Oscar Records: Acting, Films and Firsts
The Academy Awards have been handed out since 1929. These tables collect the records that matter most to actors and film fans, checked against the Academy's database and updated after the 98th ceremony in March 2026.
Grace Kelly and Marlon Brando, Oscars 1955: Los Angeles Times, CC BY 4.0
Acting records
| Record | Holder | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Most acting wins | Katharine Hepburn | 4, all Best Actress (1933, 1967, 1968, 1981) |
| Most Best Actor wins | Daniel Day-Lewis | 3: My Left Foot, There Will Be Blood, Lincoln |
| Most acting nominations | Meryl Streep | 21 nominations, 3 wins |
| Most acting nominations for a man | Jack Nicholson | 12 nominations, 3 wins |
| Most Best Supporting Actor wins | Walter Brennan | 3, in 1936, 1938 and 1940 |
| Back-to-back Best Actor | Spencer Tracy; Tom Hanks | Tracy 1937 and 1938; Hanks 1993 and 1994 |
| Back-to-back Best Actress | Luise Rainer; Katharine Hepburn | Rainer 1936 and 1937; Hepburn 1967 and 1968 |
| Youngest competitive winner | Tatum O'Neal | Aged 10, Best Supporting Actress for Paper Moon (1973) |
| Oldest acting winner | Anthony Hopkins | Aged 83, Best Actor for The Father (2020) |
| Most nominated Black actor | Denzel Washington | 9 acting nominations, 2 wins |
| Most nominated Black actress | Viola Davis | 4 nominations, 1 win |
Film records
| Record | Films | Number |
|---|---|---|
| Most wins | Ben-Hur (1959), Titanic (1997), The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) | 11 each |
| Most nominations | Sinners (2025) | 16, set at the 98th Academy Awards |
| Previous nomination record | All About Eve (1950), Titanic (1997), La La Land (2016) | 14 each |
| Clean sweep of the big five | It Happened One Night, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, The Silence of the Lambs | Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, Screenplay |
| Best Picture, 98th ceremony | One Battle After Another | 6 wins in total |
Historic firsts
- 1929
First ceremony
Janet Gaynor and Emil Jannings become the first Best Actress and Best Actor winners.
- 1940
Hattie McDaniel
First Black performer to win an Oscar, Best Supporting Actress for Gone with the Wind.
- 1962
Sophia Loren
First acting Oscar for a performance not in English, Two Women.
- 1964
Sidney Poitier
First Black winner of Best Actor, for Lilies of the Field.
- 2002
Halle Berry
First Black winner of Best Actress, for Monster's Ball.
- 2020
Parasite
First film not in English to win Best Picture.
- 2023
Michelle Yeoh
First Asian winner of Best Actress, for Everything Everywhere All at Once.
- 2026
Best Casting
The 98th Academy Awards present a new category for casting directors for the first time.
Dates in the firsts list are ceremony years. Records change every year; we update this page after each ceremony.
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- Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences: Oscars history
- Wikipedia: List of Academy Award records
- Academy Awards Database
- Wikipedia: 98th Academy Awards
Facts on this page were checked against these sources (updated Oct 12, 2026). Spot an error? Email hello@fireempireshop.com.