Who has won the most Oscars?
Coming around once a year ever since 1929, the Academy Awards are a display of Hollywood glitz and glamour, celebrating the pure greatness of the silver screen in the year just gone. Piling the very best filmmakers and actors into one building for one night only, the Oscars has played host to the likes of Quentin Tarantino, Martin Scorsese, Brad Pitt, Tom Hanks, Michael Caine, John Wayne and Ron Howard over the years.
With 24 categories, although this hasn’t always been the case, the Oscars is a long night of speeches, red-carpet walks, and media-trained smiles, with the best categories of the bunch often coming towards the end of the night. Indeed, such awards as ‘Best Leading Actor’, ‘Best Leading Actress’, and, of course, ‘Best Picture’ regularly overshadow the smaller awards, where editors, cinematographers and sound designers are rightfully showered with rare praise.
Having been around for almost an entire century, the Oscars have become an institution in and of themselves at this point, providing the barometer for what was and what wasn’t good over the course of the previous year. Often, it is heart-wrenching dramas that are praised above anything else, but over the years, success has come the way of comedies, horrors and even sci-fi films too.
But who are the most successful stars to have ever graced the glitzy stage of the Academy Awards? Explore the actors and producers who have won the most Oscars below.
Who has won the most Oscars?
The iconic producer and master of animation, Walt Disney, has won far more Oscars than anyone else, picking up a record 22 Academy Awards from 1932 to 1969. His first came in the form of an honorary Oscar, winning for the mere creation of Mickey Mouse. Meanwhile, his final award was posthumous, winning ‘Best Short Cartoon’ for Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day.
Speaking at the Oscars following his ‘Best Short Subject, Cartoons’ win in 1942 for the film Lend a Paw, Disney stated: “I find myself speechless. I knew that there was something here tonight; this is way beyond my expectation. I’ve got a lot of thanking to do. First, for the little short subject award which we’re very proud of. My musicians for their music — it’s going to be hard to get along with them now, I know”.
Continuing, he added, “Fantasia, in a way I feel like I should have a medal for bravery or something. We all make our mistakes, I know, but it was an honest mistake. But this, this is too much”.
Which woman has won the most Oscars?
Edith Head, the iconic costume designer, won eight Oscars throughout her career, making her the woman with the most Academy Awards of all time. Whilst many believe the most successful Oscar-winning woman to be someone like Meryl Streep or Audrey Hepburn, Head dominated the awards from the 1950s to the late 1970s, first winning in 1950 for The Heiress before scooping her last statuette in 1974 for The Sting.
Nominated a total of 35 times, Head took home an award on eight occasions, including for such other classic movies as All About Eve, Roman Holiday and The Facts of Life. Working with some of the best actors in the history of Hollywood, Head had the chance to collaborate with the likes of James Stewart, John Wayne, Robert Redford, Paul Newman, Bette Davis and Marilyn Monroe.
“Just imagine, dressing the two handsomest men in the world, and then getting this. I simply couldn’t be more happy, more grateful, thank you all so much,” she elegantly announced whilst collecting her eighth Academy Award in 1974.
Which actor has won the most Oscars?
As well as being the actor with the most Oscars for ‘Best Leading Actress’, Katherine Hepburn is the actor who has won the highest number of Oscars in general. Winning four over the course of her career, which spanned from 1932 to 1994, Hepburn earned one more than a handful of other iconic Hollywood stars.
First winning all the way back in 1934 for Morning Glory, Hepburn went on to receive 11 further nominations, winning her final trio in 1968, 1969 and 1982 for Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, The Lion in Winter and On Golden Pond, respectively. Although she has won the most actors out of anybody, she’s not the one with the most Oscar nominations, with Meryl Streep taking that prize thanks to her 21 nods.
Who has won the most Oscars for ‘Best Actress’?
Although Katherine Hepburn currently holds the record for the most number of ‘Best Leading Actress’ Oscars, it doesn’t seem impossible that she won’t be caught with Frances McDormand, having won three times and still going strong. Meanwhile, while Streep holds the record for the most nominations in the category, being given the nod on seventeen occasions in total, she’s only won the award twice, in 1983 for Sophie’s Choice and 2012 for The Iron Lady. Historically, she didn’t share the best relationship with Hepburn.
Taking to the stage in 1983, Hepburn stated: “Oh, boy! No matter how much you try to imagine what this is like, it’s just so incredibly thrilling, right down to your toes. I have a lot of people to thank and I’m going to be one of those people that tries to mention a lot of names because I know just two seconds ago my mother and father went completely berserk and I’d like to give some other mothers and fathers that opportunity”.
Who has won the most Oscars for ‘Best Actor’?
The retired British actor Daniel Day-Lewis has won the most number of ‘Best Leading Actor’ Oscars, taking home the Academy Award on three occasions. An iconic method actor, Day-Lewis has been incredibly influential in the growth of the acting practice in the 21st century, taking home his first Oscar back in 1990 for My Left Foot before receiving his third in 2013 for Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln.
Although he is the clear winner in this category, there are other actors who come close to his record. The man behind Jack Torrance in the Stanley Kubrick horror The Shining, Jack Nicholson, for example, won three Oscars throughout his career, with two coming for ‘Best Leading Actor’ while one was for ‘Best Supporting Actor’. Meanwhile, the likes of Spencer Tracy and Tom Hanks both have two ‘Best Leading Actor’ Oscars to their name.
“That’s the closest I’ll ever come to getting a knighthood,” he said after he won in 2008 for There Will Be Blood, “so thank you. My deepest thanks to the members of the Academy for whacking me with the handsomest bludgeon in town”.
Which movie has won the most Oscars?
Three movies hold the record for having claimed the most Oscars: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Titanic and Ben-Hur, with each film having won 11 awards a piece, including a trio of ‘Best Picture’ successes. Close behind is the musical West Side Story, which won ten awards following its release in 1961.
First to hit the 11 mark was the historical epic Ben-Hur in 1959, a tale directed by William Wyler that follows the story of a Jewish prince who is betrayed and sent into slavery by a Roman friend in 1st-century Jerusalem. Earning the coveted ‘Best Picture’ award, Ben-Hur also walked away cradling Oscars for ‘Best Director’, ‘Best Actor’, ‘Best Cinematography’, ‘Best Costume Design’ and more.
Next to show up to the 11-party was James Cameron’s box office epic Titanic, a film which also happened to become the very first $1billion dollar movie in 1997. It followed up its financial success with industry adoration, earning Academy Awards for ‘Best Picture’, ’Best Director’, ‘Best Cinematography’, ‘Best Editing’, ‘Best Original Score’, ‘Best Original Song’, while sticking Cameron at the pinnacle of Hollywood greatness.
The latest movie to hit 11 was Peter Jackson’s fantasy masterpiece The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, which hit cinemas in 2003. A visual treat unlike anything the world had seen before, the blockbuster hit won awards for ‘Best Picture’, ‘Best Director’ and ‘Best Adapted Screenplay’ before sweeping up in the technical categories and becoming one of the most influential movies of the 21st century.
Which director has won the most Oscars?
Two filmmakers share the prize for having the most Oscars, Billy Wilder and John Ford, who each won six throughout their respective careers.
Master of the western genre, John Ford won six Academy Awards throughout his career. The movies that allowed him to claim the record were 1935’s The Informer, 1940’s The Grapes of Wrath, 1941’s How Green Was My Valley and 1952’s The Quiet Man, which he all won ‘Best Director’ for. Elsewhere, he also won ‘Best Picture’ Oscars for The Quiet Man and How Green Was My Valley.
Meanwhile, Wilder was nominated for a remarkable 22 Oscars over the course of his career, winning on six occasions for just three movies: The Lost Weekend, Sunset Blvd and The Apartment. For The Lost Weekend, he earned Oscars for ‘Best Original Screenplay’ and ‘Best Director’, and for Sunset Blvd, he claimed just one award for ‘Best Original Screenplay’.
Later, Wilder earned three Oscars for The Apartment, winning ‘Best Picture’, ‘Best Director’ and ‘Best Original Screenplay’.
Which British movie has won the most Oscars?
The British movie with the most Oscars is the 1996 war film The English Patient, which won nine at the Academy Awards. Directed by Anthony Minghella and starring Ralph Fiennes, Juliette Binoche, Kristin Scott Thomas, Willem Dafoe and Colin Firth in a star-studded cast, The English Patient is one of the award show’s most successful movies.
The romantic war movie, set during the closing stages of WWII, tells the story of a young nurse who looks after a man who was badly burned in a plane crash while we are shown flashbacks to his past and former lover. Very much the golden child of the Oscars in 1996, the film swept the awards despite being challenged by the Coen brothers’ Fargo and Mike Leigh’s Secrets & Lies.
As well as claiming the award for ‘Best Picture’, The English Patient also walked away with awards for ‘Best Director’, ‘Best Cinematography’ and ‘Best Sound’.
Why is it called the Oscars?
The most solid theory behind the name of the Oscars is that it was created by the Hollywood columnist Sidney Skoklsky, who coined the phrase in 1934.
Speaking about the reason for the word ‘Oscar’ to describe the Academy Awards, he wrote in his 1975 book Don’t Get Me Wrong – I Love Hollywood, “It was my first Academy Awards night when I gave the gold statuette a name. I wasn’t trying to make it legitimate…The snobbery of that particular Academy Award annoyed me. I wanted to make the gold statuette human”.
Supposedly naming it after 20th-century vaudeville shows, the writer explained: “The comedians having fun with the orchestra leader in the pit would say, ‘Will you have a cigar, Oscar?’ The orchestra leader reached for it; the comedians backed away, making a comical remark. The audience laughed at Oscar”.
Elsewhere, however, it’s suggested that none other than Bette Davis named the award, having nicknamed the state after her first husband, Harmon Oscar Nelson, stating that the statuettes shared a resemblance to him.
When are the Oscars?
The Oscars are held annually in March and, as of 2002, are hosted at the Dolby Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard.
Previously to 2002, the Oscars have been hosted at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard, the Marquis Theater and Los Angeles County Music Center (1969). Live on ABC in America and on Sky in the United Kingdom, the Oscars have been televised ever since 1953, when The Greatest Show on Earth, directed by Cecil B. DeMille, won the award for ‘Best Picture’.
When are the Oscars 2024?
The 96th Academy Awards will take place on March 10th, 2024, at 11:00 pm GMT and 15:00 PST. As always, the ceremony will be hosted at the Dolby Theatre and will be broadcast on ABC in America and Sky in the United Kingdom.
This year, the telecast for the awards show will begin one hour earlier than usual, allowing those who are watching it overseas to get a slightly earlier night and will be hosted by Jimmy Kimmell, who will have held the position four times after 2024.
