The Best Actress Award () is an award presented at the Cannes Film Festival since 1946. It is given to an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance and chosen by the jury from the films in official competition slate at the festival.
At theà1946 Cannes Film Festival,àMichèle Morganàwas the inaugural winner of the award for Pastoral Symphony. While Nadia Melliti is the most recent winner for The Little Sister at theà2025 Cannes Film Festival.
The award was first presented in 1946. The prize was not awarded on three occasions (1947, 1953, and 1954). The festival was not held at all in 1948, 1950, and 2020. In 1968, no awards were given as the festival was called off mid-way due to the May 1968 events in France.
On five occasions, the jury has awarded multiple women (more than 2) the prize for one film. The five films were A Big Family (1955), Brink of Life (1958), A World Apart (1988), Volver (2006) and Emilia Pérez (2024).
Vanessa Redgrave, Barbara Hershey, Helen Mirren, and Isabelle Huppert have won the most awards in this category, each winning twice. Hershey is the only actress to win the award in consecutive years, for Shy People (1987) and A World Apart (1988).
Isabelle Adjani is the only actress to win for roles in two different films in the same competition, for her performances in Possession and Quartet in 1981.
The award can be for lead or supporting roles, with the exception of the period from 1979 to 1981, when the festival used to award a separate "Best Supporting Actress" prize. The jury also, on occasion, cites actresses with a special citation that is separate from the main award.
The following individuals have received multiple Best Actress awards:
The following individuals have also received Best Actress award(s) at Venice or Berlin Film Festival.