The Silver Bear for Best Actress was an award presented at the Berlin International Film Festival from 1956 to 2020. It was given to an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance and was chosen by the International Jury from the films in the Competition slate at the festival. Beginning with the 71st Berlin International Film Festival, the award was replaced with two gender-neutral categories, Silver Bear for Best Leading Performance and Silver Bear for Best Supporting Performance. At the 6th Berlin International Film Festival held in 1956, Elsa Martinelli was the first winner of this award for her performance in Donatella, and Paula Beer was the last winner in this category for her role in Undine at the 70th Berlin International Film Festival in 2020.

History

The award was first presented in 1956 and could be for lead or supporting roles. The prize was not awarded on four occasions (1969, 1973–74, and 1990). In 1970, no awards were given as the festival was called off mid-way due to the controversy over the official selection film, o.k. by Michael Verhoeven, which led to the resignation of the international jury. In 2011, the entire female cast of A Separation received the award. Shirley MacLaine has won the most awards in this category, with two. Sachiko Hidari is the only actress to win a joint award for her roles in two different films in the same competition; she won in 1964 for her performances in The Insect Woman and She and He. The last of this award was given out in 2020, after which it was replaced with gender-neutral categories, Best Leading Performance and Best Supporting Performance, the following year.

Winners

Multiple winners

The following actress is the only person to have received multiple Best Actress awards: