leading lady

noun

: an actress who plays the leading female role

Examples of leading lady in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web At the convention, held in the Connecticut Convention Center, the leading ladies will also hold a fan meeting, sign autographs and pose for photos, along with the stars of other beloved series and movies from the era. Brendan Le, Peoplemag, 16 Mar. 2024 Not leading ladies Martin-Green and Morales, nor Ed Harris (who plays Merit’s Vietnam-surviving granddad, Clay), but practically everyone else who plays a soldier was once a soldier. Peter Debruge, Variety, 14 Mar. 2024 Grammy nominee Rufus Wainwright has penned over 20 new songs for the occasion, Tony-winning visionary Ivo van Hove is directing, and the supporting cast includes Unorthodox’s Shira Haas, but all eyes, presumably, will be on its leading lady. Radhika Seth, Vogue, 9 Mar. 2024 Shining star:How national media turned Kari Lake into Trumpism's 'leading lady' Reach Goodykoontz at bill.goodykoontz@arizonarepublic.com. Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 23 Feb. 2024 Its leading lady, Michelle Yeoh, was the Seasoned Star Who Has Never Got Her Due. Michael Schulman, The New Yorker, 26 Feb. 2024 One leading lady in her 60s or beyond will have the opportunity to find new love on The Golden Bachelorette! Esther Kang, Peoplemag, 10 Feb. 2024 Surprising nominations and omissions among the film nominees included Killers of the Flower Moon 's Leonardo DiCaprio sitting out out the leading actor set, as did Fantasia Barrino among leading ladies for her work in The Color Purple, despite the musical receiving a nod for its overall cast. EW.com, 10 Jan. 2024 Rowland also opened up about experiencing her first time being cast as the leading lady in a film. Angel Saunders, Peoplemag, 16 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'leading lady.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1860, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of leading lady was in 1860

Dictionary Entries Near leading lady

Cite this Entry

“Leading lady.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/leading%20lady. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

leading lady

noun
: an actress who plays the leading female role in a play or movie

More from Merriam-Webster on leading lady

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