American theatre award for Broadway actresses
The Tony Award forBest Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical is an honor presented at theTony Awards , a ceremony established in 1947 as the Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre, to actresses for quality leading roles in amusical play , whether a new production or a revival. The awards are named afterAntoinette Perry , an American actress who died in 1946.
Honors in several categories are presented at the ceremony annually by the Tony Award Productions, a joint venture ofThe Broadway League and theAmerican Theatre Wing , to "honor the best performances and stage productions of the previous year."[ 1]
The award was originally called theTony Award for Actresses—Musical . It was first presented toGrace Hartman at the2nd Tony Awards for her portrayal of various characters inAngel in the Wings 1956 , nominees' names were not made public;[ 2] [ 3]
In1965 ,Liza Minnelli , age 19, became the youngest actress to win the award. She is followed byLea Salonga , age 20, in1991 . In2017 ,Bette Midler , age 71, became the oldest actress to win the award. She is followed byVictoria Clark , age 63, in2023 .
Angela Lansbury holds the record as the performer with the most wins in this category, with a total of four.Chita Rivera has the most nominations, with eight. The characters of Rose inGypsy The King and I
Winners and nominees [ edit ] indicates the winner
Nanette Fabray won forLove Life (1949)Mary Martin won three times: forSouth Pacific (1950),Peter Pan (1955), andThe Sound of Music (1960)Gertrude Lawrence won forThe King and I (1952)Rosalind Russell won forWonderful Town (1953)Gwen Verdon won forDamn Yankees (1956)Diahann Carroll won forNo Strings (1962)Vivien Leigh won forTovarich (1963)Carol Channing won forHello, Dolly! (1964)Liza Minnelli won twice: forFlora the Red Menace (1965) andThe Act (1978)Angela Lansbury won four times: forMame (1966),Dear World (1969),Gypsy (1975), andSweeney Todd (1979)Lauren Bacall won twice: forApplause (1970) andWoman of the Year (1985)Glynis Johns won forA Little Night Music (1973)Patti LuPone won twice: forEvita (1980) andGypsy (2008)Jennifer Holliday won forDreamgirls (1982)Chita Rivera won twice: forThe Rink (1984) andKiss of the Spider-Woman (1993)Bernadette Peters won twice: forSong and Dance (1986) andAnnie Get Your Gun (1999)Tyne Daly won forGypsy (1990)Lea Salonga won forMiss Saigon (1991)Donna Murphy won twice: forPassion (1994) andThe King and I (1996)Glenn Close won forSunset Boulevard (1995)Bebe Neuwirth won forChicago (1997)Idina Menzel won forWicked (2004)Christine Ebersole won twice: for42nd Street (2001) andGrey Gardens (2007)Sutton Foster won twice: forThoroughly Modern Millie (2002) andAnything Goes (2011)Victoria Clark won twice: forThe Light in the Piazza (2005) andKimberly Akimbo (2023)LaChanze won forThe Color Purple (2006)Catherine Zeta-Jones won forA Little Night Music (2010)Audra McDonald won forPorgy and Bess (2012)Patina Miller won forPippin (2013)Kelli O'Hara won forThe King and I (2015)Cynthia Erivo won forThe Color Purple (2016)Bette Midler won forHello Dolly! (2017)Katrina Lenk won forThe Band's Visit (2018)Adrienne Warren won forTina (2020)Joaquina Kalukango won forParadise Square (2022)Maleah Joi Moon won forHell's Kitchen (2024)Nicole Scherzinger won forSunset Blvd. (2025)^ The category was not given due to an insufficient number of musicals during the season. 8 nominations 7 nominations 6 nominations 5 nominations 4 nominations 3 nominations 2 nominations Character win total [ edit ] 3 wins 2 wins Character nomination total [ edit ] 6 nominations 4 nominations 3 nominations 2 nominations Productions with multiple nominations [ edit ] boldface =winner
Multiple awards and nominations [ edit ] Actresses who have been nominated multiple times in any acting categories ^ Kirkley, Donald (April 21, 1968)."Operation Frenzy Before the Tony Awards" .The Baltimore Sun . RetrievedDecember 24, 2011 . (subscription required) ^ Simons, Linda Keir (1994).The Performing Arts: a Guide to the Reference Literature ABC-CLIO . p. 137.ISBN 978-0-87287-982-9 Archived from the original on 2013-06-22. Retrieved2012-01-14 . ^ Gelb, Arthur (April 1, 1956)."Popularizing the Tony Awards" .The New York Times . RetrievedJanuary 14, 2011 . (subscription required) ^ "1956 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "1957 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "1958 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "1959 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "1960 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "1961 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "1962 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "1963 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "1964 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "1965 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "1966 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "1967 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "1968 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "1969 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "1970 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "1971 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "1972 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "1973 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "1974 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "1975 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "1976 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "1977 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "1978 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "1979 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "1980 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "1981 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "1982 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "1983 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "1984 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ Winship, Frederick M. (1985-06-03)." .UPI . Retrieved2016-12-03 . ^ "1986 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "1987 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "1988 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "1989 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "1990 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "1991 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "1992 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "1993 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "1994 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "1995 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "1996 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ Viagas, Robert."Julie Andrews Declines Tony Nomination" playbill.com, May 8, 1996 ^ "1997 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "1998 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "1999 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "2000 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "2001 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "2002 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "2003 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "2004 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "2005 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "2006 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "2007 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "2008 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "2009 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 11, 2023 .^ "2010 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 10, 2023 .^ "2011 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 10, 2023 .^ "2012 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 10, 2023 .^ "2013 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 10, 2023 .^ "2014 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 10, 2023 .^ "Tony Nominations 2015: Full List" .Variety . April 28, 2015. RetrievedAugust 10, 2023 .^ "2016 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 10, 2023 .^ "2017 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 10, 2023 .^ "2018 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 10, 2023 .^ "2019 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 10, 2023 .^ Garvey, Marianne (September 26, 2021)."See who won at the Tony Awards" .CNN . RetrievedSeptember 27, 2021 . ^ "2022 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . RetrievedAugust 10, 2023 .^ "2023 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . May 2, 2023. RetrievedAugust 10, 2023 .^ "2023 Tony Awards Nominees" .American Theatre Wing . May 2, 2023. RetrievedAugust 10, 2023 .
1948–1975 1976–2000 2001–present
Play Musical Special (non-competitive) Retired Ceremonies Nominee demographics * Divided into separate awards for plays and musicals
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