Top 10 Best British Actresses

Helena Bonham Carter

Helena Bonham Carter is an English actress known for her versatility in both independent films and major blockbusters. She received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress for her performance as Kate Croy in The Wings of the Dove, and a nomination for Best Supporting Actress for portraying Queen... read more

She is an English rose and an amazing actress. She should be number one.

She is an incredible actress.

Kate Winslet

Kate Elizabeth Winslet is an English actress and singer. She is the recipient of an Academy Award, two Primetime Emmy Awards, a Grammy Award, five BAFTA Awards, and five Golden Globe Awards. Winslet rose to fame for her role in Titanic in 1997 and has been acclaimed for her performances in both independent... read more

Rosamund Pike

Rosamund Mary Ellen Pike is an English actress and producer. She began her acting career in stage productions, including Romeo and Juliet with the National Youth Theatre and David Hare's Skylight. Pike gained widespread recognition with her film debut as Miranda Frost in Die Another Day and has since... read more

Helen Mirren

Dame Helen Lydia Mirren is an English actress. She began her acting career with the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1967 and is one of the few performers to have achieved the Triple Crown of Acting. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress in 2007 for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II in The Queen and... read more

Catherine Zeta-Jones

Catherine Zeta-Jones is a Welsh actress. Born and raised in Swansea, Zeta-Jones aspired to be an actress from a young age. She gained fame for her roles in films such as The Mask of Zorro, Chicago, and Traffic, and won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Chicago.

She may or may not be the best British actress, but with beauty like hers, do you honestly think people notice too much? I loved her role in Entrapment with Sean Connery. It's a really good film.

Keira Knightley

Keira Christina Knightley is an English actress. She began acting as a child on television and made her film debut in 1995. She had a supporting role as Sabé in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace. Her career progressed with major roles in films such as Pirates of the Caribbean, Pride & Prejudice... read more

Keira is an amazing actress. I saw Pride and Prejudice, and her acting was absolutely phenomenal. She was clearly the most suitable actress for the role.

Kate Beckinsale

Kathrin Romany "Kate" Beckinsale (born July 26, 1973) is an English actress. After some minor television roles, she made her film debut in Much Ado About Nothing (1993) while still a student at the University of Oxford. She then appeared in British costume dramas such as Prince of Jutland (1994), Cold... read more

Rachel Weisz

Rachel Hannah Weisz is an English film and theatre actress and former fashion model who holds both British and American citizenship. She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in The Constant Gardener (2005). Her other notable films include The Mummy series and The Favourite.

Great comedic timing.

Maggie Smith

Dame Margaret Natalie "Maggie" Smith CH DBE (28 December 1934 - 27 September 2024) was an English actress known for her wit in both comedic and dramatic roles. She had an extensive and varied career on stage, film, and television spanning over seven decades. Smith appeared in more than 50 films and was... read more

No question.

Emma Thompson

Dame Emma Thompson is a British actress, activist, author, comedian, and screenwriter. Born in London to English actor Eric Thompson and Scottish actress Phyllida Law, she was educated at Newnham College, University of Cambridge.... read more

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Helen McCrory

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Anna Neagle

Julie Andrews

Dame Julie Andrews, born Julia Elizabeth Wells, is an English film and stage actress, singer, author, theatre director, and dancer. She is best known for her roles in Mary Poppins (1964) and The Sound of Music (1965), which earned her international acclaim. Andrews has won numerous awards, including... read more

Emma Watson

Emma Charlotte Duerre Watson is a British actress, model, and activist. Born in Paris and brought up in Oxfordshire, Watson attended the Dragon School as a child and trained as an actress at the Oxford branch of Stagecoach Theatre Arts.... read more

Judi Dench

Dame Judith Olivia "Judi" Dench (born December 9, 1934) is an English actress. She made her professional debut in 1957 with the Old Vic Company and gained acclaim for her Shakespearean roles, including Ophelia in Hamlet, Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, and Lady Macbeth in Macbeth.... read more

Emily Blunt

Emily Olivia Laura Blunt, born February 23, 1983, is a British actress who holds both British and American citizenship. Her notable roles include performances in The Young Victoria and The Devil Wears Prada. Blunt has also earned critical acclaim for her performances in Sicario, A Quiet Place, and Mary... read more

Yes, she is wonderful.

Olivia Colman

Audrey Hepburn

Audrey Hepburn, born Audrey Kathleen Ruston (May 4, 1929 to January 20, 1993), was a British actress and humanitarian. Widely recognized as a film and fashion icon, she was a prominent figure during Hollywood's Golden Age. The American Film Institute ranked her as the third-greatest female screen legend... read more

She was the first actress to win an Oscar, a Golden Globe Award, and a BAFTA Award for a single performance. One of the greatest actresses of all time.

Where are all the classic women?

Angela Lansbury

Dame Angela Brigid Lansbury was a British, Irish, and American actress and singer whose career spanned eight decades. She was best known for her role as Jessica Fletcher in the television series Murder, She Wrote. Lansbury also had a distinguished stage and film career, earning multiple Tony Awards and... read more

Vanessa Redgrave

Dame Vanessa Redgrave is an English actress of stage, screen, and television, as well as a political activist. She was born on January 30, 1937, in London, England. Redgrave has won numerous awards throughout her career, including an Academy Award, two Primetime Emmy Awards, a Tony Award, and a BAFTA... read more

Vivien Leigh

Vivian Mary Hartley, later known as Vivien Leigh and Lady Olivier, was an English stage and film actress. She won two Academy Awards for Best Actress for her performances as Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind and Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire. Leigh was also known for her theatrical work... read more

Julie Walters

Glenda Jackson

Elizabeth Taylor

Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor, DBE (February 27, 1932 - March 23, 2011), was a British-American actress, businesswoman, and humanitarian. She began her career as a child actress in the early 1940s and became one of the most popular stars of classical Hollywood cinema in the 1950s. Taylor continued acting... read more

Miranda Richardson

Miranda Jane Richardson is an English actress. She made her film debut playing Ruth Ellis in Dance with a Stranger. She received Academy Award nominations for her performances in Damage and Tom & Viv.

One BAFTA and two Golden Globes. Beautiful actress.

Tilda Swinton

Katherine Matilda "Tilda" Swinton of Kimmerghame is an Anglo-Scottish actress, performance artist, model, and fashion muse, known for both arthouse and mainstream films. She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Michael Clayton (2007).