The Oscars is considered the most prestigious award an actor can win and is sought after by many actors in the film industry or who dream of breaking into the film industry. Vote for the Oscars is made by the members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, who are usually those who have distinguished themselves in the industry. The candidates are chosen by vote of the members of the Academy who are divided into 17 branches of their specialty category. Then when it comes time to pick a winner, all members vote and the nominee with the most in their category wins, except for Best Picture which is chosen by a ranked ballot by members.
Despite this, however, the Oscars aren’t necessarily something that determines talent. Many extremely talented and respected actors have never won an Oscar or have waited years for one despite their critically acclaimed performances (we’re talking about you, Leonardo DiCaprio). And in the past, the Oscars have been criticized for their lack of diversity demonstrated by their lack of nominees of color. In 2015 and 2016, in fact, it was revealed that 93% of Academy members were white and 76% were male, with the median age being 63. Since then, the Academy has promised to double the number of women and racialized members. Regardless of his opinion of the Oscars, it’s still considered a pinnacle of success for an actor to win just one – so what does it mean when you win multiple? These are the 9 actors who have won the most Oscars.
9/9 Jodie Foster — 2 Academy Awards for Best Actress
Jodie Foster is known as Clarice Starling in Thesilenceofthelambswhich won her the Oscar for Best Actress in 1991. A few years earlier, in 1989, she had won the Best Actress award for her role as Sarah Tobias, a waitress who is sexually assaulted by three men in a bar local, in the controversial film The accused. While the actress has just two Oscars under her belt, she’s the only LGBTQ+ actress to win two Oscars.
8/9 Denzel Washington — 2 Oscars (1 Best Actor, 1 Best Supporting Actor)
Denzel Washington is one of only two actors of color to have won two Oscars as an actor, and he was the first to do so. His first Oscar victory dates back to 1990 for best actor in a supporting role with the film Civil War. Glory. His second win would be in 2002 for Best Actor in training day. He is also one of four black male actors to win Best Actor and still holds the record for most Oscar-nominated black actor, with a total of ten nominations. He will remain the only actor of color to have won two Academy Awards in the acting category until Mahershala Ali in 2019.
7/9 Walter Brennan — 3 Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actor
Country singer and old Hollywood actor Walter Brenan received a total of four Academy Award nominations, all in the Best Supporting Actor category. His first Oscar was presented to him at the ninth Academy Awards for his role in the years 1936 Come and get it. He would also win a prize each for Kentucky and the western.
6/9 Daniel Day-Lewis — 3 Best Actor Oscars
Daniel Day Lewis, who is known for his extreme acting skills, earned himself a total of six Academy nominations and three wins, all in the Best Actor category. The first in 1990 for her role in my left foot, a biographical film based on the memoir of Christy Brown, an Irish artist and writer with cerebral palsy. Day-Lewis insisted on staying in character by not doing anything Brown couldn’t do, which meant the crew had to push him in a wheelchair and feed him. His second victory dates back to 2008 for there will be bloodand his last Oscar win was for his portrayal of the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, in lincoln. During filming he, again, never broke character and insisted on being called Mr. Lincoln. Day-Lewis retired from acting in 2017.
5/9 Ingrid Bergman — 3 Oscars (2 Best Actress, 1 Best Supporting Actress)
Ingrid Bergman was a Swedish actress who received eight Academy Award nominations between 1948 and 1978, including one for Best Supporting Actress, and won three. She won Best Actress for a 1944 psychological thriller gas lamp and his portrait of Anastasia Nikolaevna, the daughter of Russian Tsar Nicholas II, who was said to be the sole survivor of the execution of her entire family, in Anastasia. Bergman won Best Supporting Actress for her role in the adaptation of Agatha Christie’s crime novel, Murder on the Orient Express.
4/9 Jack Nicholson — 3 Best Actor Oscars
Jack Nicholson is widely known for his terrifying role in Stephen King’s film adaptation of the brilliant and as the Joker in Tim Burton’s 1989 Batman film. However, the actor has three Oscars under his belt and twelve nominations. His three wins were Best Actor for Flight over a cuckoo’s nest, Terms of endearmentand As good as it gets.
3/9 Meryl Streep – 3 Oscars (2 Best Actress, 1 Best Supporting Actress)
The iconic Meryl Streep has won over 200 awards, from Tonys to Grammys. She became known for her memorable roles in films like The devil wears Prada and oh mama. She currently holds the record for the most Oscar nominations with 21 nominations. For the moment, she only holds three Oscars: that of the best actress in a supporting role in Kramer V Kramerand two Best Actress awards for Sophia’s Choice and The iron woman where she plays the first female Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Margaret Thatcher.
2/9 Frances McDormand — 4 Oscars (3 best actress, 1 best film)
With four Oscars, Frances McDormand is the only actor on this list to have won an award outside of the acting categories. McDormand received seven nominations and won Best Actress for Fargo, Three billboards outside of Ebbing, Missouriand nomadland. Along with Best Actress, she also won Best Picture for her role as the producer of nomadland.
1/9 Katharine Hepburn — 4 Academy Awards for Best Actress
Named the greatest actress of classic Hollywood cinema by the American Film Institute, Catherine Hepburn has won the most Oscars in the acting categories of awards history. She received 12 nominations during her career, the first of which ended with the Best Actress award for morning glory in 1934. His next victory would not be until 1968 for Guess who’s coming to dinnerthen the following year for The Lion in Winter. Hepburn’s last nomination and victory would be for On the golden pond in 1982.
