| Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie | |
| Awarded For: | Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie |
| Presenter: | Academy of Television Arts & Sciences |
| Country: | United States |
| Year: | 1955 |
| Holder: | Ali Wong, Beef (2023) |
The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie is an award presented annually by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS). It is given in honor of an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance in a leading role on a television limited series or television movie for the primetime network season.
The award was first presented at the 7th Primetime Emmy Awards on March 7, 1955, to Judith Anderson, for her performance as Lady Macbeth on the Hallmark Hall of Fame episode "Macbeth". It has undergone several name changes, with the category split into two categories at the 25th Primetime Emmy Awards: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Special Program – Drama or Comedy; and Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series. By the 31st Primetime Emmy Awards, the categories were merged into one, and it has since undergone several name changes, leading to its current title.
Since its inception, the award has been given to 54 actresses. Ali Wong is the current recipient of the award, for her portrayal of Amy Lau on Beef. Helen Mirren has won the most awards in this category, with four, and has received the most nominations for the award, on two occasions.
| Indicates the winner |
| Year | Actress | Role | Program | Episode | Network |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best Actress in a Single Performance | |||||
| 1955 [1] | |||||
| Judith Anderson | Lady Macbeth | Hallmark Hall of Fame | "Macbeth" | NBC | |
| Mme. Rosalie La Grange | Climax! | "The Thirteenth Chair" | |||
| Estelle Collins | Medic | "White Is the Color" | |||
| Harriet Craig | Lux Video Theater | "Craig's Wife" | |||
| Janet Spence | Climax! | "The Gioconda Smile" | |||
| Betty | The Philco Television Playhouse | "Middle of the Night" | |||
| Ellen Creed | Lux Video Theater | "Ladies in Retirement" | |||
| 1956 [2] | |||||
| Mary Martin | Peter Pan | Producers' Showcase | "Peter Pan" | NBC | |
| Shevawn | The United States Steel Hour | "A Wind from the South" | |||
| Emily | Producers' Showcase | "Our Town" | |||
| The Wife | "The Fourposter" | ||||
| Sadie | The Loretta Young Show | "Christmas Stopover" | |||
| 1957 [3] | |||||
| Claire Trevor | Fran Dodsworth | Producers' Showcase | "Dodsworth" | NBC | |
| Ethel Gibbons | Ford Star Jubilee | "This Happy Breed" | CBS | ||
| Sarah Dowey | The United States Steel Hour | "The Old Lady Shows Her Medals" | |||
| Sister M. Aquinas | Studio One | "The Pilot" | |||
| Eloise | Playhouse 90 | "Eloise" | |||
| Best Single Performance by an Actress – Lead or Support | |||||
| 1958 [4] | |||||
| Polly Bergen | Helen Morgan | Playhouse 90 | "The Helen Morgan Story" | CBS | |
| Cinderella | Cinderella | CBS | |||
| Mrs. Gilling | The Alcoa Hour | "Mrs. Gilling and the Skyscraper" | NBC | ||
| Ruth Cornelius | Studio One | "The Deaf Heart" | |||
| Playhouse 90 | "The Miracle Worker" | ||||
| Best Single Performance by an Actress | |||||
| 1959 [5] | |||||
| Julie Harris | Bridgid Mary | Hallmark Hall of Fame | "Little Moon of Alban" | CBS | |
| Marquesa de Montemayor | The DuPont Show of the Month | "The Bridge of San Luis Rey" | |||
| Mother Seraphim | The United States Steel Hour | "One Red Rose for Christmas" | |||
| Kirsten Clay | Playhouse 90 | "Days of Wine and Roses" | |||
| The Young Woman | "The Old Man" | ||||
| Sadie Burke | Kraft Television Theatre | "All the Kings Men" | NBC | ||
| Year | Actress | Role | Program | Episode | Network |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Outstanding Single Performance by an Actress (Lead or Support) | |||||
| 1960 [6] | |||||
| Ingrid Bergman | The Governess | Startime | "The Turn of the Screw" | NBC | |
| Mattie Silver | DuPont Show of the Month | "Ethan Frome" | |||
| Margaret Bourke-White | NBC Sunday Showcase | "The Margaret Bourke-White Story" | |||
| Outstanding Single Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role | |||||
| 1961 [7] | |||||
| Judith Anderson | Lady Macbeth | Hallmark Hall of Fame | "Macbeth" | NBC | |
| Clare Lester | Twenty-Four Hours in a Woman's Life | ||||
| Rusty Heller | The Untouchables | "The Rusty Heller Story" | |||
| 1962 [8] | |||||
| Julie Harris | Queen Victoria | Hallmark Hall of Fame | "Victoria Regina" | NBC | |
| Katherine Barnes | Bus Stop | "Call Back Yesterday" | |||
| Julie Lawler | Dr. Kildare | "Shining Image" | NBC | ||
| Anna Beza | The Dick Powell Theatre | "The Price of Tomatoes" | |||
| Jenny Henderson | Route 66 | "Goodnight, Sweet Blues" | |||
| 1963 [9] | |||||
| Kim Stanley | Faith Parsons | Ben Casey | "A Cardinal Act of Mercy" | ABC | |
| Ruby Jay | Naked City | "A Horse Has a Big Head, Let Him Worry" | |||
| Liza Laurents | Alcoa Premiere | "The Voice of Charlie Point" | |||
| Connie Folson | The Eleventh Hour | "Why Am I Grown So Cold?" | NBC | ||
| Adela | The Defenders | "The Madman" | |||
| 1964 [10] | |||||
| Shelley Winters | Jenny Dworak | Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre | "Two is the Number" | NBC | |
| Jenny Bishop | The Doctors and the Nurses | "Express Stop from Lennox Avenue" | |||
| Ellen Dudley | The Richard Boone Show | "Statement of Fact" | NBC | ||
| Jessie McCoony | "Vote No on 11!" | ||||
| Ruth | East Side/West Side | "Who Do You Kill?" | |||
| Outstanding Individual Achievements in Entertainment - Actors and Performers | |||||
| 1965 [11] | |||||
| Lynn Fontanne | Fanny Bowditch Holmes | Hallmark Hall of Fame | "The Magnificent Yankee" | NBC | |
| Outstanding Single Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Drama | |||||
| 1966 [12] | |||||
| Simone Signoret | Sara Lescault | Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre | "A Small Rebellion" | NBC | |
| Angel | I Spy | "The Loser" | |||
| Chris Becker | Dr. Kildare | "A Life for a Life" | |||
| Edith | Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre | "Back to Back" | |||
| 1967 [13] | |||||
| Geraldine Page | Sook | ABC Stage 67 | "Truman Capote's A Christmas Memory" | ABC | |
| Amanda Wingfield | CBS Playhouse | "The Glass Menagerie" | |||
| Linda Loman | Death of a Salesman | ||||
| Hallmark Hall of Fame | "Anastasia" | NBC | |||
| 1968 [14] | |||||
| Maureen Stapleton | Mary O'Meaghan | Among the Paths to Eden | ABC | ||
| Hallmark Hall of Fame | "Elizabeth the Queen" | ||||
| "Saint Joan" | |||||
| The Crucible | CBS | ||||
| Vivian Spears | CBS Playhouse | "Dear Friends" | |||
| Outstanding Single Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role | |||||
| 1969 [15] | |||||
| Geraldine Page | Sook | The Thanksgiving Visitor | ABC | ||
| Betty-Jean Currier | The Name of the Game | "The Bobby Currier Story" | |||
| Kay Gould | Judd, for the Defense | "The Gates of Cerberus" | ABC | ||
| Year | Actress | Role | Program | Network |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Outstanding Single Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role | ||||
| 1970 [16] | ||||
| Patty Duke | Marlene Chambers | My Sweet Charlie | NBC | |
| Aunt Betsy Trotwood | David Copperfield | |||
| Katherine Johnson | Silent Night, Lonely Night | |||
| 1971 [17] | ||||
| Lee Grant | Carrie Miller | The Neon Ceiling | NBC | |
| Mrs. Franz | The Price | |||
| Lee Grant | Leslie Williams | Ransom for a Dead Man | ||
| 1972 [18] | ||||
| Glenda Jackson | Queen Elizabeth I | Elizabeth R The Shadow in the Sun | PBS | |
| Sophie Tate Curtis | Do Not Fold, Spindle or Mutilate | |||
| Glenda Jackson | Queen Elizabeth I | Elizabeth R: The Lion's Cub | PBS | |
| Olivia Walton | The Homecoming: A Christmas Story | CBS | ||
| Jane Eyre | ||||
| 1973 [19] | ||||
| Cloris Leachman | Victoria Douglas | A Brand New Life | ABC | |
| Margo Channing | Applause | |||
| Janet Salter | That Certain Summer | |||
| Outstanding Continued Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role (Drama/Comedy - Limited Episodes) | ||||
| Susan Hampshire | Becky Sharp | Vanity Fair | PBS | |
| Rachel Verinder | The Moonstone | |||
| Bette | Cousin Bette | |||
| 1974 | ||||
| Best Lead Actress in a Drama[20] | ||||
| Cicely Tyson | Jane Pittman | The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman | CBS | |
| Anne Miller | 6 Rms Riv Vu | |||
| Amanda Wingfield | The Glass Menagerie | ABC | ||
| Viola Barlow | The Migrants | |||
| Ellen Harrod | A Case of Rape | PBS | ||
| Best Lead Actress in a Limited Series[21] | ||||
| Mildred Natwick | Gwendolyn Snoop Nicholson | The Snoop Sisters | NBC | |
| Ernesta Snoop | The Snoop Sisters | NBC | ||
| Cassie Walters | The Blue Knight | |||
| 1975 [22] | ||||
| Outstanding Lead Actress in a Special Program – Drama or Comedy | ||||
| Katharine Hepburn | Jessica Medlicott | Love Among the Ruins | ABC | |
| Wanda | Hustling | |||
| The Legend of Lizzie Borden | ||||
| Philippa | In This House of Brede | |||
| Bea Asher | Queen of the Stardust Ballroom | |||
| Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series | ||||
| Jessica Walter | Amy Prentiss | Amy Prentiss | NBC | |
| Sally McMillan | McMillan & Wife | |||
| 1976 [23] | ||||
| Outstanding Lead Actress in a Special Program – Drama or Comedy | ||||
| Susan Clark | Babe Didrikson Zaharias | Babe | CBS | |
| Eleanor and Franklin | ||||
| Josie Hogan | A Moon for the Misbegotten | |||
| Phoebe Rice | The Entertainer | |||
| Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series | ||||
| Rosemary Harris | George Sand | Notorious Woman | PBS | |
| Julie Prescott | Rich Man, Poor Man | |||
| Rose | Upstairs, Downstairs | |||
| 1977 [24] | ||||
| Outstanding Lead Actress in a Special Program – Drama or Comedy | ||||
| Sally Field | Sybil | Sybil | NBC | |
| Amelia Earhart | ||||
| The Last of Mrs. Lincoln | PBS | |||
| Dr. Cornelia Wilbur | Sybil | NBC | ||
| Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series | ||||
| Patty Duke | Bernadette Hennessy Armagh | Captains and the Kings | NBC | |
| Rhoda Gold Blackman | Seventh Avenue | |||
| Margot Bracken | The Moneychangers | |||
| Katherine Macaran | How the West Was Won | |||
| Marjorie Chisolm | Captains and the Kings | |||
| 1978 [25] | ||||
| Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama or Comedy Special | ||||
| Joanne Woodward | Betty Quinn | See How She Runs | CBS | |
| Emma Long | A Family Upside Down | |||
| Passenger | Taxi!!! | |||
| Kate | The Gathering | ABC | ||
| Mrs. Gibbs | Our Town | |||
| Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series | ||||
| Meryl Streep | Inga Helms-Weiss | Holocaust | NBC | |
| Berta Palitz Weiss | Holocaust | |||
| Sayward Luckett Wheeler | The Awakening Land | |||
| Erica Trenton | Wheels | |||
| King | ||||
| Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Special | ||||
| 1979 [26] | ||||
| Bette Davis | Lucy Mason | CBS | ||
| Peg Mullen | Friendly Fire | ABC | ||
| Maggie Rogers | Backstairs at the White House | |||
| Miss Lily Moffat | The Corn Is Green | CBS | ||
| Betty Rollin | First, You Cry | |||
| Year | Actress | Role | Program | Network |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Special | ||||
| 1980 [27] | ||||
| Patty Duke | Annie Sullivan | The Miracle Worker | NBC | |
| Estelle Malone | White Mama | |||
| The Miracle Worker | ||||
| Margaret Sullivan | Haywire | |||
| 1981 [28] | ||||
| Vanessa Redgrave | Fania Fénelon | Playing for Time | CBS | |
| The People vs. Jean Harris | ||||
| ABC | ||||
| Lady Toda Buntaro | Shōgun | |||
| Crisis at Central High | ||||
| 1982 [29] | ||||
| Ingrid Bergman (post-humously) | Golda Meir | A Woman Called Golda | Syndicated | |
| The Patricia Neal Story | ||||
| Mae West | ||||
| Eleanor, First Lady of the World | ||||
| The Marva Collins Story | ||||
| 1983 [30] | ||||
| Barbara Stanwyck | Mary Carson | The Thorn Birds | ABC | |
| Lucile Fray | Who Will Love My Children? | |||
| Nicole Baker | The Executioner's Song | |||
| M.A.D.D.: Mothers Against Drunk Drivers | ||||
| Little Gloria... Happy at Last | ||||
| 1984 [31] | ||||
| Jane Fonda | Gertie Nevels | The Dollmaker | ABC | |
| Calamity Jane | ||||
| A Streetcar Named Desire | ||||
| Gail Bennett | Something About Amelia | |||
| Reve Walsh | Adam | |||
| 1985 [32] | ||||
| Joanne Woodward | Barbara Wyatt-Hollis | Do You Remember Love | CBS | |
| Malice in Wonderland | ||||
| Barbie Batchelor | The Jewel in the Crown | |||
| Francine Hughes | The Burning Bed | |||
| Martha Weinman Lear | Heartsounds | |||
| Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Special | ||||
| 1986 [33] | ||||
| Marlo Thomas | Marie Balter | Nobody's Child | CBS | |
| Margaret Delafield | Mrs. Delafield Wants to Marry | |||
| Second Serve | ||||
| Katherine Pierson | An Early Frost | |||
| Margaret Ryder | Love Is Never Silent | |||
| 1987 [34] | ||||
| Gena Rowlands | Betty Ford | The Betty Ford Story | ABC | |
| Ann Arden Grenville | The Two Mrs. Grenvilles | |||
| Barbara Jackson | Pack of Lies | |||
| Frances Schrueder | ||||
| Maude DeVictor | Unnatural Causes | |||
| 1988 [35] | ||||
| Jessica Tandy | Annie Nations | Foxfire | CBS | |
| Herself | The Ann Jillian Story | |||
| Lincoln | ||||
| Marybeth Whitehead | Baby M | |||
| 1989 [36] | ||||
| Holly Hunter | Ellen Russell | Roe vs. Wade | NBC | |
| Clara Allen | Lonesome Dove | |||
| Lorena Wood | ||||
| Roe vs. Wade | ||||
| Natalie Henry | War and Remembrance | |||
| Year | Actress | Role | Program | Network |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Special | ||||
| 1990 (42nd) [37] | ||||
| Barbara Hershey | Candy Morrison | A Killing in a Small Town | CBS | |
| Small Sacrifices | ||||
| Zan Cooper | No Place Like Home | |||
| The Kennedys of Massachusetts | ||||
| Barbara Walker | Family of Spies | |||
| Mary Thomas | A Mother's Courage: The Mary Thomas Story | |||
| 1991 (43rd) [38] | ||||
| Lynn Whitfield | Josephine Baker | The Josephine Baker Story | HBO | |
| Sarah Wheaton | Sarah, Plain and Tall | |||
| Hanna Trout | Paris Trout | |||
| Leona Helmsley: The Queen of Mean | ||||
| Bessie Robertson | Long Road Home | |||
| 1992 (44th) [39] | ||||
| Gena Rowlands | Pat | Face of a Stranger | CBS | |
| Mrs. Cage | Mrs. Cage | |||
| Mary Lindell | One Against the Wind | |||
| Janet Harduvel | Afterburn | |||
| 1993 (45th) [40] | ||||
| Holly Hunter | Wanda Holloway | The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom | HBO | |
| Sarah Wheaton | Skylark | |||
| Prime Suspect 2 | PBS | |||
| Mrs. Venable | Suddenly, Last Summer | |||
| Nell Harrington | Blind Spot | |||
| 1994 (46th) [41] | ||||
| Kirstie Alley | Sally Goodson | David's Mother | CBS | |
| Gypsy | ||||
| Prime Suspect 3 | PBS | |||
| Cora Peek | To Dance with the White Dog | |||
| Maggie Moran | Breathing Lessons | |||
| 1995 (47th) [42] | ||||
| Glenn Close | Margarethe Cammermeyer | NBC | ||
| Bess Garner Steed | A Woman of Independent Means | |||
| Buffalo Girls | ||||
| Berniece Charles | The Piano Lesson | CBS | ||
| 1996 (48th) [43] | ||||
| Helen Mirren | DCI Jane Tennison | Prime Suspect: Scent of Darkness | PBS | |
| Norma Jean Dougherty | Norma Jean & Marilyn | |||
| A Streetcar Named Desire | ||||
| Norma Jean & Marilyn | ||||
| 1997 (49th) [44] | ||||
| Alfre Woodard | Nurse Eunice Evers | Miss Evers' Boys | HBO | |
| Barbara Whitney | An Unexpected Family | |||
| Janet | In the Gloaming | |||
| Prime Suspect 5: Errors of Judgement | ||||
| Lori Reimuller | ...First Do No Harm | ABC | ||
| Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Movie | ||||
| 1998 (50th) [45] | ||||
| Ellen Barkin | Glory Marie | Before Women Had Wings | ABC | |
| Maggie Green | Nicholas' Gift | |||
| Gladwyn | The Echo of Thunder | |||
| Anna Madrigal | More Tales of the City | Showtime | ||
| Gia | ||||
| Claudia Hoffman | Showtime | |||
| 1999 (51st) [46] | ||||
| Helen Mirren | Ayn Rand | The Passion of Ayn Rand | Showtime | |
| Life of the Party: The Pamela Harriman Story | ||||
| Rachel Luckman | The Baby Dance | |||
| Dash and Lilly | ||||
| Joan of Arc | ||||
| Year | Actress | Role | Program | Network |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie | ||||
| 2020 (72nd) | ||||
| Regina King | Angela Abar / Sister Night | Watchmen | HBO | |
| Mrs. America | FX | |||
| Esther "Esty" Shapiro | Unorthodox | Netflix | ||
| Self Made | ||||
| Mia Warren | Little Fires Everywhere | |||
| Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie | ||||
| 2021 (73rd) | ||||
| Kate Winslet | Mare Sheehan | Mare of Easttown | HBO | |
| Arabella Essiedu | I May Destroy You | HBO | ||
| Genius: Aretha | Nat Geo | |||
| WandaVision | Disney+ | |||
| The Queen's Gambit | Netflix | |||
| 2022 (74th) | ||||
| Amanda Seyfried | Elizabeth Holmes | The Dropout | Hulu | |
| Kathleen Peterson | The Staircase | HBO Max | ||
| Inventing Anna | Netflix | |||
| Pam & Tommy | Hulu | |||
| FX | ||||
| Alex Russell | Maid | Netflix | ||
| 2023 (75th) | ||||
| Ali Wong | Amy Lau | Beef | Netflix | |
| Libby | Fleishman Is in Trouble | FX | ||
| George & Tammy | Showtime | |||
| Andrea "Dre" Greene | Swarm | Prime | ||
| Clare Pierce | Tiny Beautiful Things | Hulu | ||
| Daisy Jones | Daisy Jones & the Six | Prime | ||
| 2024 (76th) | ||||
| Chief Liz Danvers | True Detective: Night Country | HBO | ||
| Elizabeth Zott | Lessons in Chemistry | Apple TV+ | ||
| Dorothy "Dot" Lyon | Fargo | FX | ||
| Griselda | Netflix | |||
| FX | ||||
| Superlative | Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie | |
|---|---|---|
| Actress with most awards | Helen Mirren (4) | |
| Actress with most nominations | Helen Mirren (10) | |
| Actress with most nominations without ever winning | Helen Hayes (5), Lee Remick (5) | |