Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play

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| Ellen Burstyn

| Same Time, Next Year

| Doris

| Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

| Maggie

| Women Behind Bars

| Female Ensemble

| Yentl

| Yentl

| The Ritz

| Googie Gomez

| The Misanthrope

| Celimene

| Private Lives

| Amanda Prynne

| A Doll's House

| Nora Helmer

| Rosemary Harris

| The Royal Family

| Julie Cavendish

| What Every Woman Knows

| Maggie Wylie

| Yentl

| Yentl

| They Knew What They Wanted

| Amy

| 27 Wagons Full of Cotton, A Memory of Two Mondays, Secret Service and Trelawny of the 'Wells'

| Various Characters

| Irene Worth

| The Cherry Orchard

| Ranevskaya

| For Colored Girls

| Lady in Red

| The New York Idea

| Cynthia Karslake

| The Philanderer

| Julia Craven

| Lu Ann Hampton Laverly

| Lu Ann Hampton

| Peg o' My Heart

| Peg

| The Night of the Iguana

| Hannah

| Jessica Tandy

| The Gin Game

| Fonsia Dorsey

| Catsplay

| Mrs. Bela Orban

| Tartuffe

| Dorine

| Tartuffe

| Elmire

| Zinnia

| Zinnia

| Landscape of the Body

| Betty

| Constance Cummings

| Wings

| Emily Stilson

| Carole Shelley

| The Elephant Man

| Madge Kendal

| Bosoms and Neglect

| Henny

| On Golden Pond

| Ethel Thayer

| The Price of Genius

| Unknown

! style="width:10%;"| Year

! style="width:27%;"| Actress

! style="width:33%;"| Play

! style="width:27%;"| Character

| Pat Carroll

| Gertrude Stein

| Gertrude Stein

| Betrayal

| Emma

| Children of a Lesser God

| Sarah Norman

| Whose Life Is it Anyway?

| Claire

| A Coupla White Chicks Sitting Around Talking

| Maude Mix

| Joan Copeland

| The American Clock

| Rose Baum

| To Grandmother's House We Go

| Grandie

| Crimes of the Heart

| Meg MaGrath

| A Taste of Honey

| Josephine

| The Little Foxes

| Regina Giddens

| Zoe Caldwell

| Medea

| Medea

| Entertaining Mr Sloane

| Kath

| The Chalk Garden

| Mrs. St. Maugham

| Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All for You

| Sister Mary Ignatius

| Sally and Marsha

| Sally

| Jessica Tandy

| Foxfire

| Annie Nations

| Skirmishes

| Jean

| Queen and the Rebels

| Argia

| Poppie Nongena

| Poppie

| Win/Lose/Draw

| Various Characters

| Extremities

| Marjorie

| Joan Allen

| And a Nightingale Sang

| Hellen Stott

| Heartbreak House

| Hesione Hushabye

| A Moon for the Misbegotten

| Josie Hogan

| Sound and Beauty

| Woman

| Open Admissions

| Ginny Carlsen

| The Golden Age

| Isabel Hastings Hoyt

| Rosemary Harris

| Pack of Lies

| Barbara Jackson

| A Day in the Death of Joe Egg

| Sheila

| Digby

| Faye

| Aren't We All?

| Mrs. W. Tatham

| Salonika

| Enid

| Lily Tomlin

| The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe

| Various Characters

| The Marriage of Bette and Boo

| Bette Brennan

| The House of Blue Leaves

| Bunny Flingus

| Precious Sons

| Bea

| The House of Blue Leaves

| Bananas Shaughnessy

| Aunt Dan and Lemon

| Lemon

| Linda Lavin

| Broadway Bound

| Kate Jerome

| The Early Girl

| Jean

| Les Liaisons Dangereuses

| Marquise de Merteuil

| Driving Miss Daisy

| Daisy Werthan

| The Lucky Spot

| Sue Jack

| Hunting Cockroaches

| Anka

| Stockard Channing

| Woman in Mind

| Susan

| Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune

| Frankie

| The Road to Mecca

| Elsa

| Macbeth

| Lady Macbeth

| Laughing Wild

| Woman

| Shayna Maidel

| Luisa

| Pauline Collins

| Shirley Valentine

| Shirley Valentine

| The Heidi Chronicles

| Heidi Holland

| Reckless

| Rachel

| Long Day's Journey into Night

| Mary Cavan Tyrone

| The Forbidden City

| Miss Molly Hoffenburg

| The Cocktail Hour

| Ann

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! style="width:33%;"| Play

! style="width:27%;"| Character

| Geraldine James

| The Merchant of Venice

| Portia

| Twelfth Night

| Viola

| The Piano Lesson

| Berniece

| Prelude to a Kiss

| Rita Boyle

| Mercedes Ruehl

| Lost in Yonkers

| Bella Kurnitz

| Six Degrees of Separation

| Ouisa Kittredge

| The Good Times Are Killing Me

| Edna Arkins

| About Time

| Old Woman

| Laura Esterman

| Marvin's Room

| Bessie

| The Visit

| Claire Zachanassian

| Death and the Maiden

| Paulina Salas Escobar

| Sight Unseen

| Patricia

| Jane Alexander

| The Sisters Rosensweig

| Sara Goode

| Les Atrides

| Clytemnestra

| Three Hotels

| Barbara Hoyle

| Redwood Curtain

| Geneva Riordan

| Anna Christie

| Anna Christopherson

| Myra Carter

| Three Tall Women

| A

| Angels in America: Perestroika

| Various Characters

| Broken Glass

| Sylvia Gellburg

| Medea

| Medea

| Sally Marr...and Her Escorts

| Sally Marr

| Three Birds Alighting on a Field

| Biddy

| Cherry Jones

| The Heiress

| Catherine Sloper

| Having Our Say

| Bessie Delany

| Hapgood

| Mother

| Death Defying Acts

| Dorothy / Carol

| A Month in the Country

| Natalia Petrovna

| The Rose Tattoo

| Serafina Delle Rose

| Zoe Caldwell

| Master Class

| Maria Callas

| Molly Sweeney

| Molly

| Mrs. Klein

| Mrs. Klein

| Valley Song

| Veronica

| A Delicate Balance

| Agnes

| Sylvia

| Sylvia

| Janet McTeer

| A Doll's House

| Nora Helmer

| The Skriker

| The Skriker

| The Rehearsal

| The Countess

| The Young Man From Atlanta

| Lily Dale Kidder

| Antony and Cleopatra

| Cleopatra

| Skylight

| Kyra Hollis

| Cherry Jones

| Pride's Crossing

| Mabel

| Side Man

| Terry

| The Beauty Queen of Leenane

| Maureen Folan

| As Bees In Honey Drown

| Alexa

| Long Day's Journey into Night

| Mary Cavan Tyrone

| Kathleen Chalfant

| Wit

| Vivian Bearing

| Amy's View

| Esme Allen

| Ashes to Ashes

| Rebecca

| Death of a Salesman

| Linda Loman

| The Mineola Twins

| Myra / Myrna

| Electra

| Electra

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! style="width:27%;"| Actress

! style="width:33%;"| Play

! style="width:27%;"| Character

| Eileen Heckart

| The Waverly Gallery

| Gladys Green

| Our Lady of Sligo

| Mai O'Hara

| The Tale of the Allergist's Wife

| Marjorie

| Dirty Blonde

| Jo / Mae West

| Jar the Floor

| Lola

| In the Blood

| Hester, La Negrita

| Mary-Louise Parker

| Proof

| Catherine

| The Unexpected Man

| Woman

| Comic Potential

| Jacie Triplethree

| Boys Get Girl

| Caroline

| The Play About the Baby

| The Woman

| The Dead Eye Boy

| Shirley / Diane

| Lindsay Duncan

| Private Lives

| Amanda Prynne

| Everett Beekin

| Sophie

| The Glory of Living

| Lisa

| Wonder of the World

| Cass

| The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?

| Stevie

| The Seagull

| Arkadina

| Vanessa Redgrave

| Long Day's Journey into Night

| Mary Cavan Tyrone

| Enchanted April

| Lotty Wilton

| Kimberly Akimbo

| Kimberly

| Vincent in Brixton

| Ursula Loyler

| Yellowman

| Alma

| Medea

| Medea

| Viola Davis

| Intimate Apparel

| Esther

| Phylicia Rashad

| A Raisin in the Sun

| Lena Younger

| The Retreat from Moscow

| Alice

| Bug

| Agnes White

| The Trojan Women

| Hecuba

| Sarah, Sarah

| Sarah

| Cherry Jones

| Doubt

| Sister Aloysius Beauvier

| Last Easter

| June

| Souvenir

| Florence Foster Jenkins

| Sight Unseen

| Patricia

| Echoes of the War

| Mrs. Dowey

| Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

| Martha

| Lois Smith

| The Trip to Bountiful

| Carrie Watts

| Defiance

| Margaret

| Faith Healer

| Grace

| Abigail's Party

| Beverly

| Entertaining Mr Sloane

| Kath

| The Little Dog Laughed

| Diane

| Eve Best

| A Moon for the Misbegotten

| Josie Hogan

| The Field

| Maimie Flanagan

| Suddenly, Last Summer

| Mrs. Venable

| Dutchman

| Lula

| Satellites

| Nina

| The Internationalist

| Sara

| Mother Courage and Her Children

| Mother Courage

| Deanna Dunagan

| August: Osage County

| Violet Weston

| Rock 'n' Roll

| Eleanor / Esme

| The Country Girl

| Georgie Elgin

| August: Osage County

| Barbara Weston Fordham

| Happy Days

| Winnie

| From Up Here

| Grace

| Janet McTeer

| Mary Stuart

| Mary Stuart

| Ruined

| Mama Nadi

| 33 Variations

| Katherine Brandt

| God of Carnage

| Veronica

| Fifty Words

| Jan

| Scenes from an Execution

| Galactia

! style="width:10%;"| Year

! style="width:27%;"| Actress

! style="width:33%;"| Play

! style="width:27%;"| Character

| Jan Maxwell

| The Royal Family

| Julie Cavendish

| My Wonderful Day

| Winnie Barnstairs

| Candida

| Candida

| Twelfth Night

| Viola

| So Help Me God!

| Lily Darnley

| Time Stands Still

| Sarah Goodwin

| Frances McDormand

| Good People

| Margie Walsh

| Born Yesterday

| Emma 'Billie' Dawn

| Other Desert Cities

| Polly Wyeth

| The Other Place

| Juliana Smithton

| A Small Fire

| Emily Bridges

| The Merchant of Venice

| Portia

| Tracie Bennett

| End of the Rainbow

| Judy Garland

| By the Way, Meet Vera Stark

| Vera Stark

| The Lyons

| Rita Lyons

| Chinglish

| Xi Yan

| A Moon for the Misbegotten

| Josie Hogan

| Through a Glass Darkly

| Karin

| Side Effects

| Lindy

| Cicely Tyson

| The Trip to Bountiful

| Carrie Watts

| Belleville

| Abby

| Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

| Martha

| Falling

| Tami

| The Revisionist

| Maria

| Finks

| Natalie

| Audra McDonald

| Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill

| Billie Holiday

| I Remember Mama

| Mama

| Mothers and Sons

| Katharine Gerard

| Domesticated

| Judy Pulver

| Juno and the Paycock

| Juno Boyle

| Julius Caesar

| Brutus

| Helen Mirren

| The Audience

| Queen Elizabeth II

| You Got Older

| Mae

| A Walk in the Woods

| Irina Botvinnik

| The Fatal Weakness

| Ollie Espenshade

| The City of Conversation

| Hester Ferris

| Skylight

| Kyra Holis

| Rasheeda Speaking

| Jaclyn Spaulding

| Jessica Lange

| Long Day's Journey into Night

| Mary Tyrone

| John

| Mertis

| Ugly Lies the Bone

| Jess

| Ironbound

| Darja

| A View from the Bridge

| Beatrice Carbone

| Laura Linney

| The Little Foxes

| Regina Giddens

| The Present

| Anna Petrovna

| A Doll's House, Part 2

| Nora Helmer

| Love, Love, Love

| Sandra

| The Tempest

| Prospero

| Glenda Jackson

| Three Tall Women

| A

| Mary Jane

| Mary Jane

| People, Places and Things

| Emma

| Three Tall Women

| B

| Yerma

| Her

| Elaine May

| The Waverly Gallery

| Gladys

| Usual Girls

| Kyeoung

| Boesman and Lena

| Lena

| Hillary and Clinton

| Hillary Clinton

| What the Constitution Means to Me

| Heidi

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! style="width:27%;"| Actress

! style="width:33%;"| Play

! style="width:27%;"| Character

| Liza Colón-Zayas

| Halfway Bitches Go Straight to Heaven

| Sarge

| Medea

| Medea

| Is This a Room

| Reality Winner

| Toni Stone

| Toni Stone

| Hamlet

| Hamlet

| Phylicia Rashad

| Skeleton Crew

| Faye

| English

| Elham

| Macbeth

| Lady Macbeth

| Cullud Wattah

| Ainee

| The Chinese Lady

| Afong Moy

| Confederates

| Sandra