El BAFTA a la millor actriu és un dels premis BAFTA atorgats per la British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) en una cerimònia anual des de 1953, en reconeixement de la millor representació femenina en un paper principal. Entre els anys 1953 i 1968 estava dividit en dues categories diferents: millor actriu britànica i millor actriu estrangera; del 1985 al present, es coneix com a "millor actriu en un paper protagonista".
Guanyadores i nominades Els anys indicats són aquells en què es va celebrar la cerimònia, que té lloc l'any següent de l'estrena de les pel·lícules en qüestió.
Dècada del 1950 Millor actriu britànica Any Actriu Pel·lícula Personatge 1953 Vivien Leigh A Streetcar Named Desire Blanche DuBois Phyllis Calvert Mandy Christine Garland Celia Johnson I Believe in You Matty Matheson Ann Todd The Sound Barrier Susan Garthwaite 1954 Audrey Hepburn Vacances a Roma (Roman Holiday) Princess Ann Celia Johnson The Captain's Paradise Maud 1955 Yvonne Mitchell The Divided Heart Sonja Brenda de Banzie Hobson's Choice Maggie Hobson Audrey Hepburn Sabrina Sabrina Fairchild Margaret Leighton Carrington V.C. Valerie Carrington Noelle Middleton Alison L. Graham 1956 Katie Johnson El quintet de la mort (The Ladykillers) Louisa Wilberforce Margaret Johnston Touch and Go Helen Fletcher Deborah Kerr The End of the Affair Sarah Miles Margaret Lockwood Cast a Dark Shadow Freda Jefferies 1957 Virginia McKenna A Town Like Alice Jean Paget Dorothy Alison Reach for the Sky Nurse Brace Audrey Hepburn Guerra i pau (War and Peace) Natasha Rostova 1958 Heather Sears La història d'Esther Costello (The Story of Esther Costello) Esther Costello Deborah Kerr Te i simpatia (Tea and Sympathy) Laura Reynolds Sylvia Syms Woman in a Dressing Gown Georgie Harlow 1959 Irene Worth Orders to Kill Léonie Hermione Baddeley Un lloc a dalt de tot (Room at the Top) Elspeth Karuna Banerjee Aparajito Sarbajaya Roy Virginia McKenna Carve Her Name with Pride Violette Szabo
Millor actriu estrangera Any Actriu Pel·lícula Personatge 1953 Simone Signoret Casque d'or Marie Edwige Feuillère Olivia Julie Katharine Hepburn La Pat i en Mike (Pat and Mike) Patricia "Pat" Pemberton Judy Holliday The Marrying Kind Florence Keefer Nicole Stéphane Les Enfants terribles Elisabeth 1954 Leslie Caron Lili Lili Daurier Shirley Booth Come Back, Little Sheba Lola Delaney Marie Powers The Medium Flora Maria Schell The Heart of the Matter Helen Rolt 1955 Cornell Borchers The Divided Heart Inga Hartl Shirley Booth About Mrs. Leslie Vivien Leslie Judy Holliday Phffft Nina Tracey Grace Kelly Crim perfecte (Dial M for Murder) Margot Wendice Gina Lollobrigida Pane, amore e fantasia Maria de Ritis 1956 Betsy Blair Marty Clara Snyder Dorothy Dandridge Carmen Jones Carmen Jones Judy Garland A Star Is Born Esther Blodgett Julie Harris I Am a Camera Sally Bowles Katharine Hepburn Bogeries d'estiu (Summertime) Jane Hudson Grace Kelly The Country Girl Georgie Elgin Giulietta Masina La strada Gelsomina Marilyn Monroe The Seven Year Itch The Girl 1957 Anna Magnani The Rose Tattoo Serafina Delle Rose Carroll Baker Baby Doll Baby Doll Meighan Eva Dahlbeck Somriures d'una nit d'estiu (Sommarnattens leende) Desiree Armfeldt Ava Gardner Destins encreuats (Bhowani Junction) Victoria Jones Susan Hayward I'll Cry Tomorrow Lillian Roth Shirley MacLaine The Trouble with Harry Jennifer Rogers Kim Novak Pícnic (Picnic) Marjorie Owens Marisa Pavan The Rose Tattoo Rose Delle Rose Maria Schell Gervaise Gervaise Macquart Coupeau Jean Simmons Ells i elles (Guys and Dolls) Sister Sarah Brown 1958 Simone Signoret Les Sorcières de Salem Elizabeth Proctor Augusta Dabney That Night! Maggie Bowden Katharine Hepburn The Rainmaker Lizzie Curry Lilli Palmer Anastasia, die letzte Zarentochter Anna Anderson Eva Marie Saint A Hatful of Rain Celia Pope Marilyn Monroe El príncep i la corista (The Prince and the Showgirl) Elsie Marina Joanne Woodward The Three Faces of Eve Eve White 1959 Simone Signoret Un lloc a dalt de tot (Room at the Top) Alice Aisgill Ingrid Bergman The Inn of the Sixth Happiness Gladys Aylward Anna Magnani Wild Is the Wind Gioia Giulietta Masina Les nits de la Cabiria (Le notti di Cabiria) Cabiria Ceccarelli Tatiana Samoilova The Cranes Are Flying Veronika Elizabeth Taylor La gata sobre la teulada de zinc (Cat on a Hot Tin Roof) Maggie Pollitt Joanne Woodward No Down Payment Leola Boone
Dècada del 1960 Millor actriu britànica Any Actriu Pel·lícula Personatge 1960 Audrey Hepburn | Història d'una monja (The Nun's Story)| Germana Luke (Gabrielle van der Mal)
| Kay Walsh || The Horse's Mouth || Miss. Coker
| Sylvia Syms || No Trees in the Street || Hetty
| Peggy Ashcroft || Història d'una monja (The Nun's Story) || Mare Mathilde
| Yvonne Mitchell || Sapphire || Mildred |- | rowspan=4 style="text-align:center" | 1961 |- style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Rachel Roberts | Saturday Night and Sunday Morning Brenda Hayley Mills Pollyanna Pollyanna Wendy Hiller Sons and Lovers Gertrude Morel 1962 Dora Bryan | A Taste of Honey Helen Deborah Kerr Tres vides errants (The Sundowners) Ida Carmody Hayley Mills Whistle Down the Wind Kathy Bostock 1963 Leslie Caron | L'habitació en forma d'ela (The L-Shaped Room)| Jane Fosset
| Janet Munro || Life for Ruth || Pat Harris
| Virginia Maskell || The Wild and the Willing || Virginia Chown |- | rowspan=6 style="text-align:center" | 1964 |- style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Rachel Roberts | This Sporting Life| Margaret Hammond
| Julie Christie || Billy Liar || Liz
| Sarah Miles || El servent (The Servant) || Vera
| Barbara Windsor || Sparrows Can't Sing || Maggie Gooding
| Edith Evans || Tom Jones || Miss Western |- | rowspan=5 style="text-align:center" | 1965 |- style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Audrey Hepburn | Xarada (Charade) Regina Lampert Edith Evans The Chalk Garden Mrs. St. Maugham Deborah Kerr The Chalk Garden Mrs. Madrigal Rita Tushingham Girl with Green Eyes Kate Brady 1966 Julie Christie | Darling Diana Scott Julie Andrews The Americanization of Emily Emily Barham Somriures i llàgrimes (The Sound of Music) Maria von Trapp Maggie Smith El somiador rebel (Young Cassidy) Nora Rita Tushingham El knack (The Knack... and How to Get It) Nancy Jones 1967 Elizabeth Taylor | Qui té por de Virginia Woolf?''' (Who's afraid of Virginia Woolf?) Martha Julie Christie Doctor Jivago (Doctor Zhivago) Lara Antipova Fahrenheit 451 Linda Montag / Clarisse Lynn Redgrave Georgy (Georgy Girl) Georgina "Georgy" Parkin Vanessa Redgrave Morgan – A Suitable Case for Treatment Leonie Delt 1968 Edith Evans | The Whisperers Mrs. Ross Barbara Jefford Ulysses Molly Bloom Elizabeth Taylor L'amansiment de la fúria (The Taming of the Shrew) Katharina
Millor actriu estrangera Any Actriu Pel·lícula Personatge 1960 Shirley MacLaine | Ask Any Girl Meg Wheeler Rosalind Russell La tia Mame (Auntie Mame) Mame Dennis Susan Hayward Vull viure (I Want to Live!) Barbara Graham Ava Gardner L'hora final (On the Beach) Moira Davidson Ellie Lambeti A Matter of Dignity Chloe Pella 1961 Shirley MacLaine | L'apartament (The Apartment)| Fran Kubelik
| Pier Angeli || The Angry Silence || Anna Curtis
| Monica Vitti || L'aventura (L'avventura) || Claudia
| Jean Simmons || Elmer Gantry || Sharon Falconer
| Emmanuelle Riva || Hiroshima mon amour || Elle
| Melina Merkuri || Never on Sunday || Illya |- | rowspan=6 style="text-align:center" | 1962 |- style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Sophia Loren | La camperola (La ciociara) Cesira Piper Laurie El vividor (The Hustler) Sarah Packard Claudia McNeil A Raisin in the Sun Lena Younger Annie Girardot Rocco e i suoi fratelli Nadia Jean Seberg Sense alè (Breathless) Patricia Franchini 1963 Anne Bancroft | El miracle d'Anna Sullivan (The Miracle Worker)| Annie Sullivan
| Jeanne Moreau || Jules et Jim || Catherine
| Anouk Aimée || Lola || Lola
| Melina Merkuri || Fedra || Fedra
| Natalie Wood || Esplendor a l'herba (Splendor in the Grass) || Deanie Loomis
| Geraldine Page || Dolç ocell de joventut (Sweet Bird of Youth) || Alexandra del Lago
| Harriet Andersson || Såsom i en spegel || Katrin |- | rowspan=6 style="text-align:center" | 1964 |- style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Patricia Neal | Hud| Alma Brown
| Lee Remick || Dies de vi i roses (Days of Wine and Roses) || Kirsten Arnesen Clay
| Daniela Rocca || Divorci a la italiana (Divorzio all'italiana) || Rosalia Cefalù
| Joan Crawford || Què se n'ha fet, de Baby Jane? (What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?) || Blanche Hudson
| Bette Davis || Què se n'ha fet, de Baby Jane? (What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?) || Baby Jane Hudson |- | rowspan=6 style="text-align:center" | 1965 |- style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Anne Bancroft | The Pumpkin Eater| Jo Armitage
| Ava Gardner || La nit de la iguana (The Night of the Iguana) || Maxine Faulk
| rowspan=2 | Shirley MacLaine || Irma la douce (Irma la Douce) || Irma la douce
| What a Way to Go! || Louisa Foster
| Kim Stanley || Séance on a Wet Afternoon || Myra Savage |- | rowspan=4 style="text-align:center" | 1966 |- style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Patricia Neal | In Harm's Way| Maggie Haines
| Lila Kedrova || Zorba the Greek || Madame Hortense
| Simone Signoret || El vaixell dels bojos (Ship of Fools) || La Condesa |- | rowspan=4 style="text-align:center" | 1967 |- style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Jeanne Moreau | Viva Maria (Viva Maria !) Maria I Brigitte Bardot Viva Maria (Viva Maria !) Maria II Joan Hackett Un grup de dones (The Group) Dottie Renfrew 1968 Anouk Aimée | Un homme et une femme Anne Gauthier Bibi Andersson Persona Alma Syskonbädd 1782 Charlotte / germana Jane Fonda Barefoot in the Park (Barefoot in the Park) Corie Bratter Simone Signoret The Deadly Affair Elsa Fennan
Millor actriu Any Actriu Pel·lícula Personatge 1969 Katharine Hepburn | Endevina qui ve a sopar (Guess Who's Coming to Dinner)The Lion in Winter| Christina DraytonElionor d'Aquitània Catherine Deneuve Belle de jour Séverine Serizy Anne Bancroft El graduat (The Graduate) Mrs. Robinson Joanne Woodward Rachel, Rachel Rachel Cameron
Dècada del 1970 Any Actriu Pel·lícula Personatge 1970 Maggie Smith The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie Jean Brodie Mia Farrow John and Mary Mary La llavor del diable (Rosemary's Baby) Rosemary Woodhouse Secret Ceremony Cenci Glenda Jackson Dones enamorades (Women in Love) Gudrun Brangwen Barbra Streisand Funny Girl Fanny Brice Hello, Dolly! Dolly Gallagher Levi 1971 Katharine Ross Butch Cassidy and the Sundance KidLa vall del fugitiu (Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here) Etta PlaceLola Jane Fonda They Shoot Horses, Don't They? Gloria Beatty Goldie Hawn Flor de cactus (Cactus Flower) Toni Simmons There's a Girl in My Soup Marion Sarah Miles La filla de Ryan (Ryan's Daughter) Rosy Ryan 1972 Glenda Jackson Diumenge, maleït diumenge (Sunday Bloody Sunday) Alex Greville Lynn Carlin Vull volar (Taking Off) Lynn Tyne Julie Christie El missatger (The Go-Between) Marian Jane Fonda Klute Bree Daniels Nanette Newman The Raging Moon Jill Matthews 1973 Liza Minnelli Cabaret Sally Bowles Stéphane Audran Le Boucher Hélène Anne Bancroft El jove Winston (Young Winston) Lady Randolph Churchill Dorothy Tutin Savage Messiah Sophie Brzeska 1974 Stéphane Audran El discret encant de la burgesia (Le Charme discret de la bourgeoisie)Juste avant la nuit Alice SénéchalHélène Masson Julie Christie Amenaça a l'ombra (Don't Look Now / A Venezia... un dicembre rosso shocking) Laura Baxter Glenda Jackson A Touch of Class Vicki Allessio Diana Ross Lady Sings the Blues Billie Holiday Ingrid Thulin Crits i murmuris (Viskningar och rop) Karin 1975 Joanne Woodward Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams Rita Walden Faye Dunaway Chinatown Evelyn Mulwray Barbra Streisand Tal com érem (The Way We Were) Katie Morosky Cicely Tyson The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman Jane Pittmann 1976 Ellen Burstyn Alícia ja no viu aquí (Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore) Alice Hyatt |- | Anne Bancroft || El presoner de la Segona Avinguda (The Prisoner of Second Avenue) || Edna Edison |-