actress

[ak-tris]

noun

1. a woman who acts in stage plays, motion pictures, television broadcasts, etc., especially professionally.

actress

/ ˈæktrɪs /

noun

1. a woman who acts in a play, film, broadcast, etc

2. 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 Note

What's the difference between actress and actor? See -ess.

Word History and Origins

Origin of actress¹

First recorded in 1580–90; act(o)r + -ess

Example Sentences

She never absorbed her lead actress Oscar win.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Over her career, she received four Oscar nominations for lead actress, winning for “Annie Hall.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Godfather director Francis Ford Coppola, like fellow US filmmaker Allen, also paid tribute to the "extraordinary" actress over the weekend.

Read more on BBC

Keaton received her second nomination for best actress but ultimately did not win.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Diane Keaton’s combination of beauty and kookiness won the actress her only Oscar, but the job was easy: She said the title role in “Annie Hall” was “an affable version of myself.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• diva 
• leading lady 
• starlet