A female who performs on the stage or in films.
"The famous actress received a standing ovation after her final performance on stage."
In plain English: An actress is a woman who performs roles on stage, screen, or television as part of her job.
"The famous actress won an award for her role in the new movie."
Usage: Use "actress" specifically to refer to a woman performing in theater, film, or television, while reserving "actor" as the gender-neutral term for all performers regardless of sex. Avoid using it when describing male roles or non-performance contexts where other nouns are more appropriate.
The word actress was created by adding the female suffix "-ess" to actor, likely without direct influence from the similar term used in Middle French. This formation explicitly marked a shift from the gender-neutral or male-specific root "actor" to denote a woman performing on stage.