: as Ruth in "Shy People"

60. Barbara Hershey

Actress | Black Swan

Barbara Hershey was born Barbara Lynn Herzstein in Hollywood, California, to Melrose (Moore) and Arnold Nathan Herzstein, a horse racing columnist. Her father, born in Manhattan, was from a Jewish family (from Hungary and Russia), and her mother, originally from Arkansas, had English and ...

1988: as Diana Roth in "A World Apart"

*1 of 3 honorees (This year the award was presented to the entire female ensemble of "A World Apart")

**Barbara Hershey becomes the fourth actor in history to be awarded two Prix D'Interprétation Féminine, and the first and only to win both in two consecutive years.

61. Jodhi May

Actress | The Last of the Mohicans

Jodhi was born in 1975. She was born and brought up in London, England, UK. She went to Wadham College, Oxford University 1994-1997. She studied and received a Masters in English. During her time at Wadham she read a lot of literature. She has been acting since she was twelve.

1988: as Molly Roth in "A World Apart"

*1 of 3 honorees (This year the award was presented to the entire female ensemble of "A World Apart")

62. Linda Mvusi

Actress | A World Apart

Linda Mvusi was born in 1955 in Bloemfontein, South Africa. She is an actress, known for A World Apart (1988).

1988: as Elsie in "A World Apart"

*1 of 3 honorees (This year the award was presented to the entire female ensemble of "A World Apart")

**Linda Mvusi becomes the 1st of 5 women of color to be awarded the Prix D'Interprétation Féminine.

63. Meryl Streep

Actress | Out of Africa

Considered by many critics to be the greatest living actress, Meryl Streep has been nominated for the Academy Award an astonishing 21 times, and has won it three times. Meryl was born Mary Louise Streep in 1949 in Summit, New Jersey, to Mary Wolf (Wilkinson), a commercial artist, and Harry William ...

1989: as Lindy Chamberlain in "A Cry in the Dark"

64. Krystyna Janda

Actress | Przesluchanie

Krystyna Janda was born on December 18, 1952 in Starachowice, Swietokrzyskie, Poland. She is an actress and director, known for Interrogation (1989), Pestka (1995) and A Few People, a Little Time (2005). She was previously married to Andrzej Seweryn and Edward Klosinski.

1990: as Tonia Dziwisz in "Interrogation"

65. Irène Jacob

Actress | La double vie de Véronique

This beautiful, dark-haired French actress made a hit with a supporting role in her first film, as the piano teacher in Louis Malle's "Au revoir, les enfants" (1987). Educated in London and Geneva, and a Paris resident since the age of 18, Jacob became a promising starlet with her Malle success and...

1991: as Weronika/Véronique in "The Double Life of Veronique"

66. Pernilla August

Actress | Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace

Pernilla August started acting as a child, performing in plays at Vår teater and at school. In 1979 she was accepted at the Statens scenskola to study acting professionally. Director Ingmar Bergman took note of her early and cast her as a nanny in his Fanny and Alexander (1982).

In 1982 she got ...

1992: as Anna Åkerblom Bergman in "The Best Intentions"

67. Holly Hunter

Actress | Broadcast News

Holly Hunter was born in Conyers, Georgia, to Opal Marguerite (Catledge), a homemaker, and Charles Edwin Hunter, a part-time sporting goods company representative and farmer with a 250 acre farm. She is the youngest of seven children. Her parents encouraged her talent at an early age, and her first...

1993: as Ada McGrath in "The Piano"

68. Virna Lisi

Actress | La reine Margot

Stunning Italian actress Virna Lisi, a brief but lovely Hollywood import in the 1960's, was merely one of a plethora of European movie beauties who proved over the course of their long careers, that they were capable of more than just visual performances.

Born Virna Lisa Pieralisi on November 8, ...

1994: as Catherine de'Medici in "Queen Margot"

69. Helen Mirren

Actress | The Queen

Dame Helen Mirren was born in Queen Charlotte's Hospital in West London. Her mother, Kathleen Alexandrina Eva Matilda (Rogers), was from a working-class English family, and her father, Vasiliy Petrovich Mironov, was a Russian-born civil servant, from Kuryanovo, whose own father was a diplomat. ...

1995: as Queen Charlotte in "The Madness of King George"

**Helen Mirren becomes the fifth actor in history to be awarded two Prix D'Interprétation Féminine.

70. Brenda Blethyn

Actress | Pride & Prejudice

After forty years of hard work on stage and both television and film, there are not many other actresses who deserved the success, recognition and stardom which Brenda Blethyn has now achieved.

Born in 1946 in Ramsgate, Kent, England, she started her career at British Rail in the 1960s. Saving money...

1996: as Cynthia Rose Purley in "Secrets & Lies"

71. Kathy Burke

Actress | Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Ms. Burke was born in Camden, London in 1964 at the Royal Free Hospital. Kathy's mother died when she was a baby and she was in foster homes for a short time until her father, who was a heavy drinker, could regain custody of Kathy and live with her two brothers. Kathy attended the Maria Fidelis ...

1997: as Valerie in "Nil by Mouth"

72. Élodie Bouchez

Actress | Les roseaux sauvages

Élodie Bouchez was born on April 5, 1973 in Montreuil, Seine-Saint-Denis, France. She is an actress and producer, known for Wild Reeds (1994), The Dreamlife of Angels (1998) and CQ (2001). She is married to Thomas Bangalter. They have two children.

1998: as Isa Tostin in "The Dreamlife of Angels"

*1 of 2 honorees (This year the award was presented to both the female stars of "The Dreamlife of Angels")

73. Natacha Régnier

Actress | Les amants criminels

Natacha Régnier was born on April 11, 1972 in Ixelles, Brussels, Belgium. She is an actress, known for Criminal Lovers (1999), The Dreamlife of Angels (1998) and The Benefit of the Doubt (2017).

1998: as Marie Thomas in "The Dreamlife of Angels"

*1 of 2 honorees (This year the award was presented to both the female stars of "The Dreamlife of Angels")

74. Séverine Caneele

Actress | Une part du ciel

Séverine Caneele was born on May 10, 1974 in Neuve-Eglise, Belgium. She is an actress, known for Une part du ciel (2002), Humanity (1999) and Rodin (2017).

1999: as Dominio in "Humanite"

*1 of 2 roles awarded for 1999 (along with Emilie Dequenne)

75. Émilie Dequenne

Actress | Rosetta

Émilie Dequenne was born on August 29, 1981 in Beloeil, Wallonia, Belgium. She is an actress, known for Rosetta (1999), Brotherhood of the Wolf (2001) and Our Children (2012). She has been married to Michel Ferracci since October 11, 2014.

1999: as Rosetta in "Rosetta"

*1 of 2 roles awarded for 1999 (along with Severine Caneele)

76. Björk

Soundtrack | Dancer in the Dark

Born in 1965 in the Icelandic capital city of Reykjavik, the daughter of Gudmundur Gunnarsson (an electrician) and Hildur Hauksdóttir who divorced before her second birthday, Björk grew up in a hippie-type community with her mother and her seven siblings. She started to study classical music at the...

2000: as Selma Jezkova in "Dancer in the Dark"

77. Isabelle Huppert

Actress | Elle

Isabelle Huppert was born March 16, 1953, in Paris, France, but spent her childhood in Ville d'Avray. Encouraged by her mother Annick Huppert (who was a teacher of English), she followed the Conservatory of Versailles and won an acting prize for her work in Alfred de Musset's "Un caprice". She then...

2001: as Erika Kohut in "The Piano Teacher"

**Isabelle Huppert becomes the sixth actor in history to be awarded two Prix D'Interprétation Féminine.

78. Kati Outinen

Actress | Mies vailla menneisyyttä

Kati Outinen was born on August 17, 1961 in Helsinki, Finland. She is an actress and writer, known for The Man Without a Past (2002), Le Havre (2011) and Drifting Clouds (1996).

2002: as Irma in "The Man Without a Past"

79. Marie-Josée Croze

Actress | Les invasions barbares

Marie-Josée Croze first studied fine arts before opting for the stage at La Veillée-Prospero Theatre workshop in Montreal. In 1993 she got her first movie part in La Florida (1993) and started working for numerous Canadian TV series and movies.

In 2000, with her performance in Denis Villeneuve's ...

2003: as Nathalie in "The Barbarian Invasions"

80. Maggie Cheung

Actress | Fa yeung nin wah

Maggie Cheung was born on September 20, 1964, in Hong Kong, and moved at the age of eight with her family to England. After finishing secondary school, she returned to Hong Kong, where she began modeling and appearing in commercials. In 1983 she participated in the Ms. Hong Kong pageant, winning ...

2004: as Emily Wang in "Clean"

81. Hana Laslo

Actress | Free Zone

Hana Laslo was born on June 14, 1953 in Israel. She is an actress, known for Free Zone (2005), Nevsu (2017) and Plasticine (2013).

2005: as Hanna in "Free Zone"

82. Penélope Cruz

Actress | Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Known outside her native country as the "Spanish enchantress", Penélope Cruz Sánchez was born in Madrid to Eduardo Cruz, a retailer, and Encarna Sánchez, a hairdresser. As a toddler, she was already a compulsive performer, re-enacting TV commercials for her family's amusement, but she decided to ...

2006: as Raimunda in "Volver"

*1 of 6 honorees (This year the award was presented to the entire female ensemble of "Volver")

83. Carmen Maura

Actress | Mujeres al borde de un ataque de "nervios"

Descendant of the conservative Spanish politician Antonio Maura, Carmen lead an art gallery and appeared in various roles in night- clubs. With Tigres de papel (1977) she had her first successful appearance on the movie screen and thereafter she worked at the theatre, the movies and in TV ...

2006: as Irene in "Volver"

*1 of 6 honorees (This year the award was presented to the entire female ensemble of "Volver")

84. Lola Dueñas

Actress | Mar adentro

Lola Dueñas was born on October 6, 1971 in Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. She is an actress, known for The Sea Inside (2004), Volver (2006) and Broken Embraces (2009).

2006: as Sole in "Volver"

*1 of 6 honorees (This year the award was presented to the entire female ensemble of "Volver")

85. Blanca Portillo

Actress | Los abrazos rotos

Blanca Portillo was born on June 15, 1963 in Madrid, Spain. She is an actress, known for Broken Embraces (2009), Volver (2006) and 7 vidas (1999).

2006: as Agustina in "Volver"

*1 of 6 honorees (This year the award was presented to the entire female ensemble of "Volver")

86. Yohana Cobo

Actress | Volver

Yohana Cobo was born on January 12, 1985 in Madrid, Spain. She is an actress, known for Volver (2006), Hospital Central (2000) and El 7º día (2004).

2006: as Paula in "Volver"

*1 of 6 honorees (This year the award was presented to the entire female ensemble of "Volver")

87. Chus Lampreave

Actress | Mujeres al borde de un ataque de "nervios"

Chus Lampreave was born on December 11, 1930 in Madrid, Madrid, Spain. She was an actress and writer, known for Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988), Volver (2006) and Broken Embraces (2009). She was married to Eusebio Moreno de los Ríos. She died on April 4, 2016 in Almería, Almería, ...

2006: as Tia Paula in "Volver"

*1 of 6 honorees (This year the award was presented to the entire female ensemble of "Volver")

88. Jeon Do-yeon

Actress | Hanyo

Jeon Do-yeon spent five years starring in television dramas before achieving instant star status with her film debut opposite Han Seok-gyu in The Contact. She has since gone on to take a wide variety of roles, from her performance as a schoolgirl in Harmonium in My Memory to that of a wife having ...

2007: as Lee Shin-ae in "Secret Sunshine"

89. Sandra Corveloni

Actress | Linha de Passe

Sandra Corveloni was born in 1965 in São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil. She is an actress and director, known for Linha de Passe (2008), A Glória e a Graça (2017) and Vazante (2017). She has been married to Maurizio De Simone since 1998. They have one child.

2008: as Cleuza in "Linha de Passe"

90. Charlotte Gainsbourg

Actress | Nymphomaniac: Vol. II

Charlotte Gainsbourg was born in London, England in 1971. She is an Anglo-French actress and singer. The daughter of English singer and actress Jane Birkin and French songwriter, singer and actor Serge Gainsbourg, she was raised in Paris. Charlotte made her motion picture debut in 1984. In 1986, ...

2009: as She in "Antichrist"

91. Juliette Binoche

Actress | The English Patient

Juliette Binoche was born in Paris, France, to Monique Yvette Stalens, a director, teacher, and actress, and Jean-Marie Binoche, a sculptor, director, and actor. Her mother was born in Czestochowa, Poland, of French, Walloon Belgian, and Polish descent, while her father is French. Juliette was only...

2010: as The Woman in "Certified Copy"

92. Kirsten Dunst

Actress | Spider-Man

Kirsten Caroline Dunst is an American actress, who also holds German citizenship. She was born on April 30, 1982 in Point Pleasant, New Jersey, to parents Inez (née Rupprecht), who owned an art gallery, and Klaus Dunst, a medical services executive. She has a younger brother named Christian Dunst, ...

2011: as Justine in "Melancholia"

93. Cristina Flutur

Actress | Dupa dealuri

Cristina Flutur was born in Romania. She is a film and theatre actress, known for "Beyond the Hills"(2012), "Grain"(2017) and "Une femme de notre temps"(2022). She made her cinema debut with her role in Beyond the Hills (2012), directed by Cristian Mungiu, for which she received Palme d'Or for Best...

2012: as Alina in "Beyond the Hills"

*1 of 2 honorees (This year the award was presented to both the female stars of "Beyond the Hills")

94. Cosmina Stratan

Actress | Dupa dealuri

Cosmina Stratan was born on 20th Oct. 1984 in Iasi, Romania. She studied Acting at the National University of Theatre and Film "I.L.Caragiale" in Bucharest, Romania. After graduating, she played her first lead role in Beyond the Hills (2012) by Palme d'Or winner Cristian Mungiu. Together with ...

2012: as Voichita in "Beyond the Hills"

*1 of 2 honorees (This year the award was presented to both the female stars of "Beyond the Hills")

95. Bérénice Bejo

Actress | The Artist

Actress Bérénice Bejo was born in Buenos Aires, the daughter of Silvia De Paoli, a lawyer, and Miguel Bejo, a filmmaker. When she was three, Bejo's family relocated to Paris, France. She embarked on a successful acting career in the 1990s, with various roles in French television and film ...

2013: as Marie Brisson in "The Past"

96. Julianne Moore

Actress | Far from Heaven

Julianne Moore was born Julie Anne Smith in Fort Bragg, North Carolina on December 3, 1960, the daughter of Anne (Love), a social worker, and Peter Moore Smith, a paratrooper, colonel, and later military judge. Her mother moved to the U.S. in 1951, from Greenock, Scotland. Her father, from ...

2014: as Havana Segrand in "Maps to the Stars"

97. Rooney Mara

Actress | The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Actress and philanthropist Rooney Mara was born on April 17, 1985 in Bedford, New York. She made her screen debut in the slasher film Urban Legends: Bloody Mary (2005), went on to have a supporting role in the independent coming-of-age drama Tanner Hall (2009), and has since starred in the horror ...

2015: as Therese Belivet in "Carol"

*1 of 2 roles awarded for 2015 (along with Emmanuelle Bercot)

98. Emmanuelle Bercot

Actress | Mon roi

Emmanuelle Bercot was born on November 6, 1967 in Paris, France. She is an actress and director, known for My King (2015), Clement (2001) and Polisse (2011).

2015: as Marie-Antoinette Jezequel in "Mon Roi"

*1 of 2 roles awarded for 1999 (along with Rooney Mara)

99. Jaclyn Jose

Actress | The Flor Contemplacion Story

Jaclyn Jose was born on October 21, 1963 in Angeles City, Pampanga, Philippines. She was an actress, known for The Flor Contemplacion Story (1995), Ma' Rosa (2016) and Service (2008). She was married to Mark Gil. She died on March 2, 2024.

2016: as Rosa in "Ma'Rosa"

100. Diane Kruger

Actress | Inglourious Basterds

Diane Kruger was born Diane Heidkrüger in Algermissen, near Hildesheim, Germany, to Maria-Theresa, a bank employee, and Hans-Heinrich Heidkrüger, a computer specialist. She studied ballet with the Royal Ballet in London before an injury ended her career. She returned to Germany and became a top ...

2017: as Katja Sekerci in "In The Fade"