To celebrate the 87th Academy Awards, here is a complete list of every woman who has taken home the Oscar for Leading Actress over the years. Katharine Hepburn holds the record for this category, having taken home four Academy Awards for Leading Actress during her career. In fact, she has won more Academy Awards for a leading role than any actor to date. So here’s to Katharine Hepburn, and to all of these talented women.
*Updated to include the 88th Academy Awards results*
1st Academy Awards (1929) Janet Gaynor – 7th Heaven / Street Angel / Sunrise 2nd Academy Awards (1930) Mary Pickford – Coquette
3rd Academy Awards (1931) Norma Shearer – The Divorcee
4th Academy Awards (1932) Marie Dressler – Min and Bill
5th Academy Awards (1933) Helen Hayes – The Sin Of Madelon Claudet
6th Academy Awards (1934) Katharine Hepburn – Morning Glory
7th Academy Awards (1935) Claudette Colbert – It Happened One Night 8th Academy Awards (1936) Bette Davis – Dangerous
9th Academy Awards (1937) Luise Rainer – The Great Ziegfeld
10th Academy Awards (1938) Luise Rainer – The Good Earth
11th Academy Awards (1939) Bette Davis – Jezebel
12th Academy Awards (1940) Vivien Leigh – Gone With The Wind
13th Academy Awards (1941) Ginger Rogers – Kitty Foyle
14th Academy Awards (1942) Joan Fontaine – Suspicion
15th Academy Awards (1943) Greer Garson – Mrs Miniver
16th Academy Awards (1944) Jennifer Jones – The Song Of Bernadette
17th Academy Awards (1945) Ingrid Bergman – Gaslight
18th Academy Awards (1946) Joan Crawford – Mildred Pierce
19th Academy Awards (1947) Olivia de Havilland – To Each His Own
20th Academy Awards (1948) Loretta Young – The Farmer’s Daughter
21st Academy Awards (1949) Jane Wyman – Johnny Belinda
22nd Academy Awards (1950) Olivia de Havilland – The Heiress
23rd Academy Awards (1951) Judy Holliday – Born Yesterday
24th Academy Awards (1952) Vivien Leigh – A Streetcar Named Desire
25th Academy Awards (1953) Shirley Booth – Come Back, Little Sheba
26th Academy Awards (1954) Audrey Hepburn – Roman Holiday
27th Academy Awards (1955) Grace Kelly – The Country Girl
28th Academy Awards (1956) Anna Magnani – The Rose Tattoo
29th Academy Awards (1957) Ingrid Bergman – Anastasia
30th Academy Award (1958) Joanne Woodward – The Three Faces Of Eve
31st Academy Awards (1959) Susan Hayward – I Want To Live!
32nd Academy Awards (1960) Simone Signoret – Room At The Top
33rd Academy Awards (1961) Elizabeth Taylor – Butterfield 8
34th Academy Awards (1962) Sophia Loren – Two Women
35th Academy Awards (1963) Anne Bancroft – The Miracle Worker
36th Academy Awards (1964) Patricia Neal – Hud
37th Academy Awards (1965) Julie Andrews – Mary Poppins
38th Academy Awards (1966) Julie Christie – Darling
39th Academy Awards (1967) Elizabeth Taylor – Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?
40th Academy Awards (1968) Katharine Hepburn – Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner?
41st Academy Awards (1969) Katharine Hepburn – The Lion In Winter tied with Barbra Streisand – Funny Girl
42nd Academy Awards (1970) Maggie Smith – The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie
43rd Academy Awards (1971) Glenda Jackson – Women In Love
44th Academy Awards (1972) Jane Fonda – Klute
45th Academy Awards (1973) Liza Minnelli – Cabaret
46th Academy Awards (1974) Glenda Jackson – A Touch Of Class
47th Academy Awards (1975) Ellen Burstyn – Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore
48th Academy Awards (1976) Louise Fletcher – One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest
49th Academy Awards (1977) Faye Dunaway – Network
50th Academy Awards (1978) Diane Keaton – Annie Hall
51st Academy Awards (1979) Jane Fonda – Coming Home
52nd Academy Awards (1980) Sally Field – Norma Rae
53rd Academy Awards (1981) Sissy Spacek – Coal Miner’s Daughter
54th Academy Awards (1982) Katharine Hepburn – On Golden Pond
55th Academy Awards (1983) Meryl Streep – Sophie’s Choice
56th Academy Awards (1984) Shirley MacLaine – Terms Of Endearment
57th Academy Awards (1985) Sally Field – Places In The Heart
58th Academy Awards (1986) Geraldine Page – The Trip To Bountiful
59th Academy Awards (1987) Marlee Matlin – Children Of A Lesser God
60th Academy Awards (1988) Cher – Moonstruck
61st Academy Awards (1989) Jodie Foster – The Accused
62nd Academy Awards (1990) Jessica Tandy – Driving Miss Daisy
63rd Academy Awards (1991) Kathy Bates – Misery
64th Academy Awards (1992) Jodie Foster – The Silence Of The Lambs
65th Academy Awards (1993) Emma Thompson – Howards End
66th Academy Awards (1994) Holly Hunter – The Piano
67th Academy Awards (1995) Jessica Lange – Blue Sky
68th Academy Awards (1996) Susan Sarandon – Dead Man Walking
69th Academy Awards (1997) Frances McDormand – Fargo
70th Academy Awards (1998) Helen Hunt – As Good As It Gets
71st Academy Awards (1999) Gwyneth Paltrow – Shakespeare In Love
72nd Academy Awards (2000) Hilary Swank – Boys Don’t Cry
73rd Academy Awards (2001) Julia Roberts – Erin Brockovich
74th Academy Awards (2002) Halle Berry – Monster’s Ball
75th Academy Awards (2003) Nicole Kidman – The Hours
76th Academy Awards (2004) Charlize Theron – Monster
77th Academy Awards (2005) Hilary Swank – Million Dollar Baby
78th Academy Awards (2006) Reese Witherspoon – Walk The Line
79th Academy Awards (2007) Helen Mirren – The Queen
80th Academy Awards (2008) Marion Cotillard – La Vie en Rose
81st Academy Awards (2009) Kate Winslet – The Reader
82nd Academy Awards (2010) Sandra Bullock – The Blind Side
83rd Academy Awards (2011) Natalie Portman – Black Swan
84th Academy Awards (2012) Meryl Streep – The Iron Lady
85th Academy Awards (2013) Jennifer Lawrence – Silver Linings Playbook
86th Academy Awards (2014) Cate Blanchett – Blue Jasmine
87th Academy Awards (2015) Julianne Moore – Still Alice
88th Academy Awards (2016) Brie Larson – Room