The following women have received awards or nominations for their work in cinema throughout the 2020–2021 awards season. List updated regularly.
April 25, 2021: 93rd Academy Awards NOMINATIONS
- Best Picture: Nomadland – Frances McDormand, Mollye Asher, Chloé Zhao, Producers
- Directing: Nomadland – Chloé Zhao
- Actress in a Leading Role: Frances McDormand – Nomadland
- Actress in a Supporting Role: Yuh-Jung Youn – Minari
- Original Screenplay: Promising Young Woman – Written by Emerald Fennell
- Documentary Feature: My Octopus Teacher – Pippa Ehrlich
- Animated Feature: Soul – Dana Murray
- Documentary Short: Colette – Alice Doyard
- Production Design: Mank – Jan Pascale
- Costume Design: Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom – Ann Roth
- Makeup and Hairstyling: Mank – Gigi Williams, Kimberley Spiteri, Colleen LaBaff
- Sound: Sound of Metal – Michelle Couttolenc
- Original Song: “Fight for You” from Judas and the Black Messiah – H.E.R., Tiara Thomas
April 22, 2021: Film Independent Spirit Awards NOMINATIONS
- Best Feature: Nomadland, Chloé Zhao, director/producer; Mollye Asher, Frances McDorman, producers
- Best First Feature: Sound of Metal, Kathy Benz, producer
- Best Director: Chloé Zhao, Nomadland
- Best Screenplay: Emerald Fennell, Promising Young Woman
- Best Female Lead: Carey Mulligan, Promising Young Woman
- Best Documentary: Crip Camp, Nicole Newnham, director/producer; Sara Bolder
- Best Supporting Female: Yuh-Jung Youn, Minari
- Best International Film: Quo Vadis, Aida?, Jasmila Žbanić, director (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
- Best Editing: Chloé Zhao, Nomadland
- Robert Altman Award: One Night in Miami, Regina King, director; Kimberly R. Hardin, casting director
- Someone to Watch Award: Ekwa Msangi
[Full list of winners, including for television categories, available here.]
April 18, 2021: 35th American Society of Cinematographers ASC Outstanding Achievement Awards
No women winners in either film or television categories.
April 17, 2021: 57th Cinema Audio Society Awards
- Live Action: Sound of Metal, Re-Recording Mixer Michelle Couttolenc
[Full list of winners, including for television categories, available here.]
April 16, 2021: 48th Annie Awards
- Best Feature: Soul, Dana Murray, producer
- Best Indie Feature: Wolfwalkers, Nora Twomey, producer
- Best FX for Feature: Soul, Kylie Wijsmuller
- Best Production Design – Feature: Wolfwalkers, María Pareja
- Best Voice Acting – Feature: Wolfwalkers, Eva Whittaker
[Full list of winners, including for television categories, available here.]
April 13, 2021: 23rd Costume Designers Guild Awards
- Excellence in Sci-Fi/Fantasy Film: Mulan, Bina Daigeler
- Excellence in Contemporary Film: Promising Young Woman, Nancy Steiner
- Excellence in Period Film: Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Ann Roth
[Full list of winners, including for television categories, available here.]
April 11, 2021: 11th Guild of Music Supervisors Awards
- Best Music Supervision for Film Budgeted Under $25 Million: Dawn Sutter Madell, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
- Best Music Supervision for Film Budgeted Under $10 Million: Susan Jacobs, Promising Young Woman
- Best Music Supervision for Film Budgeted Under $5 Million: Dondrea Erauw, The Cuban
- Best Song Written and/or Recorded for a Film: Celeste Waite, Alison Litton, “Hear My Voice” from The Trial of the Chicago 7
[Full list of winners, including for television and advertising categories, available here.]
April 10–11, 2021: British Academy of Film and Television Arts Awards
- Best Film: Nomadland, Mollye Asher, Frances McDormand, Chloé Zhao
- Outstanding British Film: Promising Young Woman, Emerald Fennell, Ashley Fox, Josey McNamara
- Film Not in the English Language: Another Round, Sisse Graum Jørgensen
- Documentary: My Octopus Teacher, Pippa Ehrlich
- Animated Film: Soul, Dana Murray
- Director: Nomadland, Chloé Zhao
- Original Screenplay: Promising Young Woman, Emerald Fennell
- Leading Actress: Frances McDormand, Nomadland
- Supporting Actress: Yuh-Jung Youn, Minari
- Casting: Rocks, Lucy Pardee
- Production Design: Mank, Jan Pascale
- Costume Design: Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Ann Roth
- Makeup & Hair: Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Matiki Anoff, Mia Neal
- Sound: Sound of Metal, Michelle Couttolenc
- British Short Animation: The Owl and the Pussycat, Laura Duncalf
April 10, 2021: 73rd Directors Guild of America Awards
- Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Theatrical Feature Film: Chloé Zhao, Nomadland
- Unit Production Manager, First Assistant Director: Mary Kerrigan
- Outstanding Directorial Achievement of a First-Time Feature Film Director: Sound of Metal
- Unit Production Manager: Amy Greene
[Full list of winners, including for television and commercial categories, available here.]
April 10, 2021: 25th Art Directors Guild Awards
No women winners in the film categories. Full list of winners, including for television categories, available here.
April 8, 2021: 32nd GLAAD Media Awards
- Outstanding Film – Wide Release: Happiest Season, Clea DuVall, director/writer
- Outstanding Film – Limited Release: The Boys in the Band, Alexis Martin Woodall, producer
- Outstanding Documentary: Disclosure, Amy Scholder, producer
[Full list of winners, including for television, music, journalism, and Spanish-language categories, available here.]
April 7, 2021: 12th African American Film Critics Association Awards
- Innovator Award: Mariah Carey
- Icon Award: Viola Davis
- Best Director: Regina King, One Night in Miami…
- Best Actress: Andra Day, The United States vs. Billie Holiday
- Best Supporting Actress: Dominique Fishback, Judas and the Black Messiah
- Best Documentary: All In: The Fight for Democracy, Lisa Cortes & Liz Garbus (directors/producers), Stacey Abrams, producer
- Best Animation: Soul, Dana Murray, producer
- Breakout Performance: Radha Blank
April 6, 2021: 19th Visual Effects Society Awards
- Outstanding Visual Effects in an Animated Feature: Soul, Dana Murray
- Outstanding Animated Character in a Photoreal Feature: The One and Only Ivan (Ivan), Valentina Rosselli
- Outstanding Created Environment in an Animated Feature: Soul (You Seminar), Sungyeon Joh
- Outstanding Effects Simulations in a Photoreal Feature: Project Power, Michelle Lee
- Outstanding Effects Simulations in an Animated Feature: Soul, Aimei Kutt, Melissa Tseng
- Outstanding Visual Effects in a Student Project: Migrants, Zoé Devise
[Full list of winners, including for television, game, and commercial categories, available here.]
April 4, 2021: 27th Screen Actors Guild Awards
- Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role: Viola Davis, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
- Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role: Yuh-Jung Youn, Minari
[Full list of winners, including for television categories, available here.]
March 27, 2021: 52nd NAACP Image Awards
- Social Justice Impact: Stacey Abrams
- Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture: Viola Davis, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
- Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture: Phylicia Rashad, Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey
- Outstanding International Motion Picture: Night of the Kings, Delphine Jaquet, producer
- Outstanding Breakthrough Performance in a Motion Picture: Madalen Mills, Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey
- Outstanding Ensemble Cast in a Motion Picture: Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Viola Davis
- Outstanding Animated Motion Picture: Soul, Dana Murray, producer
- Outstanding Short Form (Live Action): Black Boy Joy, Martina Mossell Lee, director; Jhanvi Motla, producer
- Outstanding Short Form (Animated): Canvas, Paige Johnstone, producer
- Outstanding Breakthrough Creative: Nadia Hallgren, Becoming
- Outstanding Documentary Film: John Lewis: Good Trouble, Dawn Porter, director/producer; Erika Alexander, Laura Michalchyshyn, producers
- Outstanding Writing in a Motion Picture: Radha Blank, The Forty-Year-Old Version
- Outstanding Writing in a Documentary: Melissa Haizlip, Mr. Soul!
- Outstanding Directing in a Motion Picture: Gina Prince-Bythewood, The Old Guard
[Full list of winners, including for television, recording, and literary categories, available here.]
March 24, 2021: 32nd Producers Guild of America Awards
- Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures: Nomadland, Mollye Asher, Frances McDormand, Chloé Zhao
- Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures: Soul, Dana Murray
[Full list of winners, including for television categories, available here.]
March 21, 2021: Writers Guild Awards
- Original Screenplay: Promising Young Woman, Emerald Fennell
- Adapted Screenplay: Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, Screenply by Erica Rivinoja & Jena Friedman; Story by Nina Pedrad
[Full list of winners, including for television categories, available here.]
March 12, 2021: César Awards
- Best Actress: Laure Calamy, Antoinette Dans Les Cévennes
- Best Supporting Actress: Emilie Dequenne, Les Choses Qu’On Dir, Les Choses Qu’On Fait
- Best Editing: Tina Baz, Adolescentes
- Best Costume Design: Madeline Fontaine, La Bonne Épouse
- Best Sound: Adolescentes, Yolande Decarsin, Jeanne Delplanco, Fanny Martin
- Best Animated Short: L’Heure De L’Ours, dir: Agnès Patron
- Best Short Film: Qu’Importe Si Les Bêtes Meurent, dir: Sofia Alaoui
- Best Female Newcomer: Fathia Youssouf, Cuties
March 7, 2021: 26th Critics Choice Awards
- Best Picture: Nomadland, Frances McDormand, Mollye Asher, Chloé Zhao
- Best Actress: Carey Mulligan, Promising Young Woman
- Best Supporting Actress: Maria Bakalova, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
- Best Director: Chloé Zhao, Nomadland
- Best Original Screenplay: Emerald Fennell, Promising Young Woman
- Best Adapted Screenplay: Chloé Zhao, Nomadland
- Best Production Design: Mank, Jan Pascale
- Best Costume Design: Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Ann Roth
- Best Hair and Makeup: Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Matiki Anoff, Mia Neal, Sian Richards, Deidra Dixon, Jamika Wilson
- Best Comedy: Palm Springs, Becky Sloviter
- Best Foreign Language Film: Minari, Dede Gardner, Christina Oh
[Full list of winners, including for television categories, available here.]
February 28, 2021: Golden Globe Awards
- Best Motion Picture – Drama: Nomadland, Chloé Zhao, director/writer/producer/editor; Mollye Asher, Frances McDormand, producers
- Best Motion Picture – Comedy: Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, Monica Levinson, producer
- Best Director: Chloé Zhao, Nomadland
- Best Actress – Motion Picture – Drama: Andra Day, The United States vs. Billie Holiday
- Best Actress – Motion Picture – Musical/Comedy: Anya Taylor-Joy, Emma.
- Best Supporting Actress: Jodie Foster, The Mauritanian
- Best Picture – Animated: Soul, Dana Murray, producer
- Best Picture – Foreign Language: Minari (USA), Dede Gardner, Christina Oh, producers
- Best Song: “Io Sì (Seen)” from The Life Ahead
- Cecil B. deMille Award: Jane Fonda
[Full list of winners, including for television categories, available here.]
February 13, 2021: AMPAS Scientific & Technical Awards
- Technical Achievement Awards
- Hayley Iben, for the Taz Hair Simulation System
- Kelly Ward Hammel and Maryann Simmons, for the Walt Disney Animation Studios Hair Simulation System
January 26, 2021: National Board of Review Awards
- Best Film: Da 5 Bloods, Beatriz Levin, producer
- Best Actress: Carey Mulligan, Promising Young Woman
- Best Supporting Actress; Youn Yuh-Jung, Minari
- Breakthrough Performance: Sidney Flanigan, Never Rarely Sometimes Always
- Best Directorial Debut: Channing Godfrey Peoples, Miss Juneteenth
- Best Animated Feature: Soul, Dana Murray, producer
- Best Documentary: Time, Garrett Bradley, director/producer; Lauren Domino, Kellen Quinn, producers
- NBR Freedom of Expression Award: One Night in Miami, Regina King, director; Jess Wu Calder, producer
- NBR Spotlight Award: Radha Blank for writing, directing, producing, and starring in The Forty-Year-Old Version
- Top Films (in alphabetical order)
- First Cow, Kelly Reichardt, director/writer/editor
- The Forty-Year-Old Version, Radha Blank, director/writer/producer; Inuka Bacote-Capiga, Jennifer Semler, Lena Waithe, producers
- Minari, Dede Gardner, Christina Oh, producers
- News of the World, Gail Mutrux, producer
- Nomadland, Chloé Zhao, director/writer/producer/editor; Mollye Asher, Frances McDormand, producers
- Promising Young Woman, Emerald Fennell, director/writer/producer; Ashley Fox, Josey McNamara, Margot Robbie, producers
- Soul, Dana Murray, producer
- Sound of Metal, Kathy Benz, producer
- Top 5 Foreign Language Films (in alphabetical order)
- Collective (Romania), Hanka Kastelicová, Bianca Oana, producers
- The Mole Agent (Chile), Maite Alberdi, director/writer; Marcela Santibanez, producer
- Night of the Kings (Ivory Coast), Delphine Jaquet, producer
- Top 5 Documentaries (in alphabetical order)
- All In: The Fight for Democracy, Lisa Cortes, Liz Garbus, directors/producers; Stacey Abrams, producer
- Boys State, Amanda McBaine, co-director/producer
- Dick Johnson Is Dead, Kirsten Johnson, director/writer/producer; Katy Chevigny, Marilyn Ness, producers
- Miss Americana, Lana Wilson, director; Christine O’Malley, Caitrin Rogers, producers
- Top 10 Independent Films (in alphabetical order)
- Driveways, Celine Rattray, producer
- Farewell Amor, Ekwa Msangi, director/writer/producer; Huriyyah Muhammad, producer
- Miss Juneteenth, Channing Godfrey Peoples, director/writer; Jeanie Igoe, Theresa Steele Page, producers
- The Nest, Rose Garnett, Amy Jackson, Christina Piovesan, Derrin Schlesinger, producers
- Never Rarely Sometimes Always, Eliza Hittman, director/writer; Lia Buman, Rose Garnett, Sara Murphy, Elika Portnoy, Adele Romanski, producers
- Relic, Natalie Erika James, director/writer; Riva Marker, Anna McLeish, Sarah Shaw, producers
- Wolfwalkers, Nora Twomey, producer
January 16, 2021: 36th IDA Documentary Awards
- Best Feature: Crip Camp, Nicole Newnham, director/producer; Sara Bolder, producer
- Best Music Documentary: Universe, Esther Dere, Leah Natasha Thomas, producers
- Best Writing: Kirsten Johnson, Dick Johnson is Dead
- Pare Lorentz Award: My Octopus Teacher, Pippa Ehrlich, director
- Honorable Mention: Crip Camp, Nicole Newnham, director/producer; Sara Bolder, producer
- ABC News VideoSource Award: Crip Camp, Nicole Newnham, director/producer; Sara Bolder, producer
- Honorary Awards:
- Amicus Award: Regina S. Scully
- Courage Under Fire Award, Olga Baranova and the filmmakers and activists from Welcome to Chechnya
- Truth to Power Award: Maria Ressa
[Full list of winners, including for television categories, available here.]
January 11, 2021: 30th IFP Gotham Awards
- Best Feature: Nomadland, Chloé Zhao, director; Frances McDormand, Mollye Asher, Chloé Zhao, producers
- Best Documentary (TIE):
- A Thousand Cuts: Ramona S. Diaz, director; Ramona S. Diaz, Leah Marino, Julie Goldman, Carolyn Hepburn, producers
- Time: Garrett Bradley, director/producer; Lauren Domino, Kellen Quinn, producers
- Best International Feature: Identifying Features, Fernanda Valadez, director; Astrid Rondero, producer
- Best Screenplay (TIED): The Forty-Year-Old Version, Radha Blank
- Best Actress: Nicole Beharie, Miss Juneteenth
- Actress Tribute: Viola Davis
- Ensemble Tribute: The cast of The Trial of the Chicago 7, including Caitlin Fitzgerald and Alice Kremelberg
- Gotham Audience Award: Nomadland, Chloé Zhao, director; Frances McDormand, Mollye Asher, Chloé Zhao, producers
[Full list of winners, including for television categories, available here.]
January 10, 2021: Inaugural Critics Choice Super Awards
- Best Action Movie: Da 5 Bloods, Beatriz Levin, producer
- Best Actress in an Action Movie: Betty Gilpin, The Hunt
- Best Animated Movie: Soul, Dana Murray, producer
- Best Voice Actress in an Animated Movie: Tina Fey, Soul
- Best Superhero Movie: The Old Guard, Gina Prince-Bythewood, director; Dana Goldberg, Beth Kono, Charlize Theron, producers
- Best Actress in a Superhero Movie: Margot Robbie, Birds of Prey
- Best Horror Movie: The Invisible Man, Kylie Du Fresne, producer
- Best Actress in a Horror Movie: Elisabeth Moss, The Invisible Man
- Best Science Fiction/Fantasy Movie: Palm Springs, Becky Sloviter, producer
- Best Actress in a Science Fiction/Fantasy Movie: Cristin Milioti, Palm Springs
[Full list of winners, including for television categories, available here.]
January 9, 2021: 55th National Society of Film Critics Awards
- Best Picture: Nomadland: Chloé Zhao, director, Frances McDormand, Mollye Asher, Chloé Zhao, producers
- Runner-up: First Cow, Kelly Reichardt, director
- Runner-up: Never Rarely Sometimes Always, Eliza Hittman, director; Adele Romanski, Sara Murphy, producers
- Best Director: Chloé Zhao, Nomadland
- Runner-up: Kelly Reichardt, First Cow
- Best Actress: Frances McDormand, Nomadland
- Runner-up: Viola Davis, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
- Runner-up: Sidney Flanigan, Never Rarely Sometimes Always
- Best Supporting Actress: Maria Bakalova, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
- Runner-up: Amanda Seyfried, Mank
- Runner-up: Youn Yuh-jung, Minari
- Best Screenplay: Eliza Hittman, Never Rarely Sometimes Always
- Runner-up: Kelly Reichardt, First Cow
- Best Foreign-Language Film: Collective, Hanka Kastelicová, Biana Oana, producers
- Runner-up: Bacurau, Emilie Lesclaux, producer
- Runner-up: Beanpole, Natalia Gorina, Ellen Rodnianski, producers
- Best Non-Fiction Film: Time, Garrett Bradley, director/producer; Lauren Domino, Kellen Quinn, producers
- Runner-up: City Hall, Karen Konicek, producer
- Runner-up: Collective, Hanka Kastelicová, Biana Oana, producers
December 20, 2020: 46th Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards
- Best Picture
- Runner-up: Nomadland, Chloé Zhao, director; Frances McDormand, Mollye Asher, Chloé Zhao, producers
- Best Director: Chloé Zhao, Nomadland
- Best Actress: Carey Mulligan, Promising Young Woman
- Runner-up: Viola Davis, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
- Best Supporting Actress: Youn Yuh-Jung, Minari
- Runner-up: Amanda Seyfried, Mank
- Best Screenplay: Emerald Fennell, Promising Young Woman
- Runner-up: Eliza Hittman, Never Rarely Sometimes Always
- Best Documentary/Nonfiction Film: Time, director/producer Garret Bradley; producer: Lauren Domino
- Runner-up: Collective, producers: Bianca Oana, Hanka Kastelicová; writer: Antoaneta Opris
- Best Animation: Wolfwalkers, producer: Nora Twomey
- Runner-up: Soul, producer: Dana Leigh Murray
- New Generation Award: Radha Blank, The 40-Year-Old Version
December 18, 2020: New York Film Critics Circle Awards
- Best Picture: First Cow, directed and written by Kelly Reichardt
- Best Director: Chloé Zhao, Nomadland
- Best Screenplay: Eliza Hittman, Never Rarely Sometimes Always
- Best Actress: Sidney Flanigan, Never Rarely Sometimes Always
- Best Supporting Actress: Maria Bakalova, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
- Best Animated Film: Wolfwalkers, produced by Nora Twomey
- Best Non-Fiction Film (Documentary): Time, directed/produced by Garrett Bradley; produced by Lauren Domino
- Best First Film: Radha Blank, The 40-Year-Old Version
December 12, 2020: European Film Awards
- European Discovery – Prix Fipresci: Sole, written by Giulia Moriggi
- European Documentary: One Night in Miami, written by Antoaneta Opris
- European Actress: Paula Beer, Undine
- European Editing: Maria Fantastica Valmori, Once More Unto the Breach / Il Varco
- European Production Design: Cristina Casali, The Personal History of David Copperfield
- European Costume Design: Ursula Patzak, Hidden Away / Volevo Nascondermi
- European Make-Up & Hair: Yolanda Piña, The Endless Trench / La Trinchera Infinita
- European Original Score: Dascha Dauenhauer, Berlin Alexanderplatz
- European Sound: Yolande Decarsin, Little Girl / Petite Fille
- European University Film Award: Saudi Runway, directed & written by Susanne Regina Meures
December 9, 2020: SFFILM Awards
- SFFILM Award for Acting: Glenn Close, Hillbilly Elegy
- Irving M. Levin Award for Film Direction: Chloé Zhao, Nomadland
September 20, 2020: 45th Toronto International Film Festival Awards
- People’s Choice Award: Nomadland, Chloé Zhao
- People’s Choice Award, First Runner Up: One Night in Miami, Regina King
- People’s Choice Award, Second Runner Up: Beans, Tracey Deer
- People’s Choice Award, Documentaries: Inconvenient Indian, Michelle Latimer
- People’s Choice Award, Midnight Madness: Shadow in the Cloud, Roseanne Liang
- Best Canadian Feature Film: Inconvenient Indian, Michelle Latimer
- Best International Short Film: Dustin, Naïla Guiguet
- FIPRESCI Award: Beginning (Dasatskisi), Dea Kulumbegashvili
- Changemaker Award: Black Bodies, Kelly Fyffe-Marshall
- Share Her Journey: Sing Me a Lullaby, Tiffany Hsiung
- TIFF Tribute Awards: Chloé Zhao, Mira Nair, and Kate Winslet
September 12, 2020: 77th Venice International Film Festival Awards
- Golden Lion: Nomadland, Chloé Zhao
- Volpi Cup for Best Actress: Vanessa Kirby for Pieces of a Woman
- Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement: Ann Hui and Tilda Swinton