These 15 Women Have the Most Wins in Oscar History

For almost a century, the Academy Awards, also known as the Oscars, have celebrated and honored some of the greatest artists in film of our time. Even though the future looks bright for women and minorities, it is no secret that film endures as a male-dominated industry and that there is a lack of recognition of many female actors and artists’ talents. Despite these circumstances, exceptionally talented women such as Edith Head, Katharine Hepburn, and Meryl Streep have never failed to put their abilities to practice and were deservedly critically acclaimed for it in return.

Although there has been a positive shift in how the Academy recognizes and honors female artists, a bigger, more poignant change is yet to come. Especially considering that the world is filled with bold, fierce, and talented women waiting for an opportunity to showcase their skills and abilities. But who is the actress with the most Oscars? From Cate Blanchett to Ingrid Bergman, these are the talented women who have won the most Academy Awards so far.

15

Bette Davis

2 Oscars

Image via Warner Bros.

Bette Davis reigns as one of the greatest actresses of all time and is known for her poised and unsympathetic roles in classics such as Now, Voyager, The Letter, and All About Eve. Davis initially established herself as a prominent stage star before transitioning into movies, becoming one of Warner Bros.’s most popular and highest-paid stars during the Golden Age of Hollywood.

Throughout Davis’ extensive career, she earned ten Academy Award nominations, making her the first person in Oscar history to ever receive that many nominations for acting. In 1935, Davis won her first Academy Award in the Best Actress category for her performance in Dangerous. Her luck followed her into the following year, earning her second Oscar for Best Actress for Jezebel, which many consider to be one of her greatest performances.

14

Vivien Leigh

2 Oscars

Image via MGM

British actress Vivien Leigh took America by storm with her iconic performance as the headstrong Southern Belle, Scarlet O’Hara, in the cinematic classic, Gone With the Wind, which earned Leigh her first Oscar for Best Actress. Even though Leigh had a very successful film career, she had an even more impressive career on the stage and was a remarkable talent with incredible range.

After claiming her first Oscar, Leigh starred in the film adaptation of Tennessee William‘s hit Broadway play, A Streetcar Named Desire, alongside Marlon Brando, Karl Malden, and Kim Hunter. A Streetcar Named Desire received a staggering number of Oscar nominations, including Best Picture and Best Picture, and earned Leigh her second Oscar for Best Actress for her remarkable performance.

13

Hilary Swank

2 Oscars

Image via Warner Bros. Pictures

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Hilary Swank first gained audiences’ attention with her incredible performance in the 1999 biopic, Boys Don’t Cry, which earned her her first Academy Award for Best Actress. After the immense success of Boys Don’t Cry, Swank became one of the most popular actresses during the 2000s and appeared in an array of various roles, demonstrating her talent and ability to move into vastly different characters.

In 2007, Swank starred in Clint Eastwood‘s epic sports drama, Millon Dollar Baby, as an ambitious boxer, Maggie Fitzgerald, who is trained by a former trainer who is played by Eastwood. The film was a triumph for both Swank and Eastwood, earning praise from audiences and critics across the globe. Million Dollar Baby received several Oscar nominations and went on to win Swank her second Oscar for Best Actress.

12

Jessica Lange

2 Oscars

Image via Columbia Pictures

During the 1980s, Jessica Lange was one of the most popular leading ladies on the silver screen and gained a reputation for taking on a series of complex and intriguing roles. Lange made her feature debut in the 1976 remake King Kong and was an instant blonde bombshell, earning a Golden Globe nomination for Best New Star of the Year.

Several years later, Lange starred as a charming soap opera star in the romantic comedy, Tootsie, with Dustin Hoffman playing her character’s love interest…well, sort of. Lange won the hearts of critics and audiences with her sensational performance in Tootsie, which earned the actress her first Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. By the 1990s, Lange was a household name and earned her second Oscar for Best Actress for her compelling performance as a bipolar housewife in the 1994 film Blue Sky.

11

Olivia de Havilland

2 Oscars

Image via Warner Bros.

Olivia de Havilland was a widely successful leading lady of classic Hollywood who was initially known for her heart-of-gold love interests and girl-next-door roles before moving into more dramatic and sinister roles that made her a unique screen star. De Havilland first gained cinematic notoriety for her performance as the kind Melanie Hamilton in Gone With the Wind, but her career took off thanks to her series of films with Errol Flynn, including Captain Blood and The Adventures of Robin Hood.

In 1946, de Havilland starred in the romantic drama, To Each His Own, which went on to earn the actress her first Academy Award for Best Actress. Not too long after her first win, she starred in another classic romantic drama, The Heiress, with Montgomery Clift and Miriam Hopkins. While the film itself was a major success, de Havilland’s performance was the heart and soul of the film and rightfully earned her a second Academy Award for Best Actress.

10

Cate Blanchett

2 Oscars

Image via Miramax Films

Cate Blanchett is an Australian actor who has made a name for herself because of her roles in many award-winning films, including The Talented Mr. Ripley, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Don’t Look Up, and more. Though she received her first Oscar nomination for her role as Queen Elizabeth I in 1998’s Elizabeth, she did not win an Oscar until 2005 for her supporting role in The Aviator. Blanchett won her second Oscar for Best Actress in the Woody Allen comedy-drama film Blue Jasmine in 2014.

Blanchett has also received Oscar nominations for Notes on a Scandal, I’m Not There, Elizabeth: The Golden Age, and Carol. Her role in the film Tár has also highlighted Blanchett’s astounding talents and garnered her much acclaim. No doubt, with Cate Blanchett’s iconic filmography, the Australian star is at the top of her game.

9

Jane Fonda

2 Oscars

Image via Warner Bros.

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For over six decades, actor and humanitarian Jane Fonda has starred in many prominent movies and television shows, such as Barefoot in the Park, 9 to 5, Barbarella, and Grace and Frankie. Fonda has undoubtedly established herself as one of the most acclaimed actors of her generation. Throughout her career, she has received an impressive seven Oscar nominations for the films They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? (it earned the most Oscar noms without one for Best Picture), Klute, Julia, Coming Home, The China Syndrome, On Golden Pond, and The Morning After. Out of the seven nominations, Fonda has won two Oscars for Klute and Coming Home in the Best Actress category.

Before acting, Jane Fonda was also a fashion model and even made two appearances on the cover of Vogue. Furthermore, she is an outspoken activist for the Black Lives Matter movement, the environmental crisis, and, most famously, for opposing and wanting to end the Vietnam War, which stirred controversy in the United States.

8

Maggie Smith

2 Oscars

Image via 20th Century Studios

Having appeared in over sixty films, seventy plays, and winning two Academy Awards, a Tony Award, and four Primetime Emmy Awards, Dame Maggie Smith has achieved the “Triple Crown of Acting” title. She is hailed as one of Britain’s most prolific actors and was made a Dame by Queen Elizabeth II in 1990 for her contribution to the arts. Dame Smith’s first Oscar win came in 1969 for her breakout role as an eccentric teacher in an all-girls school in Edinburgh for the film The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie.

Although she would go on to star in many more notable films after the film, it took another nine years before the star’s second Oscar win for California Suite in 1978, where she, ironically, played the role of a British actor, Diane Barrie, who was a first-time nominee for the Academy Award for Best Actress.

7

Elizabeth Taylor

2 Oscars

Image via MGM

Since Elizabeth Taylor’s acting career began in the 1940s, she quickly rose to fame as one of the most prominent faces of Hollywood by the 1950s and became the world’s highest-paid movie star by the 1960s. It turned out that the 60s would become the greatest decade of her career as Taylor went on to win two Oscars for her roles in Butterfield 8 in 1961 and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? in 1967.

Besides acting, Taylor was also an advocate for humanitarian causes, with a particular focus on HIV/AIDS. In 1993, she was also awarded the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award of AMPAS (Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences), an award given to an individual for “outstanding contributions to humanitarian causes” for her commitment to fighting against HIV/AIDS. To this day, Elizabeth Taylor remains a beloved name in the film industry, and understandably so.

6

Thelma Schoonmaker

3 Oscars

Image via United Artists

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Although actors and directors get the most credit and recognition for their work, a film would not succeed without the involvement of other departments, such as costume design, lighting, cinematography, production assistants, editors, and more. And as such, they should be celebrated and recognized for the work they have achieved.

The male-dominated film industry means that women have to fight harder to earn a position against other men. On this occasion, female film editor Thelma Schoonmaker did. The gifted Schoonmaker has won three out of eight Best Film Editing Oscar nominations for Raging Bull, The Aviator, and The Departed, the most nods for the category in the Academy’s history. Not only that, only a handful of female editors have been nominated for the “Best Film Editing” category, let alone win an Oscar.