1980s
- 1980 (7th) - Judith Light as Karen Wolek, One Life to Live
- Julia Barr as Brooke English, All My Children
- Leslie Charleson as Monica Quartermaine, General Hospital
- Kim Hunter as Nola Madison, The Edge of Night
- Beverlee McKinsey as Iris Carrington, Another World
- Kathleen Noone as Ellen Dalton, All My Children
- 1981 (8th) - Judith Light as Karen Wolek, One Life to Live
- Julia Barr as Brooke English, All My Children
- Helen Gallagher as Maeve Ryan, Ryan's Hope
- Susan Lucci as Erica Kane, All My Children
- Robin Strasser as Dorian Cramer Lord, One Life to Live
- 1982 (9th) - Robin Strasser as Dorian Lord Callison, One Life to Live
- Leslie Charleson as Monica Quartermaine, General Hospital
- Ann Flood as Nancy Pollock Karr, The Edge of Night
- Sharon Gabet as Charlotte Whitney, The Edge of Night
- Susan Lucci as Erica Kane, All My Children
- 1983 (10th) - Dorothy Lyman as Opal Gardner, All My Children
- Leslie Charleson as Monica Quartermaine, General Hospital
- Susan Lucci as Erica Kane, All My Children
- Erika Slezak as Victoria Lord Buchanan, One Life to Live
- Robin Strasser as Dorian Cramer Lord, One Life to Live
- 1984 (11th) - Erika Slezak as Victoria Lord Buchanan, One Life to Live
- Ann Flood as Nancy Pollock Karr, The Edge of Night
- Sharon Gabet as Charlotte Whitney, The Edge of Night
- Deidre Hall as Marlena Evans, Days of our Lives
- Susan Lucci as Erica Kane, All My Children
- 1985 (12th) - Kim Zimmer as Reva Shayne, Guiding Light
- Deidre Hall as Marlena Evans, Days of our Lives
- Susan Lucci as Erica Kane, All My Children
- Gillian Spencer as Daisy Cortlandt, All My Children
- Robin Strasser as Dorian Cramer Lord, One Life to Live
- 1986 (13th) - Erika Slezak as Victoria Lord Buchanan, One Life to Live
- Elizabeth Hubbard as Lucinda Walsh, As the World Turns
- Susan Lucci as Erica Kane, All My Children
- Peggy McCay as Caroline Brady, Days of our Lives
- Kim Zimmer as Reva Shayne, Guiding Light
- 1987 (14th) - Kim Zimmer as Reva Shayne, Guiding Light
- Elizabeth Hubbard as Lucinda Walsh, As the World Turns
- Susan Lucci as Erica Kane, All My Children
- Frances Reid as Alice Horton, Days of our Lives
- Marcy Walker as Eden Capwell, Santa Barbara
- 1988 (15th) - Helen Gallagher as Maeve Ryan, Ryan's Hope
- Elizabeth Hubbard as Lucinda Walsh, As the World Turns
- Susan Lucci as Erica Kane, All My Children
- Erika Slezak as Victoria Lord Buchanan, One Life to Live
- Marcy Walker as Eden Capwell, Santa Barbara
- 1989 (16th) - Marcy Walker as Eden Capwell, Santa Barbara
- Jeanne Cooper as Katherine Chancellor, The Young and the Restless
- Elizabeth Hubbard as Lucinda Walsh, As the World Turns
- Susan Lucci as Erica Kane, All My Children
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