Meaning & use
character actress
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountable
a female actor who specializes in playing unusual, distinctive, or supporting roles rather than romantic leads.
Grammar: Countable: 'a character actress', 'two character actresses'. The plural is 'character actresses'.
Patterns
- work as a character actress
- a character actress in a film
She was a character actress known for her eccentric grandmother roles.
The film won awards for its character actress in a supporting role.
After years as a character actress, she finally got her first leading part.
Word forms
| plural | character actresses |
|---|
Common combinations
- a character actress in supporting roles
- He was a character actress in supporting roles for most of her career.
- a veteran character actress
- The play starred a veteran character actress from the Royal Shakespeare Company.
- play a character actress
- In the movie, she plays a character actress struggling to find work.
Synonyms and how they differ
- supporting actress
- Focuses on the billing or award category, not on the type of roles; a character actress often plays supporting roles.
- comedienne
- A female comedian; some character actresses are also comediennes, but the terms are not interchangeable.
Opposites
Word family
- character actor noun
- The male equivalent.
- actress noun
- A female actor; many women now prefer 'actor'.
Commonly confused: character actress or character actor?
character actress vs character actor
This is the male form; use 'character actress' only for a woman.
Practice
What is a character actress?
Choose one answer.
A character actress specializes in distinctive or supporting roles, not romantic leads. Writing characters or directing are different jobs.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “character actress”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.