Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress
| Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress | |
|---|---|
.jpg) 2026 Recipient: Rosamund Pike | |
| Awarded for | Best Actress in a Play |
| Location |  England |
| Presented by | Society of London Theatre |
| First award | 1985 |
| Currently held by | Rosamund Pike for Inter Alia (2026) |
| Website | officiallondontheatre |
The Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Play is an annual award presented by the Society of London Theatre in recognition of the "world-class status of London theatre."[1][2] The awards were established as the Society of West End Theatre Awards in 1976, and renamed in 1984 in honour of English actor and director Laurence Olivier.
This award was introduced in 1985, as Actress of the Year, then retitled to its current name for the 1993 ceremony. Prior to this award, from 1976 to 1984 (and again in 1988), there was a pair of awards given each year for this general category, one for Actress of the Year in a New Play and the other for Actress of the Year in a Revival.
Winners and nominees
[edit]- Winners gallery
Juliet Stevenson won for Death and the Maiden (1992)
Janet McTeer won for A Doll's House (1997)
Julie Walters won for All My Sons (2001)
Kristin Scott Thomas won for The Seagull (2008)
Tamsin Greig won for Much Ado About Nothing (2009)
Rachel Weisz won for A Streetcar Named Desire (2010)
Ruth Wilson won for Anna Christie (2012)
Helen Mirren won for The Audience (2013)
Lesley Manville Ghosts (2014), Oedipus (2025)
Penelope Wilton won for Taken at Midnight (2015)
Sharon D. Clarke won for Death of a Salesman (2020)
Jodie Comer won for Prima Facie (2023)
Sarah Snook won for The Portrait of Dorian Gray (2024)
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1980s
[edit]| Year | Actor | Play | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985[4] | |||
| Yvonne Bryceland [4] | The Road to Mecca | Miss Helen | |
| Wendy Morgan[4] | Martine | Martine | |
| Harriet Walter[4] | The Castle | Skinner | |
| Joanne Whalley[4] | Saved | Pam | |
| 1986[5] | |||
| Lindsay Duncan [5] | Les Liaisons Dangereuses | Marquise de Merteuil | |
| Julia McKenzie[5] | Woman in Mind | Susan | |
| Juliet Stevenson[5] | As You Like It, Les Liaisons Dangereuses and Troilus and Cressida | Rosalind / Madame de Tourvel / Cressida | |
| Irene Worth[5] | The Bay at Nice | Valentina Nrovka | |
| 1987 [6] | |||
| Judi Dench [6] | Antony and Cleopatra | Cleopatra | |
| Miranda Richardson[6] | A Lie of the Mind | Beth | |
| Maggie Smith[6] | Lettice and Lovage and Coming in to Land | Lettice Douffet / Halina | |
| Juliet Stevenson[6] | Yerma | Yerma | |
| 1989/90 | |||
| Fiona Shaw | Electra, As You Like It and The Good Person of Szechwan | Electra / Celia / Shen Te | |
| Sheila Hancock | Prin | Prin | |
| Jane Lapotaire | Shadowlands | Joy | |
| Prunella Scales | Single Spies | Elizabeth II |
1990s
[edit]2000s
[edit]2010s
[edit]2020s
[edit]- 1 2 Due to late March 2020[7] to late July 2021[8] closing of London theatre productions during the COVID-19 pandemic in England, the 2022 awards recognise productions that launched anytime from February 2020 to February 2022[9]
Multiple awards and nominations for Best Actress
[edit]Awards
[edit]- Three Awards
- Two Awards
Nominations
[edit]- Six Nominations
- Five Nominations
- Four Nominations
- Three Nominations
- Two Nominations
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ↑ "Olivier Awards | Official London Theatre". officiallondontheatre.com. 2026-03-09. Retrieved 2026-03-31.
Established in 1976, the Olivier Awards celebrate the world-class status of London theatre and are Britain's most prestigious stage honours.
- ↑ "Olivier Awards". Society of London Theatre. Retrieved 2026-03-31.
The Olivier Awards celebrate the world-class status of London theatre, and are one of theatre's most prestigious stage honours.
- ↑ "Laurence Olivier Awards Winners". officiallondontheatre.com. Retrieved 6 June 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "Laurence Olivier Awards 1985". officiallondontheatre.com. Retrieved 6 June 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "Laurence Olivier Awards 1986". officiallondontheatre.com. Retrieved 6 June 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "Laurence Olivier Awards 1987". officiallondontheatre.com. Retrieved 6 June 2026.
- ↑ Johnson, The Rt Hon Boris, MP (2020-03-23). Prime Minister's statement on coronavirus (COVID-19): 23 March 2020 [transcript] (Speech). Prime Minister's Televised Speech to the United Kingdom. www.gov.uk. London, UK. Archived from the original on 2020-06-09. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
From this evening I must give the British people a very simple instruction — you must stay at home.
{{cite speech}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ↑ McPhee, Ryan (2021-06-14). "U.K. Postpones Reopening Roadmap; West End Theatres Will No Longer Reopen in Full in June". Playbill. Archived from the original on 2021-06-14. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
Step 4 of the roadmap will allow productions to play without capacity restrictions. June 21 was the goal; now, the government is eyeing July 19.
- ↑ Thomas, Sophie (2022-03-08). "Everything you need to know about the Olivier Awards". londontheatre.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2022-04-11. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
Any new production that opened between 19 Feb. 2020 to 22 Feb. 2022 are eligible for categories in the 2022 Olivier Awards. With two years worth of shows set for honours in one year's ceremony, the 2022 Olivier Awards will prove tougher competition than before.
- "Laurence Olivier Awards Winners". officiallondontheatre.com. Retrieved 6 June 2026.