1970s
| Year | Actress | Play | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 |
|||
| Tammy Grimes | Private Lives | Amanda Prynne | |
| Geraldine Brooks | Brightower | Sara Brightower | |
| Helen Hayes | Harvey | Veta Louise Simmons | |
| 1971 |
|||
| Maureen Stapleton | The Gingerbread Lady | Evy Meara | |
| Estelle Parsons | And Miss Reardon Drinks A Little | Catherine Reardon | |
| Diana Rigg | Abelard and Heloise | Heloise | |
| Marian Seldes | Father's Day | Marian | |
| 1972 |
|||
| Sada Thompson | Twigs | Ma/Dorothy/Celia/Emily | |
| Eileen Atkins | Vivat! Vivat Regina! | Elizabeth I | |
| Colleen Dewhurst | All Over | The Mistress | |
| Rosemary Harris | Old Times | Anna | |
| 1973 |
|||
| Julie Harris | The Last of Mrs. Lincoln | Mary Todd Lincoln | |
| Jane Alexander | 6 Rms Riv Vu | Annie Miller | |
| Colleen Dewhurst | Mourning Becomes Electra | Christine Mannon | |
| Kathleen Widdoes | Much Ado About Nothing | Beatrice | |
| 1974 |
|||
| Colleen Dewhurst | A Moon for the Misbegotten | Josie Hogan | |
| Jane Alexander | Find Your Way Home | Jacqueline Harrison | |
| Julie Harris | The Au Pair Man | Mrs. Rogers | |
| Madeline Kahn | In the Boom Boom Room | Chrissy | |
| Rachel Roberts | The Visit/Chemin de Fer | Claire Zachanassian/Francine | |
| 1975 |
|||
| Ellen Burstyn | Same Time, Next Year | Doris | |
| Elizabeth Ashley | Cat on a Hot Tin Roof | Maggie Pollitt | |
| Diana Rigg | The Misanthrope | Celimene | |
| Maggie Smith | Private Lives | Amanda Prynne | |
| Liv Ullmann | A Doll's House | Nora Helmer | |
| 1976 |
|||
| Irene Worth | Sweet Bird of Youth | Princess Cosmonopolis | |
| Tovah Feldshuh | Yentl | Yentl | |
| Rosemary Harris | The Royal Family | Julie Cavendish | |
| Lynn Redgrave | Mrs. Warren's Profession | Vivie Warren | |
| 1977 |
|||
| Julie Harris | The Belle of Amherst | Various Characters | |
| Colleen Dewhurst | Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? | Martha | |
| Liv Ullmann | Anna Christie | Anna Christopherson | |
| Irene Worth | The Cherry Orchard | Ranevskaya | |
| 1978 |
|||
| Jessica Tandy | The Gin Game | Fonsia Dorsey | |
| Anne Bancroft | Golda | Golda Meir | |
| Anita Gillette | Chapter Two | Jennie Maclaine | |
| Estelle Parsons | Miss Margarida's Way | Miss Margarida | |
| 1979 |
|||
| Constance Cummings | Wings | Emily Stilson | |
| Carole Shelley | The Elephant Man | Madge Kendal | |
| Jane Alexander | First Monday in October | Ruth Loomis | |
| Frances Sternhagen | On Golden Pond | Ethel Thayer |
Read more about this topic: Tony Award For Best Actress In A Play, Winners and Nominees