actress

Etymology

From actor + -ess. Probably formed independently of Middle French actrice.

noun

1. A female who performs on the stage or in films.
   "I'm an actress -- actor, as we have to say these days." 2010, Peter Corris, Torn Apart, Allen and Unwin, page 88
   Court documents appear to show that Ian Edmondson, a senior News of the World journalist, had authorised Mr Mulcaire to hack phones belonging to Sienna Miller, an actress. 27 Jan 2011, “Not going quietly”, in The Economist
2. (now rare) A female doer or "actor" (in a general sense).
   My mental anguish, and the dreadful scenes in which I had been an actress, advanced the period of my labour. 1796, Matthew Lewis, The Monk, Folio Society, published 1985, page 290