Not Meryl Streep or Frances McDormand: This is the actress with the most Academy Awards
Ahead of the 97th Academy Awards ceremony, we look back at some of the big screen’s most famous actresses and winners of the Oscar statue.

One of the most high-profile awards at the Oscars is that of Best Actress. Over time, several actresses have been lucky enough to secure the highest prize from the Academy on a more than one occasion. We look back at past winners revealing a veritable ‘who’s who’ in the history of cinema.
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The actress with most Best Actress Oscars is Katharine Hepburn, who scooped her awards in 1933, 1967, 1968, and 1981 for ‘Morning Glory’, ‘Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner’, ‘The Lion in Winter’, and ‘On Golden Pond’.
When you mostly skate to get the attention of young mega babes and it actually works: Katherine Hepburn, 1967 edition pic.twitter.com/T9dHYyFpDu
— Alana Massey (@AlanaMassey) July 23, 2019
Frances McDormand has secured three Best Actress awards while also being nominated just three times; a 100 percent success rate.
Happy birthday to three time Oscar winner Frances McDormand! 💌 pic.twitter.com/RIUGyg5i87
— Letterboxd (@letterboxd) June 23, 2022
A total of 14 actresses have won the award more than once, being Emma Stone the last adition to this group after winning last year for her rool on ‘Poor Things’. The following is a list of actresses with at least two wins:
- Ingrid Bergman
- Bette Davis
- Sally Field
- Jane Fonda
- Jodie Foster
- Olivia de Havilland
- Glenda Jackson
- Vivien Leigh
- Luise Rainer
- Meryl Streep
- Hilary Swank
- Elizabeth Taylor
- Emma Stone
Other actresses record at the Oscars
Meryl Streep has been nominated most times for the Oscars with 17, the American actress holding the record in this category.
Jessica Lange and Meryl Streep with their Oscar haul in 1983. pic.twitter.com/aUt5Ufp0JY
— All The Right Movies (@ATRightMovies) February 12, 2024
The youngest winner was Marlee Matlin as a 21-year-old, thanks to her performance in the movie ‘Children of a Lesser God’in 1986. The oldest is Jessica Tandy at age 80 for ‘Driving Miss Daisy’ in 1990.
Halle Berry in 2001 became the first, and so far only, African-American actress to win the Best Actress Oscar for her performance in ‘Monster’s Ball’.
She is an Actress and began her career as a model. In 2001, Berry became the only Black Woman 👩🏽 to win the Academy Award for Best Actress🏆, and the 1st Woman of Color… She is none other than “Halle Berry🌹🌟”🎥🎞🫡 pic.twitter.com/RCi6Ui8P6O
— MONEE MADE (@MoneeMade) February 24, 2024
Sophia Loren was the first winner in a non-English language film in 1961.
Sophia Loren in Vittorio De Sica's harrowing World War II drama 'Two Women.'
— The Academy (@TheAcademy) September 20, 2022
Loren's devastating performance as widowed shopkeeper Cesira earned her the Best Actress Oscar - making her the first actor to win an Academy Award for a foreign-language role. pic.twitter.com/tiqCb4cADf
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