From Kobe Bryant to Bruce Springsteen: Hollywood outsiders who won an Oscar

The golden statuettes are the most prestigious awards in the world of cinema, and some figures outside the industry have managed to win them.

MIKE BLAKE

Óscar Pino Miguel Corrales

Update: Feb 26th, 2025 06:25 EST

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has been responsible for nearly a century for awarding the most prestigious honors in the film industry. At every Academy Awards ceremony, the most recognizable faces and biggest stars of the screen come together, many of whom are among the nominees vying for a statuette for their work in the year’s best films.

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The world of cinema is vast and diverse, welcoming anyone who wants to embark on the adventure of creating a feature film, short film, documentary, or any other genre variation. As a result, there have been occasions when the Oscars have been awarded to world-renowned figures for professions unrelated to the big screen. Each year, musicians receive awards for Best Original Song or Best Original Score, including some of the most iconic artists in history. Athletes and writers have also appeared on this unique list of winners of the highly coveted golden statuettes.

Oscar Winners Who Weren’t Film Industry Professionals

Kobe Bryant

The legendary basketball player, considered by many as one of the greatest in the history of the sport and a symbol of competitive mentality, tragically passed away in 2020. He ventured into filmmaking by producing an animated short film directed by Glen Keane. Dear Basketball, created and written by Kobe, deeply moved audiences and won the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film at the 2018 Academy Awards.

Bruce Springsteen

“The Boss,” one of the greatest rock musicians of all time, has become a global icon who, after a long career, continues to rock stages and dominate radio stations and music festivals worldwide. In addition to creating songs that will forever be remembered as anthems of the genre, the artist won an Academy Award in 1994 for his song Streets of Philadelphia, featured in the film Philadelphia.

The Beatles

The band considered the greatest rock band of all time by Rolling Stone magazine went beyond music, earning recognition at the most prestigious film awards. They won the Oscar for Best Original Score in 1971—not for a single song, but for their outstanding work composing the music for Let It Be, a film by Michael Lindsay-Hogg.

Jacques Costeau

This French naval officer rose to fame for his extensive research on the ocean. Aboard the Calypso, Cousteau brought marine life to audiences through his documentary series The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau. With the same determination he had at sea, he ventured into filmmaking, directing The Silent World, which won the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature in 1957. It wasn’t his only golden statuette—he later won the Oscar for Best Short Subject Documentary for The Golden Fish (1960) and another Best Documentary Feature Oscar for World Without Sun (1964).

Mario Puzo

The Godfather is one of the greatest films in cinematic history, and naturally, the writer of the novel it was based on received recognition at the most prestigious film awards. This Italian-American author won two Oscars: one for Best Adapted Screenplay in 1972, alongside director Francis Ford Coppola, for The Godfather, and again in 1974 for The Godfather Part II.

Adele

The successful British singer, one of the most recognizable voices in contemporary music, known for delivering stunning performances and dominating both sales and awards, also knows what it’s like to receive an Academy Award. Thanks to her song Skyfall, co-written with Paul Epworth, she won the Oscar for Best Original Song in 2013 for the James Bond film of the same name, directed by Sam Mendes.

Saul Bass

This American graphic designer had strong ties to the film industry. While he designed logos for major U.S. brands, his most celebrated work lies in his iconic movie posters, including those for Psycho, Spartacus, Cape Fear, and Casino. However, his Oscar win wasn’t for these legendary designs—it came in 1969 when he directed Why Man Creates, which won the Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject). He was later nominated twice for Best Live Action Short Film, though he didn’t win.

George Bernard Shaw

This Irish writer and playwright was one of the most influential figures in Western theater, culture, and politics from the late 19th to the early 20th century. His vast body of work, spanning more than 60 titles, earned him major accolades, including the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1925. Thirteen years later, in 1938, he won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for his involvement in the adaptation of his novel Pygmalion, one of the most significant works of his career.

Pygmalion also won Best Picture and Best Actor (Leslie Howard as Professor Henry Higgins), but the story’s Oscar success didn’t end there - it was adapted into a stage musical in 1956 by Alan Jay Lerner, which became the 1964 film My Fair Lady. Starring Audrey Hepburn as Eliza Doolittle it won eight Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director and once again Best Actor, this time for Rex Harrison as Professor Henry Higgins. Controversially Hepburn was not even nominated for Best Actress.

Bernard Shaw became the first person to win both a Nobel Prize and an Oscar, though not the last, which brings us to...

Bob Dylan

The Minnesota-born artist is considered by many music fans to be one of the greatest, if not the greatest, lyricists in music history. The poetic depth and quality of his lyrics not only secured him an incredible musical career but also led to him being awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2016, a category previously reserved for novelists and playwrights. Before that, he had already won an Academy Award for Best Original Song in 2001 for Things Have Changed, featured in the film Wonder Boys.

Al Gore

This American politician served as Vice President of the United States under Bill Clinton from 1993 to 2001. Known for his environmental activism, he was the Democratic nominee in the 2000 U.S. presidential election, where he won the popular vote but lost the presidency to George W. Bush due to the Electoral College system. Beyond politics, Gore has received major honors. He was co-recipient of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize along with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). He is also linked to the Academy Awards, as in 2007, he accepted the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature for An Inconvenient Truth. Though the award officially went to director Davis Guggenheim, Gore, who was the writer and central figure of the film, joined Guggenheim on stage to accept the award.

Annie Lenox

Cecil Beaton

This London-born photographer and painter gained worldwide recognition for his work in fashion photography and as a war correspondent. He also made his mark in the film industry, excelling in art direction and costume design, which led him to win three Academy Awards. He won Best Costume Design for Gigi at the 1959 Oscars, an award he won again in 1965 for My Fair Lady, along with the Oscar for Best Art Direction.