ALISON BOSHOFF: Is this the last year of the Best Actress award? trends now

How much longer will there be a 'best actor' and 'best actress' at awards shows?

Oscars sources confirm this week that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is consulting on the topic — with a view to ditching the 'gendered' categories.

The races for Best Actor and Actress are among the most followed in both old and new media, and the Academy will be hesitant to tamper with that, against the background of consistently falling TV viewership for the awards ceremony.

Sources at the Academy say they don't want to be on the wrong side of 'important discussions around representation and inclusivity' in the industry — particularly not after the damaging 'Oscars so white' scandal.

They haven't yet got around to canvassing the rank and file, who are largely old, white and male, but they can expect some rebellion from that quarter.

They also need to find a way to accommodate the small but growing band of non-binary or trans actors such as Emma Corrin, Elliot Page and Yasmin Finney.

Any change would be hugely significant to the entertainment industry, and the Academy would be viewed as the leader globally.

The move comes after the LA Times described the gendered Oscar awards as a 'sexist Hollywood relic' in December.

The Independent Spirit Awards, handed out last weekend, honored the 'Lead Actor' rather than having male and female winners.

Some believe that the gender neutral movement disadvantages female actors — although it was Michelle Yeoh who triumphed at the Spirit awards.

However at the gender neutral Brit awards this year there was dismay when it was revealed that there were no female nominees for Best Artist.

Meanwhile, top brass at Bafta have been grappling with the 'gender neutral' hot potato for more than a year — and I'm told a decision is still a long way off.

It's likely that they will be handing out 'Best Actor' and 'Best Actress' masks in 2024 and 2025, such is the (lack of) speed at which they are mulling the issue. (Bafta's 7,500 members have yet to be consulted.)

The organisation has a new CEO, Jane Millichip, who arrived from Sky in October. Her predecessor Amanda Berry said last February that the issue was 'under review'.

And under Millichip, the reviewing continues.

Earlier this year the director Sir Sam Mendes said he believed change was 'inevitable'.

The Brit music awards went gender neutral two years ago; and the Bifas (the British Independent Film Awards) joined them this year.

The Olivier Awards — which honour theatrical performances in the UK — started consulting on the issue in January. And the Tony Awards — the theatre version of the Oscars — are expected to announce gender neutral acting awards by next year.

Last month, Justin David Sullivan — a trans non-binary singer and actor — decided to abstain from the event.

In a statement Sullivan, star of the musical & Juliet, said: 'I was told that I had to choose [the category in which I felt comfortable], and in that process, I struggled a lot. I felt like I couldn't choose.'

The New York Times reports that Billions actor Asia Kate Dillon, who identifies as non-binary, did the same thing privately, when considered for their turn as Malcolm in Macbeth.

A spokesman for the Tonys said: 'We are working thoughtfully to ensure that no member of our community feels excluded, on the basis of gender identity, in future seasons.'

Whatever happens, Michelle is already having a Wicked year! 

She's currently in Los Angeles, waiting to see if her amazing career surge will be crowned with an Oscar on Sunday.

But the next stop on Michelle Yeoh's itinerary after the Hollywood awards show is actually London.

Yeoh, 60, has been quietly living in a £1,500-a-night suite at a luxury hotel in London since the start of the year, while filming a movie version of the musical Wicked.

She's due to be busy on set at Elstree — alongside Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo and Jeff Goldblum — until at least July, because Universal are making the film in two feature-length parts. That's an awful lot of room service!

Friends say Yeoh has been coping with the separation from her long-term partner Jean Todt, the multi-millionaire motorsports boss, by hopping on a plane to visit him at their home in Paris most weekends (and when she can't, he returns the favour).

She has also been working with a vocal coach to polish her performance as Madame Morrible, as she wasn't sure she could sing when she took the role.

But Yeoh is the mistress of reinvention. She started as a dancer, leaving Malaysia to live in London as a teen, before a spinal injury put paid to her prima ballerina dreams.

She moved into action movies; and when her old spinal issues resurfaced, looked for more dramatic roles.

With her passion for couture, diamonds — and spicy margaritas — Yeoh has been the star of this awards season; and her friendship with co-star Jamie Lee Curtis seems heart-warmingly genuine in the land of the air-kiss. 

She bought Curtis a jade ring from Tiffany after the actress admired one which she was wearing and the two of them have been delighted by each other's successes.