The Gordana Kosanović Actress:in Award was established in 1986 by the Friends of the Theater an der Ruhr. It is intended to commemorate the outstanding actress and co-founder of Theater an der Ruhr, who died at an early age of 33. It is awarded to an actor or actress for exceptional performance in the theater. Previous award winners include Ulrich Wildgruber, Angela Winkler, Kristof Van Boven and Michael Maertens.

Since the 2020/21 season, the Friends of the Theater an der Ruhr have awarded the prize annually as part of the Mülheim Theater Days. It honors actors and actresses of the guest ensembles who stand out for their special performances. During the 48th Mülheim Theatre Days, Vidina Popov was honored with the Gordana Kosanović Acting Award 2023 for her performance in Sivan Ben Yishai's "Bühnenbeschimpfung (Liebe ich es nicht mehr oder liebe ich es zu sehr?)". Currently, Last year, Julia Wieninger won with her role in Elfriede Jelinek's "Lärm. Blind Seeing. Blinde sehen!" in the world premiere of the Deutsches SchauSpielHaus Hamburg won the prize.

In 2024, the prize goes to Dimitrij Schaad for his solo in the world premiere of Falk Richter's “The Silence”. For 2025 it will be Barbara Nüsse.

The prize winner receives € 3,500.
The selection was made by a member of the “Stücke” selection committee.