Every Movie to Win Best Actress at the Oscars, and Where to Watch Them

Published on

At the 96th Academy Awards, Emma Stone won her second Best Actress Oscar thanks to her role in Poor Things, where she plays a childlike woman who is brought back to life thanks to a revolutionary brain transplant. The movie joins a lofty ensemble of films that have taken home the coveted award honoring actresses who have portrayed hilarious, heartbreaking, and pivotal characters throughout cinematic history. Discover every movie to win Best Actress and find out where to stream them in our guide below.

The first Best Actress winner ever was Janet Gaynor, who was nominated for three films that year: 7th Heaven, Street Angel, and Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans. This was the only time an actress won an Academy Award for playing multiple roles in different films. Since then, the prestigious honor has been awarded to actresses from all walks of life in a wide array of films, like Julie Andrews for Mary Poppins, Cher for Moonstruck, Halle Berry in Monster's Ball, and Reese Witherspoon for Walk the Line, among many others.

In 1991, Jodie Foster won Best Actress for The Silence of the Lambs, which was a significant moment because very few horror and suspense films are ever recognized by the academy. In fact, The Silence of the Lambs scored every major award at the 64th Oscars. On top of Foster’s win, the movie also earned Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay, making it one of just a handful of movies to take home every major award.

So far, the all-time highest winner for the Best Actress Oscar is Katherine Hepburn, who holds the record with four wins for her films Morning Glory, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, The Lion in Winter (which she tied with Barbra Streisand's performance in 1968's Funny Girl) and On Golden Pond. Meryl Streep presently holds the record for most Best Actress nominations, being nominated a whopping 17 times, winning twice for Sophie’s Choice and The Iron Lady.

Check out our guide below to discover all the movies that have won the Oscar for Best Actress and find out where to stream them.

Netflix
Disney Plus
Amazon Prime Video
Apple TV Plus
Apple TV
Hulu
Crunchyroll
fuboTV
Max
Max Amazon Channel
Epix Amazon Channel
Crunchyroll Amazon Channel
Peacock Premium
Kocowa
Amazon Video
Google Play Movies
YouTube
Paramount Plus
Paramount+ with Showtime
Paramount Plus Apple TV Channel
Starz Apple TV Channel
AMC Plus Apple TV Channel
Britbox Apple TV Channel
Paramount+ Amazon Channel
Discovery+ Amazon Channel
AMC+ Amazon Channel
The Roku Channel
Paramount+ Roku Premium Channel
Starz Roku Premium Channel
AMC+ Roku Premium Channel
AMC+
MGM Plus Roku Premium Channel
YouTube Premium
YouTube Free
Hoopla
The CW
Fandango At Home
Starz
VUDU Free
Criterion Channel
PBS
FXNow
JustWatchTV
Tubi TV
Kanopy
Microsoft Store
Sun Nxt
Crackle
AMC
AMC Theatres
Fandor
Curiosity Stream
NBC
MGM Plus
Freeform
History
A&E
Lifetime
Shudder
Screambox
Acorn TV
Sundance Now
GuideDoc
BritBox
MUBI
Netflix Kids
ALLBLK
History Vault
Yupp TV
MyOutdoorTV
WWE Network
Pure Flix
Lifetime Movie Club
PBS Kids Amazon Channel
Cinemax Amazon Channel
Hallmark Movies Now Amazon Channel
PBS Masterpiece Amazon Channel
MZ Choice Amazon Channel
Spamflix
Pluto TV
BYUtv
HiDive
VIX
Night Flight Plus
Retrocrush
Dekkoo
Shout! Factory TV
Chai Flicks
OVID
Mhz Choice
Shudder Amazon Channel
Vice TV
MUBI Amazon Channel
AcornTV Amazon Channel
BritBox Amazon Channel
Fandor Amazon Channel
Screambox Amazon Channel
Sundance Now Amazon Channel
Adult Swim
USA Network
Fox
Bet+ Amazon Channel
FlixFling
Rakuten Viki
TCM
Bravo TV
TNT
Food Network
BBC America
IndieFlix
AHCTV
TLC
DIY Network
HGTV
Investigation Discovery
Science Channel
Destination America
Discovery Life
Animal Planet
Discovery
Travel Channel
Cooking Channel
Here TV
VH1
DreamWorksTV Amazon Channel
Flix Premiere
TBS
AsianCrush
Revry
DOCSVILLE
Spectrum On Demand
OXYGEN
Hi-YAH
tru TV
DisneyNOW
WeTV
ARROW
Plex
Plex Live TV
Plex Player
WOW Presents Plus
Magellan TV
BroadwayHD
The Oprah Winfrey Network
Filmzie
MovieSaints
True Story
Martha Stewart TV
DocAlliance Films
OnDemandKorea
FlixHouse
Hoichoi
iQIYI
Metrograph
Freevee
Public Domain Movies
Eventive
Cultpix
FilmBox+
aha
ShortsTV Amazon Channel
Bet+
Takflix
Klassiki
Starz Amazon Channel
Netflix basic with Ads
Cohen Media Amazon Channel
Popflick
ViX Premium Amazon Channel
Runtime
Fandango
Telemundo
Discovery +
Reveel
Ovation TV
Angel Studios
Cineverse
AD tv
Midnight Pulp
FYI Network
Xumo Play
National Geographic
Atom Tickets
Shahid VIP
DistroTV
myfilmfriend
Cinemark
Outside Watch
Cinepolis Cinemas
Full Moon Amazon Channel
Citytv
Univer Video
GlewedTV
Toon Goggles
A&E Crime Central Apple TV Channel
Acorn TV Apple TV
ALLBLK Apple TV channel
UP Faith & Family Apple TV Channel
Tastemade Apple TV Channel
Sundance Now Apple TV Channel
Shudder Apple TV Channel
ScreenPix Apple TV Channel
OUTtv Apple TV Channel
Lifetime Movie Club Apple TV Channel
Hallmark Movies Now Apple TV Channel
Eros Now Select Apple TV Channel
CuriosityStream Apple TV Channel
Cinemax Apple TV Channel
BBC Select Apple Tv channel
BET+  Apple TV channel
Carnegie Hall+ Apple TV Channel
IFC Films Unlimited Apple TV Channel
HISTORY Vault Apple TV Channel
HISTORY Vault Amazon Channel
Carnegie Hall+ Amazon Channel
Lifetime Movie Club Amazon Channel
Film Movement Plus
Amazon Prime Video with Ads
Troma NOW
Regal Cinemas
Harkins Theatres
B&B Theatres
Marcus Theatres
Kino Film Collection
Tubi TV Live
Pluto TV Live
Cineverse LiveTV
Strand Releasing Amazon Channel
Peacock Premium Plus
ALLBLK Amazon channel
Apple TV Plus Amazon Channel
Motorvision TV Amazon Channel
Stingray Classica Amazon Channel
Stingray Djazz Amazon Channel
Stingray Karaoke Amazon Channel
TV1000 Russian Kino Amazon Channel
RetroCrush Amazon Channel
Filters
  1. Poor Things

    Poor Things

    2023

    #1

    Brought back to life by an unorthodox scientist, a young woman runs off with a lawyer on a whirlwind adventure across the continents. Free from the prejudices of her times, she grows steadfast in her purpose to stand for equality and liberation.

  2. Everything Everywhere All at Once

    #2

    A middle-aged Chinese immigrant is swept up into an insane adventure in which she alone can save existence by exploring other universes and connecting with the lives she could have led.

  3. The Eyes of Tammy Faye

    #3

    From the 1960's to the 1980's, evangelist Jim Baker and his ambitious wife, Tammy Faye, rose from humble beginnings to to build an empire based on big-time evangelical Christianity--only for the couple to fall from grace because of some all-too-human sins.

  4. Nomadland

    Nomadland

    2020

    #4

    A woman in her sixties, after losing everything in the Great Recession, embarks on a journey through the American West, living as a van-dwelling modern-day nomad.

  5. Judy

    Judy

    2019

    #5

    Thirty years after starring in "The Wizard of Oz," beloved actress and singer Judy Garland arrives in London to perform sold-out shows at the Talk of the Town nightclub. While there, she reminisces with friends and fans and begins a whirlwind romance with musician Mickey Deans, her soon-to-be fifth husband.

  6. The Favourite

    The Favourite

    2018

    #6

    England, early 18th century. The close relationship between Queen Anne and Sarah Churchill is threatened by the arrival of Sarah's cousin, Abigail Hill, resulting in a bitter rivalry between the two cousins to be the Queen's favourite.

  7. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

    #7

    After seven months have passed without a culprit in her daughter's murder case, Mildred Hayes makes a bold move, painting three signs leading into her town with a controversial message directed at Bill Willoughby, the town's revered chief of police. When his second-in-command Officer Jason Dixon, an immature mother's boy with a penchant for violence, gets involved, the battle between Mildred and Ebbing's law enforcement is only exacerbated.

  8. La La Land

    La La Land

    2016

    #8

    Mia, an aspiring actress, serves lattes to movie stars in between auditions and Sebastian, a jazz musician, scrapes by playing cocktail party gigs in dingy bars, but as success mounts they are faced with decisions that begin to fray the fragile fabric of their love affair, and the dreams they worked so hard to maintain in each other threaten to rip them apart.

  9. Room

    Room

    2015

    #9

    Held captive for 7 years in an enclosed space, a woman and her young son finally gain their freedom, allowing the boy to experience the outside world for the first time.

  10. Still Alice

    Still Alice

    2014

    #10

    Alice Howland, happily married with three grown children, is a renowned linguistics professor who starts to forget words. When she receives a devastating diagnosis, Alice and her family find their bonds tested.

  11. Blue Jasmine

    Blue Jasmine

    2013

    #11

    After experiencing a traumatic misfortune, Jasmine French, a wealthy woman from New York, moves to San Francisco to live with her foster sister Ginger and the firm purpose of getting a new life, but she will be haunted by anxiety and memories of the past.

  12. Silver Linings Playbook

    #12

    After spending eight months in a mental institution, a former teacher moves back in with his parents and tries to reconcile with his ex-wife.

  13. The Iron Lady

    The Iron Lady

    2011

    #13

    A look at the life of Margaret Thatcher, the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, with a focus on the price she paid for power.

  14. Black Swan

    Black Swan

    2010

    #14

    Nina is a talented but unstable ballerina on the verge of stardom. Pushed to the breaking point by her artistic director and a seductive rival, Nina's grip on reality slips, plunging her into a waking nightmare.

  15. The Blind Side

    The Blind Side

    2009

    #15

    The story of Michael Oher, a homeless and traumatized boy who became an All American football player and first round NFL draft pick with the help of a caring woman and her family.

  16. The Reader

    The Reader

    2008

    #16

    The story of Michael Berg, a German lawyer who, as a teenager in the late 1950s, had an affair with an older woman, Hanna, who then disappeared only to resurface years later as one of the defendants in a war crimes trial stemming from her actions as a concentration camp guard late in the war. He alone realizes that Hanna is illiterate and may be concealing that fact at the expense of her freedom.

  17. La Vie en Rose

    La Vie en Rose

    2007

    #17

    From the mean streets of the Belleville district of Paris to the dazzling limelight of New York's most famous concert halls, Edith Piaf's life was a constant battle to sing and survive, to live and love. Raised in her grandmother's brothel, Piaf was discovered in 1935 by nightclub owner Louis Leplee, who persuaded her to sing despite her extreme nervousness. Piaf became one of France's immortal icons, her voice one of the indelible signatures of the 20th century.

  18. The Queen

    The Queen

    2006

    #18

    The Queen is an intimate behind the scenes glimpse at the interaction between HM Elizabeth II and Prime Minister Tony Blair during their struggle, following the death of Diana, to reach a compromise between what was a private tragedy for the Royal family and the public's demand for an overt display of mourning.

  19. Walk the Line

    Walk the Line

    2005

    #19

    A chronicle of country music legend Johnny Cash's life, from his early days on an Arkansas cotton farm to his rise to fame with Sun Records in Memphis, where he recorded alongside Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins.

  20. Million Dollar Baby

    Million Dollar Baby

    2004

    #20

    Despondent over a painful estrangement from his daughter, trainer Frankie Dunn isn't prepared for boxer Maggie Fitzgerald to enter his life. But Maggie's determined to go pro and to convince Dunn and his cohort to help her.