The Greatest Black Actresses Of All Time

Ranker Film
Updated March 7, 2024 311.9K views
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127.9K votes
9.2K voters
29 reranks
Voting Rules
Vote up the Black and African-American actresses, living or passed, with the most consistent top acting performances.
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Over 9.2K Ranker voters have come together to rank this list of The Very Best Black Actresses

This list ranks the very best African American actresses of all time. These great Black actresses have starred in every genre of film from musicals and dramas to comedies. Some of these actresses, like Viola Davis, have rightfully won Academy Awards for their work.

Who are some of the greatest African American actresses? Halle Berry made our list. She has starred in memorable movies like Jungle Fever and Monster's Ball. Kerry Washington also appears on this list of the top Black actresses. Though she is best known for her work on TV's Scandal, Washington has starred in such movies as Django Unchained and Lakeview Terrace.

Whoopi Goldberg won an Oscar for best actress in a supporting role for her performance in Ghost. She was also nominated for her role in Steven Spielberg's The Color Purple. Jackie Brown actress Pam Grier also made this list, as did the striking Think Like a Man beauty, Meagan Good. Angela Bassett is another famous actress who most recently won a Golden Globe and an Oscar nom for her role in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. The list of Black excellence goes on and on.

Who do you think is the best African American actress in the history of film? Vote up your favorite Black female actors below. Then check back to see if your favorite popular Black actresses topped the list! 

  • Viola Davis
    1
    3,579 votes

    Viola Davis

    Saint Matthews, South Carolina, USA

    Won for Best Supporting Actress Oscar for Fences (2016)

  • Angela Bassett
    2
    3,663 votes

    Angela Bassett

    New York, New York, USA

    Won for Best Actress Golden Globe for What's Love Got To Do With It (1994)

     

  • Taraji P. Henson
    3
    3,167 votes

    Taraji P. Henson

    Washington, D.C., USA

    Nominated for Best Supporting Actress Oscar for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2009)

  • Octavia Spencer
    4
    2,253 votes

    Octavia Spencer

    Montgomery, Alabama

    Won for Best Supporting Actress Oscar for The Help (2012)

  • Regina King
    5
    2,426 votes

    Regina King

    Los Angeles, California, USA

    Won for Best Supporting Actress Oscar for If Beale Street Could Talk (1994)

  • Cicely Tyson
    6
    2,258 votes

    Cicely Tyson

    New York City, USA, New York

    Won for Best Actress Emmy for The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman (1982)

  • Lupita Nyong'o
    7
    2,257 votes

    Lupita Nyong'o

    Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico

    Won for Best Supporting Actress Oscar for 12 Years a Slave (2014)

  • Alfre Woodard
    8
    1,854 votes

    Alfre Woodard

    USA, Oklahoma, Tulsa

    Won for Best Actress Emmy for Miss Evers' Boys (1997)

  • Zoe Saldaña
    9
    2,218 votes

    Zoe Saldaña

    Passaic, New Jersey, USA
  • Thandiwe Newton
    10
    1,749 votes

    Thandiwe Newton

    London, England, UK

    Won for Outstanding Supporting Actress Emmy for Westworld (2016)

  • Nia Long
    11
    2,094 votes

    Nia Long

    Brooklyn, New York, USA
  • Regina Hall
    12
    1,909 votes

    Regina Hall

    Washington, D.C., USA
  • Halle Berry
    13
    3,385 votes

    Halle Berry

    Cleveland, Ohio, USA

    Won for Best Actress Oscar for Monster's Ball (2002)

  • Kerry Washington
    14
    2,439 votes

    Kerry Washington

    Bronx, New York, USA

    Nominated for Best Actress Emmy for Little Fires Everywhere (2020)

  • Queen Latifah
    15
    2,301 votes

    Queen Latifah

    Newark, New Jersey, USA

    Nominated for Best Supporting Actress Oscar for Chicago (2003)

  • Sanaa Lathan
    16
    1,517 votes

    Sanaa Lathan

    New York, New York, USA

    Nominated for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series Emmy Award for Succession (2022)

  • Gabrielle Union
    17
    2,285 votes

    Gabrielle Union

    Omaha, Nebraska, USA
  • Loretta Devine
    18
    1,515 votes

    Loretta Devine

    Houston, Texas, USA

    Won for Best Guest Actress Emmy for Grey's Anatomy (2011)

  • Rosario Dawson
    19
    1,920 votes

    Rosario Dawson

    New York, New York, USA
  • Phylicia Rashād
    20
    1,330 votes

    Phylicia Rashād

    Houston, Texas, USA

    Won for Best Actress Emmy For The Bill Cosby Show (1985 & 1986)

  • Vanessa Williams
    21
    1,432 votes

    Vanessa Williams

    Tarrytown, New York, USA

    Nominated for Best Supporting Actress Emmy for Ugly Betty (2007 - 2009)

  • Lynn Whitfield
    22
    871 votes

    Lynn Whitfield

    Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA

    Won for Best Actress Emmy for The Josephine Baker Story (1991)

  • Meagan Good
    23
    1,483 votes

    Meagan Good

    Panorama City, California, USA
  • Zendaya
    24
    1,049 votes

    Zendaya

    Oakland, USA, California

    Won for Best Actress Emmy for Euphoria (2020)

  • Tessa Thompson
    25
    819 votes

    Tessa Thompson

    Los Angeles, California, USA
  • Dorothy Dandridge
    26
    1,322 votes

    Dorothy Dandridge

    USA, Cleveland, Ohio

    Nominated for Best Actress Oscar for Carmen Jones (1954)

  • Whoopi Goldberg
    27
    2,266 votes

    Whoopi Goldberg

    New York, New York, USA

    Won For Best Actress Oscar for Ghost (1991)

  • Lena Horne
    28
    675 votes

    Lena Horne

    New York City, USA, New York
  • Della Reese
    29
    1,025 votes

    Della Reese

    Detroit, Michigan, USA

    Nominated for Best Supporting Actress for Touched By An Angel (1997 & 1998)

  • Jenifer Lewis
    30
    657 votes

    Jenifer Lewis

    Kinloch, Missouri, USA