actress
Americannoun
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actresses
plural
noun
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a woman who acts in a play, film, broadcast, etc
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informal a woman who puts on a false manner in order to deceive others
Usage
Use of the word actress to refer to a female who acts is old-fashioned. The modern gender-neutral form is actor
Gender
What's the difference between actress and actor? See -ess.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of actress
Vocabulary lists containing actress
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Hargitay won an Emmy in 2006 for lead actress in a drama for playing Det.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 6, 2026
Kazan doesn’t sacrifice much of the character’s darkness, but rather enables Pugh, an actress who ably navigates purity and corruption, to play with both closer to the surface than usual.
From Salon ● Sep. 4, 2026
The technology was meant to transform "Fifty Shades of Grey" actress Dakota Johnson into the elderly version of Monroe.
From Barron's ● Sep. 4, 2026
US actress Carla Jeffery, who was known for appearing in 2018 Disney Channel movie Zombies and two sequels, has died at the age of 33.
From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026
She was an actress, this was a theater, and it was Good Friday, the most solemn day on the Christian calendar.
From "Chasing Lincoln's Killer" by James L. Swanson
Phillips went on to become one of Britain's most acclaimed actresses, appearing in productions including Doctor Who, Calendar Girls, Dune, and I, Claudius.
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026
What redeems this creakily plotted work is the showcase it provides for a company of savvy older actresses.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
Dame Penelope Keith was one of Britain's best-loved comedy actresses thanks to her inimitable portrayal of Margo Leadbeatter in 1970s sitcom The Good Life, among other roles.
From BBC ● Jun. 29, 2026
"I always sort of go back to classic actresses in the way that they could sort of toe a line between extreme femininity and just rock hard will and grit," she said.
From Barron's ● Jun. 3, 2026
Everyone else in the class had been much better actors and actresses.
From "The School for Whatnots" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
