BIFA Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a British Independent Film

The British Independent Film Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a British Independent Film is an annual award given by the British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) to recognize the best leading performance by an actress in a British independent film. The award was first presented in the 1998 ceremony with Kathy Burke being the first recipient of the award for her performance as Valerie in Nil by Mouth.

British Independent Film Award for Best Actress
Awarded for	Best Performance by an Actress in a British Independent Film
Country	United Kingdom
Presented by	BIFA
First awarded	1998
Last awarded	Joanna Scanlan – After Love (2021)
Website	www.bifa.org.uk

With two wins each, Carey Mulligan and Olivia Colman are the only nominees who have won more than once. Samantha Morton holds the record of most nominations with five, followed by Judi Dench with four.

In July 2022, it was announced that the performance categories would be replaced with gender-neutral categories, with both Best Actor and Best Actress merging into the Best Lead Performance category. Additionally, a category named Best Joint Lead Performance was created for "two (or exceptionally three) performances that are the joint focus of the film, especially where performances share a large number of scenes and screen time".^[1]

Winners and nominees

1990s

Year	Actress	Film	Character
1998 (1st) ^[2]	Kathy Burke	Nil by Mouth	Valerie
	Louise Goodall	My Name Is Joe	Sarah Downie
	Rachel Griffiths	My Son the Fanatic	Bettina/ Sandra
	Samantha Morton	Under the Skin	Iris Kelly
	Emma Thompson	The Winter Guest	Frances
1999 (2nd) ^[3]	Emily Watson	Hilary and Jackie	Jacqueline du Pré
	Lara Belmont	The War Zone	Jessie
	Rachel Griffiths	Hilary and Jackie	Hilary du Pré
	Jane Horrocks	Little Voice	LV
	Gina McKee	Wonderland	Nadia

2000s

Year	Actress	Film	Character
2000 (3rd) ^[4]	Gillian Anderson	The House of Mirth	Lily Bart
	Kate Ashfield	The Low Down	Ruby
	Brenda Blethyn	Saving Grace	Grace Trevethyn
	Emily Watson	The Luzhin Defence	Natalia Katkov
2001 (4th) ^[5]	Kate Ashfield	Late Night Shopping	Jody
	Susan Lynch	Beautiful Creatures	Dorothy
	Samantha Morton	Pandaemonium	Sara Coleridge
	Kate Winslet	Enigma	Hester Wallace
2002 (5th) ^[6]^[7]	Samantha Morton	Morvern Callar	Movern Collar
	Elaine Cassidy	Disco Pigs	Rent/Sinead
	Shirley Henderson	Villa des Roses	Ella
	Harriet Walter		Olive Burrell
2003 (6th) ^[8]^[9]	Olivia Williams	The Heart of Me	Madeleine
	Kate Ashfield	This Little Life	Sadie McGregor
	Helena Bonham Carter	The Heart of Me	Dinah
	Samantha Morton	In America	Sarah
	Tilda Swinton	Young Adam	Ella Gault
2004 (7th) ^[10]	Imelda Staunton	Vera Drake	Vera Rose Drake
	Eva Birthistle	Ae Fond Kiss...	Roisin Hanlon
	Scarlett Johansson	Girl with a Pearl Earring	Griet
	Natalie Press	My Summer of Love	Mona
	Anne Reid	The Mother	May
2005 (8th) ^[11]	Rachel Weisz	The Constant Gardener	Tessa Quayle
	Joan Allen	Yes	She
	Judi Dench	Mrs Henderson Presents	Mrs. Henderson
	Natasha Richardson	Asylum	Stella Raphael
	Emily Watson	Wah-Wah	Ruby Compton
2006 (9th) ^[12]^[13]	Kate Dickie	Red Road	Jackie Morrison
	Juliette Binoche	Breaking and Entering	Amira Simić
	Robin Wright		Liv
	Frances de la Tour	The History Boys	Mrs. Lintott
	Helen Mirren	The Queen	Queen Elizabeth II
2007 (10th) ^[14]^[15]	Judi Dench	Notes on a Scandal	Barbara Covett
	Tannishtha Chatterjee	Brick Lane	Nazneen Ahmed
	Anne Hathaway	Becoming Jane	Jane Austen
	Sophia Myles	Hallam Foe	Kate Breck
	Kierston Wareing	It's a Free World...	Angela
2008 (11th) ^[16]^[17]	Vera Farmiga	The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas	Elsa (Mother)
	Sally Hawkins	Happy-Go-Lucky	Pauline "Poppy" Cross
	Keira Knightley	The Duchess	Duchess Georgiana
	Samantha Morton	The Daisy Chain	Martha Conroy
	Kelly Reilly	Eden Lake	Jenny
2009 (12th) ^[18]^[19]	Carey Mulligan	An Education	Jenny Mellor
	Emily Blunt	The Young Victoria	Queen Victoria
	Abbie Cornish	Bright Star	Fanny Brawne
	Katie Jarvis	Fish Tank	Mia Williams
	Sophie Okonedo	Skin	Sandra Laing

2010s

Year	Actress	Film	Character
2010 (13th) ^[20]^[21]	Carey Mulligan	Never Let Me Go	Kathy H
	Sally Hawkins	Made in Dagenham	Rita O'Grady
	Andrea Riseborough	Brighton Rock	Rose
	Ruth Sheen	Another Year	Gerri Hepple
	Manjinder Virk	The Arbor	Lorraine Dunbar
2011 (14th) ^[22]^[23]	Olivia Colman	Tyrannosaur	Hannah
	MyAnna Buring	Kill List	Shel
	Rebecca Hall	The Awakening	Florence Cathcart
	Tilda Swinton	We Need to Talk About Kevin	Eva Khatchadourian
	Mia Wasikowska	Jane Eyre	Jane Eyre
2012 (15th) ^[24]^[25]	Andrea Riseborough	Shadow Dancer	Colette McVeigh
	Judi Dench	The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel	Evelyn Greenslade
	Elle Fanning	Ginger & Rosa	Ginger
	Alice Lowe	Sightseers	Tina
	Meryl Streep	The Iron Lady	Margaret Thatcher
2013 (16th) ^[26]^[27]	Lindsay Duncan	Le Week-End	Meg Burrows
	Judi Dench	Philomena	Philomena Lee
	Saoirse Ronan	How I Live Now	Daisy
	Felicity Jones	The Invisible Woman	Nelly Ternan
	Scarlett Johansson	Under the Skin	The Alien
2014 (17th) ^[28]^[29]	Gugu Mbatha-Raw	Belle	Dido Elizabeth Belle
	Sameena Jabeen Ahmed	Catch Me Daddy	Laila
	Cheng Pei-pei	Lilting	Junn
	Keira Knightley	The Imitation Game	Joan Clarke
	Alicia Vikander	Testament of Youth	Vera Brittain
2015 (18th) ^[30]^[31]	Saoirse Ronan	Brooklyn	Eilis Lacey
	Marion Cotillard	Macbeth	Lady Macbeth
	Carey Mulligan	Suffragette	Maud Watts
	Charlotte Rampling	45 Years	Kate Mercer
	Alicia Vikander	The Danish Girl	Gerda Wegener
2016 (19th) ^[32]^[33]	Sasha Lane	American Honey	Star
	Kate Dickie	Couple in a Hole	Karen
	Narges Rashidi	Under the Shadow	Shideh
	Hayley Squires	I, Daniel Blake	Katie Morgan
	Jodie Whittaker	Adult Life Skills	Anna
2017 (20th) ^[34]^[35]	Florence Pugh	Lady Macbeth	Katherine Lester
	Emily Beecham	Daphne	Daphne
	Frances McDormand	Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri	Mildred Hayes
	Maggie Mulubwa	I Am Not a Witch	Shula
	Ruth Wilson	Dark River	Alice
2018 (21st) ^[36]^[37]	Olivia Colman	The Favourite	Queen Anne
	Gemma Arterton	The Escape	Tara
	Jessie Buckley	Beast	Moll
	Maxine Peake	Funny Cow	Funny Cow
	Rachel Weisz	Disobedience	Ronit Krushka
2019 (22nd) ^[38]^[39]	Renée Zellweger	Judy	Judy Garland
	Jessie Buckley	Wild Rose	Rose-Lynn Harlan
	Holliday Grainger	Animals	Laura
	Sally Hawkins	Eternal Beauty	June
	Vicky Knight	Dirty God	Jade

2020s

Year	Actress	Film	Character
2020 (23rd) ^[40]^[41]	Wunmi Mosaku	His House	Rial
	Claire Dunne	Her Self	Sandra
	Andrea Riseborough	Luxor	Hana
	Bukky Bakray	Rocks	Olushola "Rocks" Omotoso
	Morfydd Clark	Saint Maud	Maud
2021 (24th) ^[42]	Joanna Scanlan	After Love	Mary
	Caitríona Balfe	Belfast	Ma
	Carrie Coon	The Nest	Allison O'Hara
	Claire Rushbrook	Ali & Ava	Ava
	Ruth Wilson	True Things	Kate

Multiple nominations

5 nominations Samantha Morton 4 nominations Judi Dench 3 nominations Emily Watson Kate Ashfield Sally Hawkins Andrea Riseborough Carey Mulligan

2 nominations Rachel Griffiths Rachel Weisz Saoirse Ronan Keira Knightley Tilda Swinton Scarlett Johansson Olivia Colman Alicia Vikander Jessie Buckley

Multiple wins

2 wins Carey Mulligan (consecutive) Olivia Colman

See also

• Academy Award for Best Actress
• Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Actress
• BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role
• Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama
• Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical
• Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role

References

1. "BIFA ANNOUNCES NEW CATEGORIES FOR THE 2022 AWARDS". BIFA. July 5, 2022. Retrieved October 13, 2022.
2. "The Awards 1998". British Independent Film Awards. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
3. "The Awards 1999". British Independent Film Awards. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
4. "The Awards 2000". British Independent Film Awards. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
5. Frater, Patrick (October 24, 2001). "Sexy Beast scores at British indie film awards". Screen Daily. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
6. "Morvern Callar leads British Independent Film Awards nominations". Screen Daily. September 17, 2002. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
7. Gibbons, Fiachra (October 31, 2002). "Sweet Sixteen named best of the independents". The Guardian. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
8. Dams, Tim (September 22, 2003). "Dirty Pretty Things leads BIFA nominations". Screen Daily. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
9. "Dirty Pretty Things sweeps Brit indie awards". The Guardian. November 3, 2003. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
10. Dawtrey, Adam (November 30, 2004). "'Drake' takes the cake". Variety. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
11. "Constant Gardener wins UK awards". BBC News. December 1, 2005. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
12. "'Scotland' duo, 'Queen' pic among top BIFA nominees". The Hollywood Reporter. October 31, 2006. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
13. ""This is England" Takes Top Prize at British Independent Film Awards". Indiewire. November 30, 2006. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
14. "British Independent Film Awards nominations list". Variety. October 23, 2007. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
15. "Control takes over at British Independent Film Awards". CBC News. November 29, 2007. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
16. Ward, Audrey (October 28, 2008). "Nominations for British Independent Film Awards announced". Screen Daily. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
17. Kemp, Stuart (December 1, 2008). "'Slumdog' wins big at British indie awards". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
18. Knegt, Peter (October 26, 2009). ""Fish Tank," "Moon" Lead British Indie Award Nods". IndieWire. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
19. Thompson, Anne (December 6, 2009). "British Independent Film Awards: Moon Wins Best Film". IndieWire. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
20. Child, Ben (November 2, 2010). "The King's Speech rings out in Bifa awards nominations". The Guardian. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
21. Masters, Tim (December 6, 2010). "King's Speech reigns at British Independent Film awards". BBC News. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
22. Knegt, Peter (October 31, 2011). ""Shame," "Tyrannosaur" and "Tinker Tailor" Lead British Independent Film Award Nominations". IndieWire. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
23. Masters, Tim (December 5, 2011). "Tyrannosaur in triple win at British Independent Film Awards". BBC News. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
24. Child, Ben (November 6, 2012). "Broken fixed up with nine British independent film award nominations". The Guardian. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
25. Mueller, Matt (December 9, 2012). "British Independent Film Awards: 'Broken' Takes Best Film, 'Berberian Sound Studio' and 'The Imposter' Big Winners". IndieWire. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
26. "'Metro Manila' gets 5 nominations in British film awards". ABS-CBN News. November 13, 2013. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
27. Kemp, Stuart (December 8, 2013). "'Metro Manila' Wins Big at British Independent Film Awards". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
28. Rosser, Michael (November 3, 2014). "'71, Pride lead BIFA nominations". Screen Daily. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
29. "Pride wins best film at British Independent Film Awards". BBC News. December 7, 2014. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
30. Tartaglione, Nancy (November 3, 2015). "'The Lobster', '45 Years', 'Macbeth' Lead British Independent Film Award Nominations". Deadline. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
31. Lee, Benjamin (December 7, 2015). "Ex Machina triumphs at British independent film awards". The Guardian. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
32. Evans, Alan (November 1, 2016). "I, Daniel Blake leads British independent film award nominations". The Guardian. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
33. Barranclough, Leo (December 4, 2016). "'American Honey' Triumphs at British Independent Film Awards". Variety. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
34. Clarke, Stewart (November 1, 2017). "'Lady Macbeth' Tops Nominations for British Independent Film Awards". Variety. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
35. Nordine, Michael (December 10, 2017). "British Independent Film Awards: 'God's Own Country' and 'Lady Macbeth' Win Top Prizes". IndieWire. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
36. Brown, Mark (October 31, 2018). "The Favourite dominates British independent film award nominations". The Guardian. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
37. Nordine, Michael (December 2, 2018). "'The Favourite' Wins 10 British Independent Film Awards, Living Up to Its Title". IndieWire. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
38. Sharf, Zack (October 30, 2019). "2019 British Indie Film Awards Nominations: 'David Copperfield,' Zellweger, and More". IndieWire. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
39. Ritman, Alex (December 1, 2019). "British Independent Film Awards: 'For Sama' Wins Top Prize". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
40. Ramachandran, Naman (December 9, 2020). "'Saint Maud,' 'His House,' 'Rocks' Lead British Independent Film Awards Nominations". Variety. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
41. Grater, Tom (February 18, 2021). "'Rocks' & 'His House' Win Big At British Independent Film Awards". Deadline. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
42. Ramachandran, Naman (November 3, 2021). "'Belfast,' 'Boiling Point' Lead BIFA Nominations". Variety. Retrieved November 3, 2021.

External links

• Official website