The Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars is the Holy Grail of acting. The award is reserved exclusively for those who have distinguished themselves in the film industry for artistic and technical excellence. Oscar wins are hard to come by, and for those who have scored a win, it always feel like an extraordinary achievement
Actors who have won multiple Academy Awards are an exclusive club. This select club has just six members and they are considered some of the finest actors of their generation. Here are the six actors who have won the most multiple Academy Awards in acting categories
Katharine Hepburn
The most successful figure to date in the history of the Academy Awards is Katharine Hepburn, who won four Oscars throughout her acting career. Hepburn won an Oscar for ‘Best Actress’ for her performance in her first film ‘Morning Glory’, released in 1933. The additional three awards came much later in Hepburn’s 66-year movie career. The actress won Oscars for ‘Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner’ and ‘The Lion in Winter’ in the 1960s. Finally, she won one for ‘On Golden Pond’ at the 54th Academy Awards in 1982. In addition to her wins, Hepburn received multiple nominations for her work, including for ‘The African Queen’ where she starred alongside Humphrey Bogart. The actress worked with several well-known Hollywood stars over the years, including Burt Lancaster, Elizabeth Taylor and Cary Grant.
Daniel Day-Lewis
Three-time Oscar winner Daniel Day-Lewis is widely considered one of the preeminent actors of his generation. The 60-year-old star has played presidents, writers, and gang leaders in a career that has spanned four decades. English born Day-Lewis is one of the most respected actors of his generation. Day-Lewis is the only man who has won three Oscars for Best Actor. Those victories were for “My Left Foot” (1989), “There Will Be Blood” (2007), and “Lincoln” (2012). In fact he is one of only three men to win an acting Oscar three times.
Day-Lewis is also one of only six actors to win three or more Oscars in any competitive acting category, alongside Hepburn, Meryl Streep, Jack Nicholson, Ingrid Bergman, and Walter Brennan.
Meryl Streep
Meryl Streep is widely considered to be one of the greats in acting. greats. Streep has been a consistent Oscar contender since 1979, when she gained her first nomination for her performance in “The Deer Hunter”.
Throughout her career, she’s has won three Oscars: best supporting actress once, for Kramer vs. Kramer in 1980, and best actress twice, for Sophie’s Choice in 1988 and The Iron Lady in 2012.
She holds the record for the most Academy Award nominations of any actor, having been nominated twenty-one times—seventeen for Best Actress, and four for Best Supporting Actress—since the first nomination in 1978.
Jack Nicholson
While Jack Nicholson has won two best actor and one best supporting actor awards, the celebrated thespian holds the record for the most-nominated male actor with 12 nominations, in films like Chinatown (1974), Terms of Endearment (1983) and As Good as it Gets (1998).
John Joseph Nicholson’s acting career has spanned more than 60 years. He is known for having played a wide range of starring or supporting roles, including comedy, romance, and darkly comic portrayals of anti-heroes and villainous characters.
As of 2020, Jack Nicholson’s net worth is $400 Million dollars, and he is one of the richest actors in the world.
Ingrid Bergman
This superstar actress is one of cinema’s biggest star. She has appeared in classics such as Casablanca (1942) and Notorious (1946). Bergman has won three Academy Awards for acting – two for Best Actress, and one for Best Supporting Actress. She ranks tied for second place in terms of Oscars won, with Walter Brennan (all three for Best Supporting Actor), Jack Nicholson (two for Best Actor, and one for Best Supporting Actor), Meryl Streep (two for Best Actress, and one for Best Supporting Actress), and Daniel Day-Lewis (all three for Best Actor). Katharine Hepburn still holds the highest record, with four Oscars (all four for Best Actress).
Walter Brennan
Walter Brennan is best known for portraying western sidekicks and lovable or irascible old codgers. He is the only performer to win three Academy Awards, all for best supporting actor.
He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performances in Come and Get It (1936), Kentucky (1938), and The Westerner (1940), making him one of only three male actors to win three Academy Awards.
Did you notice that this list doesn’t contain any black or African Actor? What a shame!
Hopefully, in the nearest future as change is being executed, talented black actors will be accorded their deserved recognition.