Prix Iris for Best Actress

Québec Cinéma presents an annual award for Best Actress (French: Prix Iris de la meilleure interprétation dans un premier rôle féminin) to recognize the best in the Cinema of Quebec.

Until 2016, it was known as the Jutra Award for Best Actress in memory of influential Quebec film director Claude Jutra.^[1] Following the withdrawal of Jutra's name from the award, the 2016 award was presented under the name Québec Cinéma.^[1] The Prix Iris name was announced in October 2016.^[2]

Céline Bonnier received the most nominations in this category, five, and received two awards. Karine Vanasse became the first actress to win the award twice. Three non-Canadian actresses won the award in consecutive years: Lubna Azabal for Incendies, Vanessa Paradis for Café de Flore and Rachel Mwanza for War Witch (Rebelle), the latter becoming the first black actress to win the award. Ginette Reno is the only actress to receive two nominations for playing the same role in different films, namely It's Your Turn, Laura Cadieux (C't'à ton tour, Laura Cadieux) and Laura Cadieux II (Laura Cadieux...la suite).

Four actresses received nominations for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress or Revelation of the Year in the same year:

• In 2005, Céline Bonnier was nominated for Best Actress for Machine Gun Molly (Monica la mitraille) and Best Supporting Actress for The Last Tunnel (Le dernier tunnel).
• In 2007, Bonnier achieved the same feat again, winning Best Actress for Deliver Me (Délivrez-moi) while receiving a nomination for Best Supporting Actress for A Sunday in Kigali (Un dimanche à Kigali).
• In 2017, Emmanuelle Lussier-Martinez was nominated for Best Actress for Those Who Make Revolution Halfway Only Dig Their Own Graves (Ceux qui font les révolutions à moitié n'ont fait que se creuser un tombeau) and Best Supporting Actress for Bad Seeds (Les mauvaises herbes).
• In 2022, Hélène Florent became the first person to win both awards during the same ceremony: Best Actress for Drunken Birds (Les oiseaux ivres) and Best Supporting Actress for Maria Chapdelaine.
• In 2024, Ariane Castellanos won both Best Actress and Revelation of the Year for Richelieu, becoming the first to win two awards for the same film.