Actors Who Have Won the Most Oscars

The Oscars are considered the most significant and prestigious of all awards in the entertainment industry. The AMPAS presents the awards – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences – every year and recognizes the achievements of nominees and the winners through an internal assessment of the Academy’s voting members.

The golden statuettes were first presented way back in 1929 by Douglas Fairbanks in a dinner that he privately hosted at The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. This later became the first Academy Awards. Before the invention of television, station stations broadcasted the event. Today, however, the Oscar Award Ceremony is broadcast live globally. It is among the four oldest major American entertainment awards for television, theatre, and music. The other three would be The Emmys, The Tonys, and The Grammys.

Since its inception in 1929, over 3,000 Oscars have been handed to winners in various categories. Here are some actors who have won the most Oscars ever!

Katharine Hepburn

She won her first Oscar for her performance in her first film, Morning Glory, which came out in 1933. Moreover, she won second and third Oscars in the 1960s for Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner and The Lion in Winter.

She won her fourth and final Oscar Award in 1981 for the film On Golden Pond at the 54th Academy Awards. Katharine Hepburn received a total of 12 nominations at the Oscars. All awards she received were for the Best Actress category.  No other actor or actress has received this honor in the history of the awards.

Meryl Streep

In 1979 Meryl Streep won the ‘Best Supporting Actress’ award for her role in Kramer vs. Kramer. She then in 1982 bagged the ‘Best Actress Award’ for Sophie’s Choice. In 2011 she won again for The Iron Lady. In total, Meryl Streep received 21 nominations and won 3 awards.

Jack Nicholson

Jack’s first win for ‘Best Actor’ was for his film One Flew Ove the Cuckoo’s Nest in 1975. He again received the Oscar for best actor in 1997 for the movie As Good as it Gets. He is also the recipient of best supporting actor for his role in Terms of Endearment in 1983.

Frances McDormand

Frances McDormand is an actor as well as a film producer. She received three Academy Awards for acting. One for Fargo in 1996, next for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri in 2017, and the third for her performance in Nomadland in 2020. She also received a fourth Academy Award for ‘Best Picture’ for Nomadland. This makes her the first to win an Academy Award for both producing and performing in the same film.

Anthony Hopkins

The actor has won two Best Actor Awards. The first was for The Silence of the Lambs in 1991 and the other for The Father in 2020.

Tom Hanks

Tom Hanks won his first for his outclass performance in Philadelphia in 1993 then for Forrest Gump in 1994. Both his awards were for the ‘Best Actor’ category.

Apart from Tom Hanks and Anthony Hopkins, many other actors have also won two Academy Awards. Some prominent names include Betty Davis, Marlon Brando, Spencer Tracy, Jane Fonda, Dustin Hoffman, Elizabeth Taylor, and Jodie Foster.