| Saturn Award for Best Actress | |
|---|---|
 The 2021 recipient: Michelle Yeoh | |
| Awarded for | Best performance of the year by a female in a leading role in a genre film |
| Country | United States |
| Presented by | Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films |
| First awarded | 1974/75 |
| Currently held by | Michelle Yeoh for Everything Everywhere All at Once (2021/2022) |
| Website | www |
The Saturn Award for Best Actress is one of the annual Saturn Awards given by the American professional organization, the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films. The Saturn Awards are the oldest film-specialized reward of achievements in science fiction, fantasy, and horror (another award, the Hugo Award is older but includes other genres and media). The Saturn Award included the Best Actress category for the first time in the 1974 film year.
The Saturn Award for Best Actress is the oldest prize to reward actresses in science fiction, fantasy, and horror films: other awards such as the Academy and Golden Globe Awards, despite supposedly disregarding the genre, gave little recognition to acting quality at the time. In 1996 the Saturns began to reward both film and television acting, and created the Saturn Award for Best Actress on Television. For the first two years it was awarded there were no nominees announced.
The actresses with the most nominations are Jamie Lee Curtis, Jodie Foster, Natalie Portman, Naomi Watts and Sigourney Weaver, who are all tied with five. Curtis, Foster, Portman, Watts and Sandra Bullock are the only actresses to have won it twice. Portman and Michelle Yeoh are the only actresses to win both the Saturn Award and the Academy Award for Best Actress for the same film, while Weaver holds the record for most nominations for playing the same character (Ellen Ripley) with four. Foster is the youngest winner in this category, winning her first award in 1977 at age 13.
Winners and nominees
Legend:
1970s
| Year | Actress | Film | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1974/1975 | Katharine Ross | The Stepford Wives | Joanna Eberhart |
| 1976 | Blythe Danner | Futureworld | Tracy Ballad |
| 1977 | Jodie Foster | The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane | Rynn Jacobs |
| Julie Christie | Demon Seed | Susan Harris | |
| Joan Collins | Empire of the Ants | Marilyn Fryser | |
| Melinda Dillon | Close Encounters of the Third Kind | Jillian Guiler | |
| Carrie Fisher | Star Wars | Princess Leia Organa | |
| 1978 | Margot Kidder | Superman | Lois Lane |
| Brooke Adams | Invasion of the Body Snatchers | Elizabeth Driscoll | |
| Ann-Margret | Magic | Peggy Ann Snow | |
| Geneviève Bujold | Coma | Dr. Susan Wheeler | |
| Diana Ross | The Wiz | Dorothy Gale | |
| 1979 | Mary Steenburgen | Time After Time | Amy Robbins |
| Susan Saint James | Love at First Bite | Cindy Sondheim | |
| Persis Khambatta | Star Trek: The Motion Picture | Lt. Ilia | |
| Margot Kidder | The Amityville Horror | Kathy Lutz | |
| Sigourney Weaver | Alien | Ripley |
1980s
1990s
2000s
2010s
2020s
| Year | Actress | Film | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021/2022 | Michelle Yeoh | Everything Everywhere All at Once | Evelyn Wang |
| Cate Blanchett | Nightmare Alley | Dr. Lilith Ritter | |
| Emily Blunt | A Quiet Place Part II | Evelyn Abbott | |
| Zoë Kravitz | The Batman | Selina Kyle / Catwoman | |
| Keke Palmer | Nope | Emerald "Em" Haywood | |
| Emma Stone | Cruella | Estella / Cruella | |
| Zendaya | Spider-Man: No Way Home | MJ |
Multiple nominations
- 6 nominations
- Natalie Portman
- 5 nominations
- Jamie Lee Curtis
- Jodie Foster
- Nicole Kidman
- Naomi Watts
- Sigourney Weaver
- Emily Blunt
- 4 nominations
- Angelina Jolie
- Jennifer Lawrence
- Cate Blanchett
- 3 nominations
- Jessica Chastain
- Margot Kidder
- Julianne Moore
- Michelle Pfeiffer
- Daisy Ridley
- Ally Sheedy
- Jessica Tandy
- Charlize Theron
- 2 nominations
- Amy Adams
- Karen Allen
- Nancy Allen
- Kathy Bates
- Kate Beckinsale
- Helena Bonham Carter
- Sandra Bullock
- Ellen Burstyn
- Neve Campbell
- Geena Davis
- Melinda Dillon
- Kirsten Dunst
- Carrie Fisher
- Linda Hamilton
- Anjelica Huston
- Catherine Keener
- Jennifer Lopez
- Frances McDormand
- Penelope Ann Miller
- Lupita Nyong'o
- Rosamund Pike
- Winona Ryder
- Sharon Stone
- Meryl Streep
- Uma Thurman
- Mia Wasikowska
- Michelle Yeoh
Multiple wins
- 2 wins
- Sandra Bullock
- Jamie Lee Curtis
- Jodie Foster
- Natalie Portman
- Naomi Watts