Black Reel Award for Best Actress

This article lists the winners and nominees for the Black Reel Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture. Quvenzhané Wallis is currently the youngest winner in this category. Academy Award-nominated or winning performances also honored with nominations or wins at the Black Reel Awards include Quvenzhané Wallis (Beasts of the Southern Wild), Viola Davis (The Help), Gabourey Sidibe (Precious), Sophie Okonedo (Hotel Rwanda) and Halle Berry (Monster's Ball).

Winners and nominees

Winners are listed first and highlighted in bold.

† indicates an Academy Award–winning performance.
‡ indicates an Academy Award–nominated performance that same year.

2000s

Year Actress Film Ref
2000
Nia Long The Best Man
Rosario Dawson Light It Up
Thandiwe Newton Besieged
Rosie Perez The 24 Hour Woman
Malinda Williams The Wood
2001
Sanaa Lathan Love and Basketball
Angela Bassett Boesman and Lena
Jada Pinkett Smith Bamboozled
Michelle Rodriguez Girlfight
Alfre Woodard What's Cooking
2002
Halle Berry † Monster's Ball
Vivica A. Fox Two Can Play That Game
Pam Grier Bones
Taraji P. Henson Baby Boy
Regina King Down to Earth
2003
Angela Bassett Sunshine State
Kimberly Elise John Q
Aunjanue Ellis Undercover Brother
Sanaa Lathan Brown Sugar
Thandiwe Newton The Truth About Charlie
2004
Sanaa Lathan Out of Time
Halle Berry Gothika
Beyoncé The Fighting Temptations
Queen Latifah Bringing Down the House
Gabrielle Union Deliver Us from Eva
2005 Drama
Sophie Okonedo ‡ Hotel Rwanda
Regina King Ray
Kerry Washington Ray
Comedy / Musical
Irma P. Hall The Ladykillers
Angela Bassett Mr. 3000
Gabrielle Union Breakin' All the Rules
2006
Kimberly Elise Diary of a Mad Black Woman
Rosario Dawson Rent
Nona Gaye The Gospel
Queen Latifah Last Holiday
Zoe Saldana Guess Who
2007
Keke Palmer Akeelah and the Bee
Beyoncé Dreamgirls
Sanaa Lathan Something New
2008
Queen Latifah The Secret Life of Bees
Jennifer Hudson The Secret Life of Bees
Sanaa Lathan The Family That Preys
Keke Palmer The Longshots
Alfre Woodard The Family That Preys

2010s

Year Actress Film Ref
2010
Gabourey Sidibe ‡ Precious
Nicole Beharie American Violet
Taraji P. Henson I Can Do Bad All By Myself
Sophie Okonedo Skin
Maya Rudolph Away We Go
2011
Kerry Washington Night Catches Us
Kimberly Elise For Colored Girls
Queen Latifah Just Wright
Thandiwe Newton For Colored Girls
Anika Noni Rose For Colored Girls
2012
Viola Davis ‡ The Help
Naomie Harris The First Grader
Nia Long Mooz-lum
Adepero Oduye Pariah
Zoe Saldana Colombiana
2013
Quvenzhané Wallis ‡ Beasts of the Southern Wild
Halle Berry Cloud Atlas
Emayatzy Corinealdi Middle of Nowhere
Viola Davis Won't Back Down
Rashida Jones Celeste and Jesse Forever
2014
Danai Gurira Mother of George
Halle Berry The Call
Rosario Dawson Trance
Lisagay Hamilton Go for Sisters
Nia Long The Best Man Holiday
2015
Gugu Mbatha-Raw Belle
Rosario Dawson Top Five
Gugu Mbatha-Raw Beyond the Lights
Tessa Thompson Dear White People
Quvenzhané Wallis Annie
2016
Teyonah Parris Chi-Raq
Viola Davis Lila & Eve
Kitana Kiki Rodriguez Tangerine
Zoe Saldana Infinitely Polar Bear
Karidja Touré Girlhood
2017
Ruth Negga ‡ Loving
Taraji P. Henson Hidden Figures
Royalty Hightower The Fits
Sasha Lane American Honey
Madina Nwalanga Queen of Katwe
2018
Natalie Paul Crown Heights
Simone Baker Gook
Carmen Ejogo It Comes at Night
Amandla Stenberg Everything, Everything
Jessica Williams The Incredible Jessica James
2019
Kiki Layne If Beale Street Could Talk
Viola Davis Widows
Zoe Renee Jinn
Amandla Stenberg The Hate U Give
Regina Hall Support the Girls

Multiple nominations and wins

Multiple wins

2 Wins

Multiple nominations