Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress

Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress
Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress
	The 2025 recipient: Rose Byrne
Awarded for	Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
Country	United States
Presented by	Chicago Film Critics Association
First award	Barbara Hershey ; Shy People (1988)
Currently held by	Rose Byrne ; If I Had Legs I'd Kick You (2025)
Website	www.chicagofilmcritics.org

The Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress is an annual award given by the Chicago Film Critics Association.

AwardedforBest Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role

CountryUnited States

PresentedbyChicago Film Critics Association

FirstawardBarbara Hershey
Shy People (1988)

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Year	Winner and nominees	Film	Role
1988	Barbara Hershey	Shy People	Ruth
	Glenn Close	Dangerous Liaisons	Marquise Isabelle de Merteuil
	Jodie Foster	The Accused	Sarah Tobias
	Meryl Streep	A Cry in the Dark	Lindy Chamberlain
1989	Michelle Pfeiffer	The Fabulous Baker Boys	Susie Diamond
	Ellen Barkin	Sea of Love	Helen Cruger
	Andie MacDowell	Sex, Lies, and Videotape	Ann Bishop Mullany
	Meg Ryan	When Harry Met Sally...	Sally Albright
	Winona Ryder	Heathers	Veronica Sawyer

Year	Winner and nominees	Film	Role
1990	Kathy Bates	Misery	Annie Wilkes
	Mia Farrow	Alice	Alice Smith Tate
	Anjelica Huston	The Grifters	Lily Dillon
	Meryl Streep	Postcards from the Edge	Suzanne Vale
	Joanne Woodward	Mr. & Mrs. Bridge	India Bridge
1991	Jodie Foster	The Silence of the Lambs	Clarice Starling
	Annette Bening	Bugsy	Virginia Hill
	Geena Davis	Thelma & Louise	Thelma Dickinson
	Laura Dern	Rambling Rose	Rose
	Bette Midler	For the Boys	Dixie Leonard
	Anne Parillaud	La Femme Nikita	Nikita
	Susan Sarandon	Thelma & Louise	Louise Sawyer
1992	Emma Thompson	Howards End	Margaret Schlegel
	Rebecca De Mornay	The Hand That Rocks the Cradle	Mrs. Mott / Peyton Flanders
	Jennifer Jason Leigh	Single White Female	Hedra "Hedy" Carlson
	Susan Sarandon	Lorenzo's Oil	Michaela Odone
	Sharon Stone	Basic Instinct	Catherine Tramell
1993	Holly Hunter	The Piano	Ada McGrath
	Angela Bassett	What's Love Got to Do with It	Tina Turner
	Stockard Channing	Six Degrees of Separation	Ouisa Kittredge
	Emma Thompson	The Remains of the Day	Miss Kenton
	Debra Winger	A Dangerous Woman	Martha Horgan
1994	Jennifer Jason Leigh	Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle	Dorothy Parker
	Linda Fiorentino	The Last Seduction	Bridget Gregory / Wendy Kroy
	Jodie Foster	Nell	Nell Kellty
	Jessica Lange	Blue Sky	Carly Marshall
	Winona Ryder	Little Women	Josephine "Jo" March
1995	Elisabeth Shue	Leaving Las Vegas	Sera
	Kathy Bates	Dolores Claiborne	Dolores Claiborne
	Rena Owen	Once Were Warriors	Beth Heke
	Sharon Stone	Casino	Ginger McKenna
	Meryl Streep	The Bridges of Madison County	Francesca Johnson
1996	Frances McDormand	Fargo	Marge Gunderson
	Brenda Blethyn	Secrets & Lies	Cynthia Rose Purley
	Courtney Love	The People vs. Larry Flynt	Althea Flynt
	Lili Taylor	I Shot Andy Warhol	Valerie Solanas
	Emily Watson	Breaking the Waves	Bess McNeill
1997	Judi Dench	Mrs. Brown	Queen Victoria
	Helena Bonham Carter	The Wings of the Dove	Kate Croy
	Jodie Foster	Contact	Dr. Eleanor Arroway
	Pam Grier	Jackie Brown	Jackie Brown
	Helen Hunt	As Good as It Gets	Carol Connelly
1998	Cate Blanchett	Elizabeth	Queen Elizabeth I
	Jane Horrocks	Little Voice	Laura "Little Voice" Hoff
	Holly Hunter	Living Out Loud	Judith Moore
	Gwyneth Paltrow	Shakespeare in Love	Viola de Lesseps
	Ally Sheedy	High Art	Lucy Berliner
	Emily Watson	Hilary and Jackie	Jacqueline du Pré
1999	Hilary Swank	Boys Don't Cry	Brandon Teena
	Annette Bening	American Beauty	Carolyn Burnham
	Janet McTeer	Tumbleweeds	Mary Jo Walker
	Julianne Moore	The End of the Affair	Sarah Miles
	Reese Witherspoon	Election	Tracy Flick

Year	Winner and nominees	Film	Role
2000	Ellen Burstyn	Requiem for a Dream	Sara Goldfarb
	Joan Allen	The Contender	Senator Laine Billings Hanson
	Björk	Dancer in the Dark	Selma Ježková
	Laura Linney	You Can Count on Me	Samantha "Sammy" Prescott
	Julia Roberts	Erin Brockovich	Erin Brockovich
2001	Naomi Watts	Mulholland Drive	Betty Elms / Diane Selwyn
	Halle Berry	Monster's Ball	Leticia Musgrove
	Thora Birch	Ghost World	Enid
	Sissy Spacek	In the Bedroom	Ruth Fowler
	Tilda Swinton	The Deep End	Margaret Hall
2002	Julianne Moore	Far from Heaven	Cathy Whitaker
	Salma Hayek	Frida	Frida Kahlo
	Nicole Kidman	The Hours	Virginia Woolf
	Diane Lane	Unfaithful	Connie Sumner
	Renée Zellweger	Chicago	Roxie Hart
2003	Charlize Theron	Monster	Aileen Wuornos
	Keisha Castle-Hughes	Whale Rider	Paikea Apirana
	Hope Davis	American Splendor	Joyce Brabner
	Scarlett Johansson	Lost in Translation	Charlotte
	Naomi Watts	21 Grams	Cristina Peck
2004	Imelda Staunton	Vera Drake	Vera Drake
	Hilary Swank	Million Dollar Baby	Margaret "Maggie" Fitzgerald
	Kate Winslet	Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind	Clementine Kruczynski
	Catalina Sandino Moreno	Maria Full of Grace	María Álvarez
	Annette Bening	Being Julia	Julia Lambert
2005	Joan Allen	The Upside of Anger	Terry Ann Wolfmeyer
	Felicity Huffman	Transamerica	Bree
	Keira Knightley	Pride & Prejudice	Elizabeth "Lizzie" Bennet
	Naomi Watts	King Kong	Ann Darrow
	Reese Witherspoon	Walk the Line	June Carter Cash
2006	Helen Mirren	The Queen	Queen Elizabeth II
	Penélope Cruz	Volver	Raimunda
	Judi Dench	Notes on a Scandal	Barbara Covett
	Maggie Gyllenhaal	Sherrybaby	Sherry Swanson
	Meryl Streep	The Devil Wears Prada	Miranda Priestly
	Kate Winslet	Little Children	Sarah Pierce
2007	Elliot Page^[a]	Juno	Juno MacGuff
	Julie Christie	Away from Her	Fiona Anderson
	Marion Cotillard	La Vie en Rose (La môme)	Edith Piaf
	Angelina Jolie	A Mighty Heart	Mariane Pearl
	Laura Linney	The Savages	Wendy Savage
2008	Anne Hathaway	Rachel Getting Married	Kym
	Sally Hawkins	Happy-Go-Lucky	Pauline "Poppy" Cross
	Angelina Jolie	Changeling	Christine Collins
	Melissa Leo	Frozen River	Ray Eddy
	Meryl Streep	Doubt	Sister Aloysius
2009	Carey Mulligan	An Education	Jenny Miller
	Abbie Cornish	Bright Star	Fanny Brawne
	Maya Rudolph	Away We Go	Verona De Tessant
	Gabourey Sidibe	Precious	Claireece "Precious" Jones
	Meryl Streep	Julie & Julia	Julia Child

Year	Winner and nominees	Film	Role
2010	Natalie Portman	Black Swan	Nina Sayers
	Annette Bening	The Kids Are All Right	Dr. Nicole "Nic" Allgood
	Jennifer Lawrence	Winter's Bone	Ree Dolly
	Lesley Manville	Another Year	Mary Smith
	Michelle Williams	Blue Valentine	Cindy Heller
2011	Michelle Williams	My Week with Marilyn	Marilyn Monroe
	Kirsten Dunst	Melancholia	Justine
	Elizabeth Olsen	Martha Marcy May Marlene	Martha
	Anna Paquin	Margaret	Lisa Cohen
	Meryl Streep	The Iron Lady	Margaret Thatcher
2012	Jessica Chastain	Zero Dark Thirty	Maya
	Helen Hunt	The Sessions	Cheryl Cohen-Greene
	Jennifer Lawrence	Silver Linings Playbook	Tiffany Maxwell
	Emmanuelle Riva	Amour	Anne Laurent
	Quvenzhané Wallis	Beasts of the Southern Wild	Hushpuppy
	Naomi Watts	The Impossible	Maria Bennett
2013	Cate Blanchett	Blue Jasmine	Jeanette "Jasmine" Francis
	Sandra Bullock	Gravity	Dr. Ryan Stone
	Adèle Exarchopoulos	Blue Is the Warmest Colour	Adèle
	Brie Larson	Short Term 12	Grace
	Meryl Streep	August: Osage County	Violet Weston
2014	Julianne Moore	Still Alice	Dr. Alice Howland
	Marion Cotillard	Two Days, One Night	Sandra Bya
	Scarlett Johansson	Under the Skin	The Female
	Rosamund Pike	Gone Girl	Amy Elliott-Dunne
	Reese Witherspoon	Wild	Cheryl Strayed
2015	Brie Larson	Room	Joy "Ma" Newsome
	Cate Blanchett	Carol	Carol Aird
	Charlotte Rampling	45 Years	Kate Mercer
	Saoirse Ronan	Brooklyn	Eilis Lacey
	Charlize Theron	Mad Max: Fury Road	Imperator Furiosa
2016	Natalie Portman	Jackie	Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
	Amy Adams	Arrival	Louise Banks
	Rebecca Hall	Christine	Christine Chubbuck
	Isabelle Huppert	Elle	Michèle Leblanc
	Emma Stone	La La Land	Mia Dolan
2017	Saoirse Ronan	Lady Bird	Christine "Lady Bird" McPherson
	Sally Hawkins	The Shape of Water	Elisa Esposito
	Vicky Krieps	Phantom Thread	Alma Elson
	Frances McDormand	Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri	Mildred Hayes
	Margot Robbie	I, Tonya	Tonya Harding
2018
	Toni Collette	Hereditary	Annie Graham
	Yalitza Aparicio	Roma	Cleo
	Lady Gaga	A Star Is Born	Ally Maine
	Regina Hall	Support the Girls	Lisa Conroy
	Melissa McCarthy	Can You Ever Forgive Me?	Lee Israel
2019
	Lupita Nyong'o	Us	Adelaide Wilson / Red
	Awkwafina	The Farewell	Billi Wang
	Scarlett Johansson	Marriage Story	Nicole Barber
	Elisabeth Moss	Her Smell	Becky Something
	Renée Zellweger	Judy	Judy Garland

Year	Winner and nominees	Film	Role
2020
	Frances McDormand	Nomadland	Fern
	Jessie Buckley	I'm Thinking of Ending Things	Young Woman
	Carrie Coon	The Nest	Allison O'Hara
	Viola Davis	Ma Rainey's Black Bottom	Ma Rainey
	Carey Mulligan	Promising Young Woman	Cassandra "Cassie" Thomas
2021
	Kristen Stewart	Spencer	Princess Diana
	Jessica Chastain	The Eyes of Tammy Faye	Tammy Faye Bakker
	Olivia Colman	The Lost Daughter	Leda Caruso
	Alana Haim	Licorice Pizza	Alana Kane
	Agathe Rousselle	Titane	Alexia / Adrien
2022
	Cate Blanchett	Tár	Lydia Tár
	Ana de Armas	Blonde	Norma Jeane Mortenson / Marilyn Monroe
	Mia Goth	Pearl	Pearl
	Andrea Riseborough	To Leslie	Leslie Rowlands
	Michelle Yeoh	Everything Everywhere All at Once	Evelyn Quan Wang
2023	Emma Stone	Poor Things	Bella Baxter
	Lily Gladstone	Killers of the Flower Moon	Mollie Kyle
	Sandra Hüller	Anatomy of a Fall	Sandra Voyter
	Natalie Portman	May December	Elizabeth Berry
	Margot Robbie	Barbie	Barbie
2024	Marianne Jean-Baptiste	Hard Truths	Pansey
	Cynthia Erivo	Wicked	Elphaba Thropp
	Mikey Madison	Anora	Anora "Ani" Mikheeva
	Demi Moore	The Substance	Elisabeth Sparkle
	Léa Seydoux	The Beast	Gabrielle
2025	Rose Byrne	If I Had Legs I'd Kick You	Linda
	Jessie Buckley	Hamnet	Agnes Shakespeare
	Jennifer Lawrence	Die My Love	Grace
	Amanda Seyfried	The Testament of Ann Lee	Ann Lee
	Tessa Thompson	Hedda	Hedda Gabler

Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress

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