NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series

NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series
NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series
Awarded for	Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series
Country	United States
Presented by	NAACP
First award	1970
Currently held by	India Amarteifio ; Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story (2024)
Website	naacpimageawards.net

Last updated July 08, 2025

This article lists the winners and nominees for the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series. Not to be confused with the Award for Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special. Currently, Della Reese holds the record for most wins in the category with seven.

Winners and nominees

Winners are listed first and highlighted in bold.

1970s

Year	Actress	Series	Ref
1970
1970	Judy Pace	The Young Lawyers	^{[ citation needed ]}
1971			^{[ citation needed ]}
1971	Elena Verdugo	Marcus Welby, M.D.	^[1]
1972 – 79	—

1980s

Year	Actress	Series	Ref
1980
1980	Joan Pringle	The White Shadow	^{[ citation needed ]}
1981	—
1982
1982	Cicely Tyson	The Marva Collins Story	^{[ citation needed ]}
1983			^{[ citation needed ]}
1983	Madge Sinclair	Trapper John, M.D.	^{[ citation needed ]}
1984 – 87	—
1988
1988	Cicely Tyson	Samaritan: The Mitch Snyder Story	^{[ citation needed ]}
1989			^{[ citation needed ]}
	Alfre Woodard	Unnatural Causes	^[2]
	Anne-Marie Johnson	In the Heat of the Night
	Beah Richards	Frank's Place
	Holly Robinson	21 Jump Street
	Lynn Whitfield	Heartbeat

1990s

Year	Actress	Series	Ref
1990
1990	Alfre Woodard	Mandela	^[3]
1991	—
1992
1992	Alfre Woodard	A Mother's Courage: The Mary Thomas Story	^{[ citation needed ]}
1993			^{[ citation needed ]}
1993	Lynn Whitfield	The Josephine Baker Story	^{[ citation needed ]}
1994			^{[ citation needed ]}
	Regina Taylor	I'll Fly Away	^[4]^[5]
	Della Reese	Picket Fences
	Denise Nicholas	In the Heat of the Night
	Hattie Winston	Homefront
	Victoria Dillard	TriBeCa
1995	—
1996
	Della Reese	Touched by an Angel	^[6]
	Vanessa Bell Calloway	Under One Roof
	Victoria Rowell	Diagnosis: Murder
	Cree Summer	Sweet Justice
	Cicely Tyson	Sweet Justice
1997
	Della Reese	Touched by an Angel	^[7]
	S. Epatha Merkerson	Law & Order
	Gloria Reuben	ER
	Lauren Velez	New York Undercover
	Vanessa Estelle Williams	Chicago Hope
1998
	Della Reese	Touched by an Angel	^{[ citation needed ]}
	Vanessa Bell Calloway	Orleans
	Shari Headley	413 Hope St.
	S. Epatha Merkerson	Law & Order
	Lauren Velez	New York Undercover
1999
	Della Reese	Touched by an Angel	^[8]
	Victoria Rowell	Diagnosis: Murder
	Rita Moreno	Oz
	Lorraine Toussaint	Any Day Now
	S. Epatha Merkerson	Law & Order

2000s

Year	Actress	Series	Ref
2000
	Della Reese	Touched by an Angel	^{[ citation needed ]}
	Michael Michele	Homicide: Life on the Street
	Rita Moreno	Oz
	Victoria Rowell	Diagnosis: Murder
	Lorraine Toussaint	Any Day Now
2001
	Della Reese	Touched by an Angel	^{[ citation needed ]}
	Lorraine Toussaint	Any Day Now
	Nicole Ari Parker	Soul Food
	S. Epatha Merkerson	Law & Order

Vanessa Estelle Williams	Soul Food
2002
	Della Reese	Touched by an Angel	^{[ citation needed ]}
	Nicole Ari Parker	Soul Food
	Loretta Devine	Boston Public
	Tangi Miller	Felicity
	Lorraine Toussaint	Any Day Now
2003
	Vanessa Estelle Williams	Soul Food	^{[ citation needed ]}
	Nicole Ari Parker	Soul Food
	C. C. H. Pounder	The Shield
	Lorraine Toussaint	Any Day Now
	Malinda Williams	Soul Food
2004
	Nia Long	Third Watch	^[9]
	Nicole Ari Parker	Soul Food
	C. C. H. Pounder	The Shield
	Malinda Williams	Soul Food
	Vanessa Estelle Williams	Soul Food
2005
	Nia Long	Third Watch	^{[ citation needed ]}
	Nicole Ari Parker	Soul Food
	Vivica A. Fox	1-800-Missing
	Malinda Williams	Soul Food
	Vanessa Estelle Williams	Soul Food
2006
	Vivica A. Fox	1-800-Missing	^{[ citation needed ]}
	Khandi Alexander	CSI: Miami
	Kimberly Elise	Close to Home
	Marianne Jean-Baptiste	Without a Trace
	C. C. H. Pounder	The Shield
2007
	Kimberly Elise	Close to Home	^{[ citation needed ]}
	Jennifer Beals	The L Word
	C. C. H. Pounder	The Shield
	Roselyn Sanchez	Without a Trace
	Regina Taylor	The Unit
2008
	Regina Taylor	The Unit	^{[ citation needed ]}
	Jennifer Beals	The L Word
	Wendy Davis	Army Wives
	Nicki Micheaux	Lincoln Heights
	C. C. H. Pounder	The Shield
2009
	Chandra Wilson	Grey's Anatomy	^{[ citation needed ]}
	Wendy Davis	Army Wives
	Loretta Devine	Eli Stone
	Nicki Micheaux	Lincoln Heights
	C. C. H. Pounder	The Shield

2010s

Year	Actress	Series	Ref
2010
	Jada Pinkett Smith	HawthoRNe	^{[ citation needed ]}
	Regina King	Southland
	Sandra Oh	Grey's Anatomy
	Jill Scott	The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency
	Chandra Wilson	Grey's Anatomy
2011
	Regina King	Southland	^{[ citation needed ]}
	Wendy Davis	Army Wives
	Gugu Mbatha-Raw	Undercovers
	Jada Pinkett Smith	HawthoRNe
	Chandra Wilson	Grey's Anatomy
2012
	Regina King	Southland	^{[ citation needed ]}
	Khandi Alexander	Treme
	Taraji P. Henson	Person of Interest
	Sandra Oh	Grey's Anatomy
	Chandra Wilson	Grey's Anatomy
2013
	Kerry Washington	Scandal	^[10]
	Khandi Alexander	Treme
	Regina King	Southland
	Sandra Oh	Grey's Anatomy
	Chandra Wilson	Grey's Anatomy
2014
	Kerry Washington	Scandal	^[11]
	Khandi Alexander	Treme
	Nicole Beharie	Sleepy Hollow
	Regina King	Southland
	Chandra Wilson	Grey's Anatomy
2015
	Viola Davis	How to Get Away with Murder	^[12]
	Nicole Beharie	Sleepy Hollow
	Octavia Spencer	Red Band Society
	Gabrielle Union	Being Mary Jane
	Kerry Washington	Scandal
2016
	Taraji P. Henson	Empire	^[13]
	Nicole Beharie	Sleepy Hollow
	Viola Davis	How to Get Away with Murder
	Gabrielle Union	Being Mary Jane
	Kerry Washington	Scandal
2017
	Taraji P. Henson	Empire	^[14]
	Viola Davis	How to Get Away with Murder
	Jurnee Smollett-Bell	Underground
	Kerry Washington	Scandal
	Rutina Wesley	Queen Sugar
2018
	Taraji P. Henson	Empire	^[15]
	Jurnee Smollett-Bell	Underground
	Kerry Washington	Scandal
	Rutina Wesley	Queen Sugar
	Viola Davis	How to Get Away with Murder
2019
	Taraji P. Henson	Empire	^[16]
	Alfre Woodard	Luke Cage
	Naturi Naughton	Power
	Viola Davis	How to Get Away with Murder
	Rutina Wesley	Queen Sugar

2020s

Year	Actress	Series	Ref
2020
	Angela Bassett	9-1-1	^[17]
	Viola Davis	How to Get Away with Murder
	Regina King	Watchmen
	Simone Missick	All Rise
	Rutina Wesley	Queen Sugar
2021
	Viola Davis	How to Get Away with Murder	^[18]
	Angela Bassett	9-1-1
	Simone Missick	All Rise
	Jurnee Smollett	Lovecraft Country
	Brandee Evans	P-Valley
2022
	Angela Bassett	9-1-1	^[19]
	Dawn-Lyen Gardner	Queen Sugar
	Octavia Spencer	Truth Be Told
	Queen Latifah	The Equalizer (2021 TV series)
	Rutina Wesley	Queen Sugar
2023
	Angela Bassett	9-1-1	^[20]
	Brandee Evans	P-Valley
	Queen Latifah	The Equalizer (2021 TV series)
	Rutina Wesley	Queen Sugar
	Zendaya	Euphoria
2024
	India Amarteifio	Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story	^[21]
	Angela Bassett	9-1-1
	Octavia Spencer	Truth Be Told
	Queen Latifah	The Equalizer
	Zoe Saldaña	Special Ops: Lioness

Multiple wins and nominations

Wins

7 wins

Della Reese

4 wins

Taraji P. Henson

3 wins

2 wins

Nominations

References

↑ "1971 Image Award Winners". IMDb. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
↑ Snow, Shauna (11 November 1988). "Nominees for 21st Image Awards Announced". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
↑ "1990 Image Award Winners". IMDb. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
↑ "1994 Image Award Winners". IMDb. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
↑ "Indianapolis Recorder 1 January 1994 — Hoosier State Chronicles: Indiana's Digital Historic Newspaper Program".
↑ Snow, Shauna (22 February 1996). "5 Films Head Nominations for NAACP Image Awards". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
↑ "1997 Image Award Winners". IMDb. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
↑ "The Crisis". The Crisis Publishing Company, Inc. 1 April 1999. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
↑ "2004 Image Award Winners". IMDb. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
↑ Couch, Aaron (February 1, 2013). "2013 Image Winners". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved August 2, 2016.
↑ Couch, Aaron (February 22, 2014). "2014 Image Winners". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved August 2, 2016.
↑ Washington, Arlene (February 6, 2015). "2015 Image Winners". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved August 2, 2016.
↑ "2016 Image Winners". Variety . 6 February 2016. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
↑ Hipes, Patrick (December 13, 2016). "Ruth Negga, Angela Bassett and Taraji P. Henson nominated". Deadline . Retrieved January 2, 2017.
↑ Gettell, Oliver (January 15, 2018). "NAACP Image Awards 2018: Ava DuVernay, black-ish among winners". Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved February 27, 2018.
↑ Lewis, Hilary (February 13, 2019). "NAACP Image Awards: 'Black Panther' Tops Film Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter .
↑ "NAACP Winners 2020: The Complete List". Variety . February 23, 2020.
↑ "2021 NAACP Image Awards: The Complete Winners List". Entertainment Tonight . March 29, 2021. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
↑ "Jennifer Hudson, Will Smith, And Issa Rae Win Big At NAACP Image Awards 2022". Vibe.com . Feb 28, 2022. Retrieved March 2, 2022.
↑ "NAACP Image Awards Nominations: 'Black Panther: Wakanda Forever' & 'Abbott Elementary' Lead Field; All-Female Entertainer Of Year Race". Deadline Hollywood . January 13, 2023. Retrieved January 13, 2023.
↑ "NAACP Image Awards Nominations: 'Black Panther: Wakanda Forever' & 'Abbott Elementary' Lead Field; All-Female Entertainer Of Year Race". Deadline Hollywood . January 13, 2023. Retrieved January 13, 2023.

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[1] "1971 Image Award Winners". IMDb. Retrieved August 2, 2016.

[2] Snow, Shauna (11 November 1988). "Nominees for 21st Image Awards Announced". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 21 January 2017.

[3] "1990 Image Award Winners". IMDb. Retrieved August 2, 2016.

[4] "1994 Image Award Winners". IMDb. Retrieved August 2, 2016.

[5] "Indianapolis Recorder 1 January 1994 — Hoosier State Chronicles: Indiana's Digital Historic Newspaper Program".

[6] Snow, Shauna (22 February 1996). "5 Films Head Nominations for NAACP Image Awards". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 21 January 2017.

[7] "1997 Image Award Winners". IMDb. Retrieved August 2, 2016.

[8] "The Crisis". The Crisis Publishing Company, Inc. 1 April 1999. Retrieved 21 January 2017.

[9] "2004 Image Award Winners". IMDb. Retrieved August 2, 2016.

[10] Couch, Aaron (February 1, 2013). "2013 Image Winners". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved August 2, 2016.

[11] Couch, Aaron (February 22, 2014). "2014 Image Winners". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved August 2, 2016.

[12] Washington, Arlene (February 6, 2015). "2015 Image Winners". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved August 2, 2016.

[13] "2016 Image Winners". Variety . 6 February 2016. Retrieved August 2, 2016.

[14] Hipes, Patrick (December 13, 2016). "Ruth Negga, Angela Bassett and Taraji P. Henson nominated". Deadline . Retrieved January 2, 2017.

[15] Gettell, Oliver (January 15, 2018). "NAACP Image Awards 2018: Ava DuVernay, black-ish among winners". Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved February 27, 2018.

[16] Lewis, Hilary (February 13, 2019). "NAACP Image Awards: 'Black Panther' Tops Film Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter .

[17] "NAACP Winners 2020: The Complete List". Variety . February 23, 2020.

[18] "2021 NAACP Image Awards: The Complete Winners List". Entertainment Tonight . March 29, 2021. Retrieved April 4, 2021.

[19] "Jennifer Hudson, Will Smith, And Issa Rae Win Big At NAACP Image Awards 2022". Vibe.com . Feb 28, 2022. Retrieved March 2, 2022.

[20] "NAACP Image Awards Nominations: 'Black Panther: Wakanda Forever' & 'Abbott Elementary' Lead Field; All-Female Entertainer Of Year Race". Deadline Hollywood . January 13, 2023. Retrieved January 13, 2023.

[21] "NAACP Image Awards Nominations: 'Black Panther: Wakanda Forever' & 'Abbott Elementary' Lead Field; All-Female Entertainer Of Year Race". Deadline Hollywood . January 13, 2023. Retrieved January 13, 2023.

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v t e NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series
1970s	Judy Pace (1970) Elena Verdugo (1971)
1980s	Joan Pringle (1980) Cicely Tyson (1981) Madge Sinclair (1982) Cicely Tyson (1987) Alfre Woodard (1988) Alfre Woodard (1989)
1990s	No Award (1990) Alfre Woodard (1991) Lynn Whitfield (1992) Regina Taylor (1993) No Award (1994) Della Reese (1995) Della Reese (1996) Della Reese (1997) Della Reese (1998) Della Reese (1999)
2000s	Lorraine Toussaint (2000) Della Reese (2001) Vanessa Estelle Williams (2002) Nia Long (2003) Nia Long (2004) Vivica A. Fox (2005) Kimberly Elise (2006) Regina Taylor (2007) Chandra Wilson (2008) Jada Pinkett Smith (2009)
2010s	Regina King (2010) Regina King (2011) Kerry Washington (2012) Kerry Washington (2013) Viola Davis (2014) Taraji P. Henson (2015) Taraji P. Henson (2016) Taraji P. Henson (2017) Taraji P. Henson (2018) Angela Bassett (2019)
2020s	Viola Davis (2020) Angela Bassett (2021) Angela Bassett (2022) India Amarteifio (2023) Queen Latifah (2024)