Countless women have graced the silver screen over the decades, and some stand out for the number of times they have been nominated for an Oscar. The list of defining, iconic actresses is endless, but some performances truly outshine others, earning high praise from audiences, critics, and peers. Earning one Oscar nomination is already an impressive achievement, but some of the best actresses of all time have accumulated multiple nominations during their careers.
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Not only that, some of them have won multiple Oscars, and others have accumulated Academy Award nominations in the double digits. Some have even made Academy Awards history by breaking and setting records. From Kate Winslet to Meryl Streep, the actresses with the most Oscar nominations have made their mark on the industry.
11 Kate Winslet
Nominated for an Academy Award Seven Times, Won Once
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Kate Winslet has an impressive several nominations under her belt and one win for The Reader (2008). This is Kate Winslet’s first Oscar win, and it is for the role of Hannah Schmitz, a bus conductor on trial for Nazi war crimes. This would be the film’s only win, but it received nominations for Best Motion Picture of the Year, Best Achievement in Directing, Best Achievement in Cinematography, and Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay.
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Her other nominations include her supporting roles in Steve Jobs (2016), Iris (2001), and Sense and Sensibility (1995). Winslet also received nominations for her leading roles in Little Children (2006), Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004), and Titanic (1997). She would team up again with Titanic director James Cameron in the Oscar-nominated film Avatar: The Way of Water (2022), despite rumors of a feud during Titanic.
10 Greer Garson
Nominated for an Academy Award Seven Times, Won Once
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Greer Garson ties with Kate Winslet when it comes to the number of nominations she has received from The Academy. All of her nominations are in the leading actress category, and she was nominated for five years in a row for the films Blossoms in the Dust (1941), Mrs. Miniver (1942), Madame Curie (1943), Mrs. Parkington (1944), The Valley of Decisions (1945).
All of her nominations are in the leading actress category, and she was nominated for five years in a row.
Her first and only win would be for Mrs. Miniver, where she played the titular character. The film also won Oscars for Best Picture, Best Actress in a Supporting Role, Best Director, Best Cinematography (Black-and-White), and Best Screenplay. Despite this being her only win, Garson did pull off an amazing Oscar feat. It’s been 79 years since any actor has received five consecutive Oscar nominations. Before Greer achieved this, Bette Davis held that record, and they are now tied.
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9 Jane Fonda
Nominated for an Academy Award Seven Times, Won Twice
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In recent years, Jane Fonda had an entertaining movie comeback, but she has been in the industry since 1960. One of her most memorable characters is Barbarella from 1968, which will brought back to the big screen with Sydney Sweeney as Barbarella. Fonda also has seven Oscar nominations under her belt for her acting.
One nomination was for On Golden Pond (1981), which she acted in alongside Katharine Hepburn, who won an Oscar for her performance in that film. Fonda also won Oscars for Klute (1971) and Coming Home (1978). Along with her numerous nominations and two wins, Fonda frequently acts alongside Lily Tomlin in series like Grace and Frankie and films like 80 For Brady.
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8 Ingrid Bergman
Nominated for an Academy Award Seven Times, Won Three Times
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Ingrid Bergman is a massive Hollywood starlet from the Golden Age of Hollywood. Perhaps her most iconic role is as Ilsa Lund in Casablanca (1942), an iconic film still in high regard to this day. She also collaborated with director Alfred Hitchcock in films like Spellbound (1945), Notorious (1946), and Under Capricorn (1949), making her one of the definitive actresses to embrace the femme fatale archetype.
As for her Oscar nominations, a majority of them are in the leading actress category, but she did win for her supporting role in Murder on the Orient Express (1975), a film adaptation of the Agatha Christie novel. Here, she acted alongside icons like Psycho’s Anthony Perkins and James Bond’s Sean Connery. The film was remade in 2017, but no one would reprise Bergman’s character of Greta Ohlsson.
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7 Glenn Close
Nominated for an Academy Award Eight Times
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Glenn Close’s first nomination was in 1983 for her first theatrical feature film, The World According to Garp (1982), where she plays the mother of Robin Williams’ character. From there, she would receive two more nominations back to back – one for The Big Chill (1983) and one for The Natural (1984), a sports film based on the novel of the same name by Bernard Malamud.
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Three years later, Close would perform one of her most iconic roles as Alex Forrest in the thriller Fatal Attraction. Her character is a stalker who plots to upend the life of her lover, Dan (Michael Douglas). She’s not afraid to take things to the extreme, even attempting to murder Dan’s wife. Close’s dedication to the role is on full display here, and it’s no wonder she would receive several nominations for her acting down the line.
6 Geraldine Page
Nominated for an Academy Award Eight Times, Won Once
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Geraldine Page’s relationship with the Academy goes back decades, with her first nomination being for Hondo (1953), her second theatrical feature film. The movie received a second nomination for Best Writing, Motion Picture Story. She worked consistently through the fifties on television series like Omnibus (1955), Matinee Theatre (1955), The United States Steel Hour (1955-1957), and Sunday Showcase (1959).
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Along with these shows, she has a rich theater history and has four Tony nominations, and three of those nominations were for leading performances. It wouldn’t be until 1961 that Page would receive her next nomination for Summer Smoke, but the ’60s through the ’80s would be massive years for her.
Page was nominated for leading actress in four other films and supporting actress in three other films. Only one of those nominations would cement Page’s first and only win, and this is for The Trip to Bountiful (1985), where she plays an elderly woman taking a trip down memory lane. It is also one of her last performances, as she died in 1987.
5 Judi Dench
Nominated for an Academy Award Eight Times, Won Once
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While Judi Dench has been acting since 1959, she wouldn’t receive her first acting nomination at the Oscars until 1998 for her leading role in Mrs. Brown (1997), where she portrays Queen Victoria. While she would be portraying royalty, Mrs. Brown focuses on a low point in Queen Victoria’s life, after the death of Prince Albert, her husband. This would also not be the only time Dench would be nominated for her portrayal of a queen.
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Her only Oscar win is for Shakespeare in Love (1998), for her supporting role as Queen Elizabeth, one of the roles that defined Dench’s career. What is remarkable is Dench is on-screen for about eight minutes (via Mental Floss). While this is her only win, Dench is a beloved actress whose work goes well beyond the typical Oscar fair. For instance, she has portrayed M in the James Bond films since Casino Royale (2006), even voicing her character in video games.
4 Cate Blanchett
Nominated for an Academy Award Eight Times, Won Twice
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With 100 acting credits under her belt, it’s no surprise Cate Blanchett is on this list. She has a total of eight nominations, including two nominations in the same year in different categories. In 2008, she was nominated in the lead actress category for Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007) and the supporting actress category for I’m Not There (2007).
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Before this, though, Blanchett was already an established actress with critical and commercial successes in her resumé, including the The Lord of the Rings films. This would not be the only genre film Blanchett would be a part of, as she played Hela in Thor: Ragnarok (2017) and was the lead in Borderlands (2024), which received a record-low Rotten Tomatoes score.
While Borderlands was a disappointment, that same year, her film Rumours was received well critically. Plus, no poorly-received film can take away Blanchett’s well-deserved nominations, as well as her wins for supporting actress in The Aviator (2004) and lead actress for Blue Jasmine (2013).
3 Bette Davis
Nominated for an Academy Award Eleven Times, Won Twice
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Bette Davis is the first woman on this list to hit double digits when it comes to her Oscar nominations, and as mentioned above, she is the first actor to be nominated five consecutive years at The Oscars. Her first nomination for Of Human Bondage (1935) is an unusual case, as it was a write-in. Despite the praise for her performance, Davis didn’t receive an official nomination.
The Academy received immense backlash over this, so they made an exception that year to allow voters to write in their picks (via Vulture). With this rule change, a campaign for Davis commenced. This amendment to the rules would be short-lived, as it was revoked after the following year.
The following year, Davis received a legit nomination for Dangerous (1936), which she won. She also won for Jezebel (1939) three years later, which would be her last win. However, she would accumulate more nominations over the years, with her last one being for Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962), a movie that defined Bette Davis’ career.
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2 Katharine Hepburn
Nominated for an Academy Award Twelve Times, Won Four Times
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Katharine Hepburn has the most wins compared to the others on this list. Hepburn won four times for Morning Glory (1933), Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (1967), The Lion in Winter (1968), and On Golden Pond (1981). What stands out about many of Hepburn’s roles, whether serious or comedic, is how independent and outspoken her characters are.
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For The Lion in Winter, Hepburn tied with Barbra Streisand for lead actress. This was one of six times that’s happened at the Oscars. Along with that, this was the first time an actor won three awards in the lead performance category, and Daniel Day-Lewis would be the second actor to achieve this. However, Hepburn has him beat for most awards. She also has Frances McDormand, Meryl Streep, Jack Nicholson, Ingrid Bergman, and Walter Brennan beat, as she is the only actor to have won four Oscars total.
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1 Meryl Streep
Nominated for an Academy Award Twenty One Times, Won Three Times
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Meryl Streep has the most nominations of any actress at the Oscars. Her first nomination was for The Deer Hunter (1978), her second theatrical feature, but her credits would grow from there, as would her nominations. Two of her nominations include film adaptations of stage productions, but the two could not be more different.
Streep won for leading actress in
The Iron Lady
(2011) and
Sophie’s Choice
(1982), both inspired by true stories to varying degrees.
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Where Into the Woods (2014) is a comedic musical inspired by classic fairy tales, Doubt (2008) is a straightforward drama about a priest (Philip Seymour Hoffman) who becomes the target of Sister Aloysius’ (Streep) scrutiny and eventual investigation. As for her wins, Streep won for leading actress in The Iron Lady (2011) and Sophie’s Choice (1982), both inspired by true stories to varying degrees. Her first win, though, was for her supporting role in Kramer vs. Kramer (1979), a movie that defined Meryl Streep’s career.
With so many Oscar nominations and roles under her belt, it’s no wonder Streep is considered one of the greatest performers of all time. From cult classics like Death Becomes Her, to catchy musicals like The Prom and Mamma Mia, to television darlings like Big Little Lies and Only Murders in the Building, there is almost nothing Streep cannot do.
Sources: Vulture