Tony Award / Best Actress in a Musical
All actresses who have played in musicals on Broadway in New York during the course of the year can be nominated for the Tony Award / Best Actress in a Musical . The Tony Award for best performance in a female lead in a musical has gone to:
1947-1949
- 1948: Grace Hartman (in Angel in the Wings )
- 1949: Nanette Fabray (in Love Life )
1950-1959
- 1950: Mary Martin (in South Pacific )
- 1951: Ethel Merman (in Call Me Madam )
- 1952: Gertrude Lawrence (in The King and I )
- 1953: Rosalind Russell (in Wonderful Town )
- 1954: Dolores Gray (in Carnival in Flanders )
- 1955: Mary Martin (in Peter Pan )
- 1956: Gwen Verdon (in Damn Yankees )
- 1957: Judy Holliday (in Bells Are Ringing )
- 1958: Thelma Ritter (in New Girl In Town )
- 1958: Gwen Verdon (in New Girl In Town )
- 1959: Gwen Verdon (in Redhead )
1960-1969
- 1960: Mary Martin (in The Sound of Music )
- 1961: Elizabeth Seal (in Irma La Douce )
- 1962: Anna Maria Alberghetti (in Carnival )
- 1962: Diahann Carroll (in No Strings )
- 1963: Vivien Leigh (in Tovarich )
- 1964: Carol Channing (in Hello, Dolly! )
- 1965: Liza Minnelli (in Flora, the Red Menace )
- 1966: Angela Lansbury (in Mame )
- 1967: Barbara Harris (in The Apple Tree )
- 1968: Patricia Routledge (in Darling of the Day )
- 1968: Leslie Uggams (in Hallelujah, baby! )
- 1969: Angela Lansbury (in Dear World )
1970-1979
- 1970: Lauren Bacall (in Applause )
- 1971: Helen Gallagher (in No, No, Nanette ) (revival)
- 1972: Alexis Smith (in Follies )
- 1973: Glynis Johns (in A Little Night Music )
- 1974: Virginia Capers (in Raisin )
- 1975: Angela Lansbury (in Gypsy )
- 1976: Donna McKechnie (in A Chorus Line )
- 1977: Dorothy Loudon (in Annie )
- 1978: Liza Minnelli (in The Act )
- 1979: Angela Lansbury (in Sweeney Todd )
1980-1989
- 1980: Patti LuPone (in Evita )
- 1981: Lauren Bacall (in Woman of the Year )
- 1982: Jennifer Holliday (in Dreamgirls )
- 1983: Natalia Makarova (in On Your Toes )
- 1984: Chita Rivera (in The Rink )
- 1986: Bernadette Peters (in Song and Dance )
- 1987: Maryann Plunkett (in Me and My Girl )
- 1988: Joanna Gleason (in Into the Woods )
- 1989: Ruth Brown (in Black and Blue )
1990-1999
- 1990: Tyne Daly (in Gypsy )
- 1991: Lea Salonga (in Miss Saigon )
- 1992: Faith Prince (in Guys and Dolls ) (revival)
- 1993: Chita Rivera (in Kiss of the Spider Woman )
- 1994: Donna Murphy (in Passion )
- 1995: Glenn Close (on Sunset Boulevard )
- 1996: Donna Murphy (in The King and I ) (revival)
- 1997: Bebe Neuwirth (in Chicago ) (revival)
- 1998: Natasha Richardson (in Cabaret ) (revival)
- 1999: Bernadette Peters (in Annie Get Your Gun ) (revival)
2000-2009
- 2000: Heather Headley (in Aida )
- 2001: Christine Ebersole (on 42nd Street )
- 2002: Sutton Foster (in Thoroughly Modern Millie )
- 2003: Marissa Jaret Winokur (in Hairspray )
- 2004: Idina Menzel (in Wicked )
- 2005: Victoria Clark (in The Light in the Piazza )
- 2006: LaChanze (in The Color Purple )
- 2007: Christine Ebersole (in Gray Gardens )
- 2008: Patti LuPone (in Gypsy )
- 2009: Alice Ripley (in Next to Normal )
Since 2010
- 2010: Catherine Zeta-Jones (in A Little Night Music )
- 2011: Sutton Foster (in Anything Goes )
- 2012: Audra McDonald (in Porgy and Bess )
- 2013: Patina Miller (in Pippin )
- 2014: Jessie Mueller (in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical )
- 2015: Kelli O'Hara (in The King and I )
- 2016: Cynthia Erivo (in The Color Purple )
- 2017: Bette Midler (in Hello, Dolly! )