Obie Award for Distinguished Performance by an Actress
The Obie Award for Distinguished Performance by an Actress is an annual award presented jointly by The Village Voice and the American Theatre Wing in recognition of achievements in Off-Broadway and Off-Off-Broadway theatre productions in New York City. The awards were established in 1956 by The Village Voice.
The award has no nominees and there is no set number of winners per year. Each performance listed by year below was given an award and they are listed in no particular order. The award can be for a lead or supporting performance and in a play or musical, and can recognize an actress for collective performances in more than one production during the same season. On occasion, the Obie Awards committee will give an actress an award "for sustained excellence of performance", recognizing their ongoing contributions.
In 2014, Sydney Lucas became the youngest winner in Obie history, at age 10.
68th Obie winners
In 2025 the American Theatre Wing transferred internal funds to the support of 2025's Obie award winners, with grants totaling US$250,000.1950s
| Year | Winners | Play / Musical | Character |
| 1956 | Peggy McCay | Uncle Vanya | Sofia |
| 1956 | Shirlee Emmons | The Mother of Us All | Susan B. Anthony |
| 1956 | Nancy Wickwire | The Cherry Orchard | Varya |
| 1956 | Julie Bovasso | The Maids | Claire |
| 1956 | Frances Sternhagen | The Admirable Bashville | Lydia Carew |
| 1957 | Betty Miller | Exiles | Beatrice |
| 1957 | Marguerite Lenert | The House of Breath | Granny Ganchion |
| 1957 | Colleen Dewhurst | The Taming of the Shrew & The Eagle Has Two Heads & Camille | Kate / The Queen / Marguerite Gautier |
| 1957 | Jutta Wolf | Exiles | Bertha |
| 1958 | Grania O'Malley | Guests of the Nation | Kate O'Connell |
| 1958 | Nydia Westman | Endgame | Nell |
| 1958 | Anne Meacham | Garden District | Catharine Holly |
| 1958 | Tammy Grimes | Clerambard | The Flounder |
| 1959 | Nancy Wickwire | A Clearing in the Woods | Virginia |
| 1959 | Kathleen Maguire | The Time of the Cuckoo | Leona Samish |
| 1959 | Anne Fielding | Ivanov | Sasha |
| 1959 | Rosina Fernhoff | Fashion & The Geranium Hat | Gertrude / Anne-Betty |
1960s
| Year | Winners | Play / Musical | Character |
| 1960 | Eileen Brennan | Little Mary Sunshine | Mary Potts |
| 1960 | Patricia Falkenhain | Peer Gynt & Henry IV, Part 1 | The Greenclad Woman / Doll Tearsheet |
| 1960 | Elisa Loti | Come Share My House | – |
| 1960 | Nancy Marchand | The Balcony | Irma |
| 1961 | Joan Hackett | Call Me By My Rightful Name | Chris |
| 1961 | Gerry Jedd | She Stoops to Conquer | Kate Hardcastle |
| 1961 | Surya Kamari | The King of the Dark Chamber | Queen Sudarshana |
| 1961 | Anne Meacham | Hedda Gabler | Hedda Gabler |
| 1962 | Ruth White | Happy Days | Winnie |
| 1962 | Sudie Bond | Theatre of the Absurd | Nell |
| 1962 | Barbara Harris | Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mamma's Hung You | Rosalie |
| 1962 | Rosemary Harris | The Tavern & The School for Scandal & The Seagull | Virginia / Lady Teazle / Nina |
| 1962 | Vinnette Carroll | Moon on a Rainbow Shawl | Sophia |
| 1963 | Olympia Dukakis | A Man's a Man | Leocadia Begbick |
| 1963 | Madeleine Sherwood | Hey You, Light Man! | Lula Roca |
| 1963 | Jacqueline Brookes | Six Characters in Search of an Author | The Step/Daughter |
| 1963 | Anne Jackson | The Typists & The Tiger | Sylvia Payton / Gloria Fiske |
| 1963 | Colleen Dewhurst | Desire Under the Elms | Abbie Putnam |
| 1964 | Gloria Foster | In White America | Claudette Nevins |
| 1964 | Marian Seldes | The Ginger Man | Miss Frost |
| 1964 | Lee Grant | The Maids | Solange |
| 1964 | Joyce Ebert | The Trojan Women | Andromache |
| 1964 | Estelle Parsons | Next Time I'll Sing to You & In the Summer House | Lizzie / Gertrude Eastman Cuevas |
| 1964 | Diana Sands | The Living Premise in Living Color | Various Characters |
| 1965 | Sada Thompson | Tartuffe | Dorine |
| 1965 | Rosemary Harris | Judith & Man and Superman & War and Peace | Judith / Violet Robinson / Natasha Rostova |
| 1965 | Margaret DePriest | The Place for Chance | Various Characters |
| 1965 | Frances Sternhagen | The Room & A Slight Ache | Rose / Flora |
| 1966 | Clarice Blackburn | The Exhaustion of Our Son's Love | Sara Calendar |
| 1966 | Florence Tarlow | Red Cross & Istanbul & A Beautiful Day | The Maid / – / Various Characters |
| 1966 | Jane White | Coriolanus & Love's Labour's Lost | Volumnia / Princess of France |
| 1966 | Mari-Claire Charba | Birdbath | Velma Sparrow |
| 1966 | Sharon Gans | Soon Jack November | – |
| 1966 | Gloria Foster | Medea | Medea |
| 1967 | Bette Henritze | Measure for Measure & The Long Christmas Dinner & Queens of France & The Displaced Person & The Rimers of Eldritch & All's Well That Ends Well | Mariana / Ermengarde / Mademoiselle Pointevin / Mrs. Shortley / Mary Windrod / Mariana |
| 1968 | Peggy Pope | Muzeeka | Evelyn Landis |
| 1968 | Mari Gorman | The Memorandum & Walking to Waldheim | Maria / Zelda Sher |
| 1968 | Billie Dixon | The Beard | Harlow |
| 1969 | Arlene Rothlein | The Poor Little Match Girl | Girl |
| 1969 | Julie Bovasso | Gloria and Esperanza | Gloria B. Gilbert |
| 1969 | Judith Malina | Antigone | Antigone |
1970s
| Year | Winners | Play / Musical | Character |
| 1970 | Rue McClanahan | Who's Happy Now? | Faye Precious |
| 1970 | Sada Thompson | The Effect of Gamma Rays | Beatrice Hunsdorfer |
| 1970 | Roberta Maxwell | A Whistle In the Dark | Betty Carney |
| 1970 | Pamela Payton-Wright | The Effect of Gamma Rays | Matilda "Tillie" Hunsdorfer |
| 1970 | Fredricka Weber | The Last Sweet Days of Isaac | Ingrid / Alice |
| 1971 | Ruby Dee | Boesman and Lena | Lena |
| 1971 | Margaret Braidwood | Saved | Mary |
| 1971 | Joan MacIntosh | Commune | Big Time Clementine |
| 1971 | Susan Batson | AC/DC | Sadie |
| 1972 | ‡ Elizabeth Wilson | Sticks and Bones | Harriet |
| 1972 | Jeanne Hepple | The Reliquary of Mr. and Mrs. Potterfield | Chloe Potterfield |
| 1972 | Marilyn Chris | Kaddish | Naomi Livergant Ginsberg |
| 1972 | Kathleen Widdoes | The Beggar's Opera | Polly Peachum |
| 1972 | Salome Bey | Love Me, Love My Children | Various Characters |
| 1972 | Marilyn Sokol | The Beggar's Opera | Lucy Lockit |
| 1973 | Alice Playten | National Lampoon Lemmings | Various Characters |
| 1973 | Jessica Tandy | Not I | The Mouth |
| 1973 | Mari Gorman | The Hot l Baltimore | Jackie |
| 1973 | Lola Pashalinski | Corn | Lola-Lola |
| 1973 | ‡ Roxie Roker | The River Niger | Mattie Williams |
| 1974 | Barbara Barrie | The Killdeer | Sparky |
| 1974 | Loretta Greene | The Sirens | Pepper |
| 1974 | Barbara Montgomery | My Sister, My Sister | Mama |
| 1974 | Elizabeth Sturges | When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder? | Angel |
| 1974 | Conchata Ferrell | The Sea Horse | Gertrude Blum |
| 1974 | Zypora Spaisman | Stempenyu | – |
| 1975 | Cara Duff-MacCormick | Craig's Wife | Harriet Craig |
| 1975 | ‡ Tovah Feldshuh | Yentl | Yentl |
| 1975 | Priscilla Smith | Fragments of a Greek Trilogy | Medea / Electra / Andromache |
| 1975 | Tanya Berezin | The Mound Builders | D. K. Eriksen |
| 1976 | Crystal Field | Day Old Bread | – |
| 1976 | Kate Manheim | Rhoda in Potatoland | Rhoda |
| 1976 | Pamela Payton-Wright | Jesse and the Bandit Queen | Belle Starr |
| 1976 | June Gable | The Comedy of Errors | Adriana |
| 1976 | Priscilla Smith | The Good Woman of Szechwan | Shen Te |
| 1976 | Joyce Aaron | Academics | – |
| 1976 | ‡ Priscilla Lopez | A Chorus Line | Diana Morales |
| 1977 | Marian Seldes | Isadora Duncan Sleeps with the Russian Navy | Isadora Duncan |
| 1977 | Jo Henderson | Ladyhouse Blues | Liz |
| 1977 | Lucinda Childs | Einstein on the Beach | Various Characters |
| 1977 | Anne De Salvo | Gemini | Lucille Grande |
| 1977 | Roberta Maxwell | Ashes | Anne |
| 1977 | Lola Pashalinski | Der Ring Gott Farblonjet | Brunnhilda |
| 1977 | Margaret Wright | A Manoir | A Woman in White |
| 1978 | Swoosie Kurtz | Uncommon Women and Others | Rita Altabel |
| 1978 | Kaiulani Lee | Safe House | – |
| 1978 | Alma Cuervo | Uncommon Women and Others | Holly Kaplan |
| 1978 | ‡ Nell Carter | Ain't Misbehavin | Nell |
| 1979 | Mary Alice | Julius Caesar & Nongogo | Portia / Queeny |
| 1979 | Elizabeth Wilson | Taken in Marriage | Aunt Helen |
| 1979 | ‡ Constance Cummings | Wings | Emily Stilson |