| Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead | |
| Presenter: | Independent Spirit Awards |
| Year: | Geraldine Page The Trip to Bountiful (1986) |
| Year2: | Taylour Paige Zola (2021) |
The Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead was one of the annual Independent Spirit Awards to honor an actress who has delivered an outstanding lead performance in an independent film. It was first presented in 1985 with Geraldine Page being the first recipient of the award for her role as Carrie Watts in The Trip to Bountiful. It was last presented in 2022 with Taylour Paige being the final recipient of the award for her role in Zola.
In 2022, it was announced that the four acting categories would be retired and replaced with two gender neutral categories, with both Best Male Lead and Best Female Lead merging into the Best Lead Performance category.[1]
With two wins, Frances McDormand and Julianne Moore are the most awarded females in this category, while with 4 nominations Michelle Williams is the most nominated female in this category.
| Year | Actress | Film | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 [2] | Geraldine Page | The Trip to Bountiful | Carrie Watts |
| After Hours | Marcy Franklin | ||
| Smooth Talk | Connie Wyatt | ||
| Trouble in Mind | Georgia | ||
| 1986 | Isabella Rossellini | Blue Velvet | Dorothy Vallens |
| Salvador | María | ||
| Desert Hearts | Cay Rivvers | ||
| Blue Velvet | Sandy Williams | ||
| She's Gotta Have It | Nola Darling | ||
| 1987 | Sally Kirkland | Anna | Anna |
| The Whales of August | Sarah Webber | ||
| Tough Guys Don't Dance | Patty Lareine | ||
| Working Girls | Molly | ||
| The Glass Menagerie | Amanda Wingfield | ||
| 1988 | Jodie Foster | Five Corners | Linda |
| Hairspray | Tracy Turnblad | ||
| The Wash | Masi Matsumoto | ||
| Mystic Pizza | Daisy Arujo | ||
| Promised Land | Bev Sykes | ||
| 1989 | Andie MacDowell | Sex, Lies, and Videotape | Ann Bishop Mullany |
| Mystery Train | Mitsuko | ||
| Drugstore Cowboy | Dianne | ||
| Heathers | Veronica Sawyer | ||
| True Love | Donna |
| Year | Actress | Film | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 [3] | Ellen Burstyn | Requiem for a Dream | Sara Goldfarb |
| The Contender | Laine Hanson | ||
| Love & Basketball | Monica Wright | ||
| You Can Count on Me | Samantha "Sammy" Prescott | ||
| Two Family House | Mary O'Neary | ||
| 2001 [4] | Sissy Spacek | In the Bedroom | Ruth Fowler |
| Things Behind the Sun | Sherry | ||
| The Center of the World | Florence | ||
| The Deep End | Margaret Hall | ||
| Lift | Niecy | ||
| 2002 [5] | Julianne Moore | Far from Heaven | Cathy Whitaker |
| The Good Girl | Justine Last | ||
| Secretary | Lee Holloway | ||
| Lovely & Amazing | Michelle Marks | ||
| Personal Velocity | Greta Herskowitz | ||
| 2003 [6] | Charlize Theron | Monster | Aileen Wuornos |
| Blue Car | Megan Denning | ||
| All the Real Girls | Noel | ||
| In America | Sarah | ||
| Virgin | Jessie Reynolds | ||
| 2004 [7] | Catalina Sandino Moreno | Maria Full of Grace | María Álvarez |
| Woman Thou Art Loosed | Michelle Jordan | ||
| Down to the Bone | Irene Morrison | ||
| On the Outs | Oz | ||
| Cavedweller | Delia Byrd | ||
| 2005 [8] | Felicity Huffman | Transamerica | Bree |
| Forty Shades of Blue | Laura | ||
| The Squid and the Whale | Joan Berkman | ||
| Lackawanna Blues | Rachel "Nanny" Crosby | ||
| Room | Julia Barker | ||
| 2006 [9] | Shareeka Epps | Half Nelson | Drey |
| For Your Consideration | Marilyn Hack | ||
| Sweet Land | Young Inge | ||
| Land of Plenty | Lana | ||
| Sorry, Haters | Phoebe Torrence | ||
| 2007 [10] | Elliot Page | Juno | Juno MacGuff |
| A Mighty Heart | Mariane Pearl | ||
| Interview | Katya | ||
| Broken English | Nora Wilder | ||
| Lust, Caution | Wong Chia Chi / Mak Tai Tai | ||
| 2008 [11] | Melissa Leo | Frozen River | Ray Eddy |
| Towelhead | Jasira Maroun | ||
| Rachel Getting Married | Kym Buchman | ||
| Tarra Riggs | Ballast | Marlee | |
| Wendy and Lucy | Wendy Carroll | ||
| 2009 [12] | Gabourey Sidibe | Precious | Claireece "Precious" Jones |
| Downloading Nancy | Nancy Stockwell | ||
| Amreeka | Muna Farah | ||
| The Last Station | |||
| Two Lovers | Michelle Rausch |
| Year | Actress | Film | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 [23] [24] | Carey Mulligan | Promising Young Woman | Cassandra "Cassie" Thomas |
| Miss Juneteenth | Turquoise Jones | ||
| Ma Rainey's Black Bottom | |||
| Never Rarely Sometimes Always | Autumn Callahan | ||
| The Assistant | Jane | ||
| Nomadland | Fern | ||
| 2021 [25] | Taylour Paige | Zola | Aziah "Zola" King |
| Isabelle Fuhrman | The Novice | Alex Dall | |
| Brittany S. Hall | Test Pattern | Renesha | |
| Patti Harrison | Together Together | Anna Caper | |
| Kali Reis | Catch the Fair One | Kaylee |