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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Lifestyle
Emma Loffhagen and William Mata

The Oscars: Oldest, youngest, and most-decorated winners in history

The 96th Oscars had everything from Ryan Gosling belting out I’m Just Ken alongside Slash to John Cena streaking - and amazingly - the whole thing was done and dusted in a concise fashion.

There were also some awards handed out, of course, and it was a historic night for Wes Anderson, who was finally recognised by the Academy, but we are still awaiting a first Native American Best Actress winner as Lily Gladstone lost out to Emma Stone.

The record books will state that Oppenheimer won seven awards - including Best Picture. But what does this all mean in terms of history?

In the wake of the 2024 ceremony, revise some Oscar trivia.

Which actors have won the most Oscars?

Katharine Hepburn has won the most Oscars (Reuters)

Katharine Hepburn leads the way as the actor with the most Oscars. She has won four in total, all for Best Actress, for her roles in Morning Glory (1934), Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner (1968), The Lion In Winter (1969), and On Golden Pond (1982).

Meryl Streep, Jack Nicholson, Daniel Day-Lewis, Ingrid Bergman, Frances McDormand, and Walter Brennan are all tied in second place, with three Oscar wins each.

Which films have won the most Oscars?

James Cameron’s Titanic has won 11 Oscars (Allstar/Cinetext / 20th C entury Fox)

Three films are tied for the top spot with 11 Academy Awards each. In 1959, religious epic Ben-Hur won 11 of its 12 nominations, including Best Picture, and Best Director for William Wyler.

James Cameron’s Titanic matched the record in 1997, winning 11 awards from a total of 14 nominations. It was then joined by 2003’s The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King, which won all 11 awards it was nominated for.

Three films are also tied for the most nominations, with 14 Oscar nods: All About Eve (1950), Titanic (1997), and La La Land (2016).

Who is the top Oscar winner in history?

American animator and producer Walt Disney with one of his creations, Mickey Mouse (General Photographic Agency / Getty Images)

With 22 wins from 59 nominations, Walt Disney is the most decorated Oscar winner in history. 

In one night, in 1954, Disney took home the Oscars for Best Documentary Feature for The Living Desert, Best Documentary Short Subject for The Alaskan Eskimo, Best Short Subject (cartoon) for Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom, and Best Short Subject (two-reel) for Bear Country.

Who has received the most Oscar nominations?

Legendary composer John Williams has the most Oscar nominations of any living person, with 52 nods (Carlo Allegri / Getty Images for LAPA)

Walt Disney also tops this category, with 59 nominations.

However, legendary composer John Williams has the most Oscar nominations of any living person, with 52 nods. Williams has won five times, for his work on Fiddler on the Roof, Jaws, Star Wars, E.T. the Extra Terrestrial, and Schindler’s List.

He is also the only person to ever be nominated for an Oscar in seven different decades. He has been nominated at least once a decade since his first nomination for 1968’s Valley of the Dolls.

Streep is the most-nominated actress in Oscar history, with a whopping 21 to her name.

Martin Scorsese is the most nominated living director in Oscars history. Overall, he has been nominated nine times for Raging Bull, The Last Temptation of Christ, Goodfellas, Gangs of New York, The Aviator, The Departed, Hugo, The Wolf of Wall Street, and The Irishman. He has only won once, for The Departed.

In 2024, he added to his tally with Killers of the Flower Moon being up for Best Picture. The nomination also made history for Lily Gladstone becoming the first Native American to be put up for a top honour while, at 81, Scorsese became the oldest Best Director nominee.

Who are the oldest and youngest Oscar winners?

James Ivory took home an Oscar at age 89 in 2018 (Chris Pizzello / Invision / AP)

The oldest winner in any category is James Ivory, who was 89 when he took home the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay in 2018. Ivory won for the Call Me By Your Name screenplay, based on the novel of the same name by André Aciman.

The youngest Oscar winner is Shirley Temple, who was just six when she won the Academy Juvenile Award in 1935, a category that no longer exists. Other winners include Mickey Rooney, Judy Garland, Bobby Driscoll, and Margaret O’Brien.

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