English stage actresses

Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor was a British and American actress. She began her career as a child actress in the early 1940s and was one of the most popular stars of classical Hollywood cinema in the 1950s. She then became the world's highest-paid movie star in the 1960s, remaining a well-known public figure for the rest of her life. In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked her seventh on its list of the greatest female screen legends.

Kate Elizabeth Winslet is an English actress. Primarily known for her roles as headstrong and complicated women in independent films, particularly period dramas, she has received numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, two Primetime Emmy Awards, five BAFTA Awards and five Golden Globe Awards. She was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2012.

Keira Christina Knightley, OBE is an English actress. Known for her work in independent films and blockbusters, particularly period dramas, she has received numerous accolades, including nominations for two Academy Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, four Golden Globes, and a Laurence Olivier Award. In 2018, she was appointed an OBE for services to drama and charity.

Dame Helen Mirren is an English actor. Regarded amongst Britain's greatest actors, Mirren is the recipient of several accolades including an Academy Award, three Golden Globe Awards, four BAFTA Awards, five Emmy Awards, a Tony Award, two Cannes Film Festival Awards, a Volpi Cup and a Laurence Olivier Award. She is the only person to have achieved both the US and UK Triple Crowns of Acting, and has also received the BAFTA Fellowship, Honorary Golden Bear, Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award, and the Cecil B. DeMille Award. Mirren was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) by Queen Elizabeth II in 2003.

Dame Margaret Natalie Smith was a British actress. Known for her wit in both comedic and dramatic roles, she had an extensive career on stage and screen for over seven decades and was one of Britain's most recognisable and prolific actresses. She received numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, five BAFTA Awards, four Emmy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards and a Tony Award, as well as nominations for six Olivier Awards. Smith is one of the few performers to earn the Triple Crown of Acting.

Emily Olivia Laura Blunt is a British actress. She is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award and two Actor Awards, in addition to nominations for an Academy Award and four British Academy Film Awards. Forbes ranked her as one of the highest-paid actresses in the world in 2020.

Emilia Isobel Euphemia Rose Clarke is an English actress, best known for her role as Daenerys Targaryen in the HBO fantasy series Game of Thrones (2011–2019), for which she received nominations for four Primetime Emmy Awards. She is also known for playing Sarah Connor in the science fiction film Terminator: Genisys (2015) and Qi'ra in the film Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018), as well as starring in the romantic dramas Me Before You (2016) and Last Christmas (2019).

Rachel Hannah Weisz is a British actress. Known for her roles in independent films and blockbusters, she has received several awards, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a Laurence Olivier Award. Films in which she has appeared have grossed over $3.5 billion worldwide.

Helena Bonham Carter is a British actress. She is known for her character roles as eccentric women in blockbusters and independent films, particularly period dramas. Bonham Carter rose to prominence by playing Lucy Honeychurch in A Room with a View (1985) and the title character in Lady Jane (1986). Her early period roles saw her typecast as a virginal "English rose", a label with which she was uncomfortable. Bonham Carter is recognized for her unconventional fashion choices and dark aesthetic. For her role as Kate Croy in The Wings of the Dove (1997), Bonham Carter received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress, and for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth in The King's Speech (2010), she won the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role, and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

British actress and politician (1936–2023)

English actress

British actress

Rosamund Mary Ellen Pike is an English actress and producer. Known for her portrayals of complex and morally ambiguous women in independent cinema and psychological thrillers, her accolades include a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award and a Laurence Olivier Award, in addition to nominations for an Academy Award and two British Academy Awards.

Sophie Belinda Turner is an English actress. She made her acting debut as Sansa Stark in the television series Game of Thrones (2011–2019), for which she received an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in 2019.

British actress and activist (born 1937)

Carey Hannah Mulligan is a British actress. She has received various accolades, including a British Academy Film Award, in addition to nominations for three Academy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards, and a Tony Award. She was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2025 for services to drama.

Sarah Caroline Sinclair, known professionally as Olivia Colman, is an English actress noted for her versatility across both comedic and dramatic roles in film and television. She has received various accolades, including an Academy Award, four BAFTA Awards, two Emmy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards and a Volpi Cup.

English actress (1938–2020)

English actress and model (born 1965)

British-American actress (1904-1996)

English actress, author and columnist

English actress

English actress (born 1956)

British actress

Lily Chloe Ninette Thomson, known professionally as Lily James, is an English actress. She studied acting at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London and began her career in the British television series Just William (2010). Following a supporting role in the period drama series Downton Abbey (2012–2015), her breakthrough was the title role in the fantasy film Cinderella (2015).

British actress (1963–2009)

English actress and filmmaker

British actress (born 1984)

English actress

English actress (1976–)

British-French actress

British actress

Vanessa Nuala Kirby is an English actress. She rose to international prominence with her portrayal of Princess Margaret in the Netflix drama series The Crown (2016–2017), for which she won the BAFTA for Best Supporting Actress. For her performance in the film Pieces of a Woman (2020), she won the Volpi Cup for Best Actress and received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress.

Dame Lesley Lawson (née Hornby; born 19 September 1949), widely known by the nickname Twiggy, is an English model, actress, and singer. She was a British cultural icon and a prominent teenage model during the "swinging sixties" in London. Twiggy was initially known for her thin build and androgynous appearance, considered to result from her big eyes, long eyelashes, and short hair. She was named "The Face of 1966" by the Daily Express and voted British Woman of the Year. By 1967, she had modelled in France, Japan, and the US, and had appeared on the covers of Vogue and The Tatler; her fame had

British singer and actress

British actress (1951–2024)

English actress

British actress (1907-1991)

British-American actress and model

British actress

British actress (1892–1972)

English actress

British actress (1888–1976)

British actress (1929–2025)

Helen Elizabeth McCrory was an English actress. After studying at the Drama Centre London, she made her professional stage debut in The Importance of Being Earnest in 1990. Other theatre roles include playing Lady Macbeth in Macbeth at Shakespeare's Globe, Olivia in Twelfth Night, Rosalind in As You Like It in the West End for which she received a Laurence Olivier Award nomination, and Medea in the eponymous play at the Royal National Theatre.

British actress (1943–2010)

British actress

British actress

British-Spanish actress

English actress, screenwriter and producer (born 1985)

English actress (born 1982)

British actress

British actress

English actress

British actress (1939–2025)

British actress

English film and stage actress (1912-2003)

British actress

Natascha McElhone is an English actress and producer, who has worked extensively in film and television in both the United Kingdom and the United States. She is known to film audiences for her roles in Surviving Picasso (1996), Ronin (1998), The Truman Show (1998), Kenneth Branagh's Love's Labour's Lost (2000), Solaris (2002) and Carmen (2021).

British actress