Best Female Lead movies that are award winners or nominees

Actors : James Frain, David Morrissey, Emily Watson, Rachel Griffiths,
Directors : Anand Tucker,

The tragic story of world renowned classic cellist Jacqueline du Pré, as told from the point of view of her sister, flautist Hilary du Pré-Finzi.

Actors : Barry Miller, Catherine Hicks, Nicolas Cage, Kathleen Turner,
Directors : Francis Ford Coppola,

Peggy Sue faints at a high school reunion. When she wakes up, she finds herself in her own past, just before she finished school.

Actors : Cherry Jones, Andrew Garfield, Vincent D'Onofrio, Jessica Chastain,
Directors : Michael Showalter,

An intimate look at the extraordinary rise, fall and redemption of televangelist Tammy Faye Bakker.

Actors : Jackie Guerra, Jennifer Lopez, Jon Seda, Edward James Olmos,
Directors : Gregory Nava,

The true story of Selena Quintanilla-Perez, a Texas-born Tejano singer who rose from cult status to performing at the Astrodome, as well as having chart topping albums on the Latin music charts.

Actors : Paul Reiser, Carrie Henn, Michael Biehn, Sigourney Weaver,
Directors : James Cameron,

The moon from Alien (1979) has been colonized, but contact is lost. This time, the rescue team has impressive firepower, but will it be enough?

Actors : Isaiah Stone, Jennifer Lawrence, Garret Dillahunt, John Hawkes,
Directors : Debra Granik,

An unflinching Ozark Mountain girl hacks through dangerous social terrain as she hunts down her drug-dealing father while trying to keep her family intact.

Actors : Captain Haggerty, Alec Baldwin, Michelle Pfeiffer, Paul Lazar,
Directors : Jonathan Demme,

An undercover FBI agent falls in love with a recently widowed mafia wife, who is trying to restart her life following her husband's murder while being pursued by a libidinous mafia kingpin seeking to claim her for himself.

Actors : Jane Horrocks, Brenda Blethyn, Ewan McGregor, Michael Caine,
Directors : Mark Herman,

A shy reclusive lady is convinced by an invisible entity to sing. Subsequently, she finds herself noticed by a sleazy talent agent and her talent being showcased on-stage. She also meets a kind but nervous man who becomes her best friend.

Actors : Lola Gaos, Franco Nero, Fernando Rey, Catherine Deneuve,
Directors : Luis Buñuel,

When the young woman Tristana's mother dies, she is entrusted to the guardianship of the well-respected though old Don Lope. Don Lope is well-liked and well-known because of his honorable ...

Actors : John Heard, Malcolm McDowell, Nastassja Kinski, Annette O'Toole,
Directors : Paul Schrader,

A young woman's sexual awakening brings horror when she discovers her urges transform her into a monstrous black leopard.

Actors : Meryl Streep, Michael Angarano, Cloris Leachman, Henry Dinhofer,
Directors : Wes Craven,

Story of a schoolteacher's struggle to teach violin to inner-city Harlem kids.

Actors : Amy Irving, Sissy Spacek, Piper Laurie, John Travolta,
Directors : Brian De Palma,

Carrie White, a shy, friendless teenage girl who is sheltered by her domineering, religious mother, unleashes her telekinetic powers after being humiliated by her classmates at her senior prom.

Actors : Mark Blum, Rosanna Arquette, Aidan Quinn, Madonna,
Directors : Susan Seidelman,

A bored suburban housewife, seeking escape from her life, suffers amnesia after an accident, wakes up, and is mistaken for a free-spirited New York City drifter named Susan.

Actors : Tom Everett Scott, Meryl Streep, Renée Zellweger, William Hurt,
Directors : Carl Franklin,

A career woman reassesses her parents' lives after she is forced to care for her cancer-stricken mother.

Actors : Susan Sarandon, Kirsten Dunst, Winona Ryder, Claire Danes,
Directors : Gillian Armstrong,

The March sisters live and grow in post-Civil War America.

Actors : Sunny Johnson, Jennifer Beals, Michael Nouri, Lilia Skala,
Directors : Adrian Lyne,

A Pittsburgh woman with two jobs as a welder and an exotic dancer wants to get into ballet school.

Actors : Eero Milonoff, Ann Petrén, Jörgen Thorsson, Eva Melander,
Directors : Ali Abbasi,

A customs officer who can smell fear develops an unusual attraction to a strange traveler while aiding a police investigation which will call into question her entire existence.

Actors : Gene Hackman, Shirley MacLaine, Meryl Streep, Dennis Quaid,
Directors : Mike Nichols,

A substance-addicted actress tries to look on the bright side even as she is forced to move back in with her mother to avoid unemployment.

Actors : Skandar Keynes, Georgie Henley, William Moseley, Tilda Swinton,
Directors : Andrew Adamson,

Four kids travel through a wardrobe to the land of Narnia and learn of their destiny to free it with the guidance of a mystical lion.

Actors : Cher, Kurt Russell, Meryl Streep, Craig T. Nelson,
Directors : Mike Nichols,

A worker at a plutonium processing plant is purposefully contaminated, psychologically tortured and possibly murdered to prevent her from exposing worker safety violations at the plant.