25 Oldest Best Supporting Actress Nominees of all time
Wednesday, April 14, 2021 at 10:32AM by Nathaniel R
Maggie Smith (Gosford Park), Ethel Barrymore (Spiral Staircase) and Rosemary Harris (Tom & Viv)... all just a bit TOO YOUNG for this list!
We recently published an "Oldest Best Actor Nominees of all time" list since TWO men this year (Gary Oldman and Sir Anthony Hopkins) landed in the mix. (Related lists "Youngest Best Actor" and "Youngest Best Actress"). Given that unusual two-for-one accomplishment we figured we needed to update the correlative Oldest Best Supporting Actress list where the exact same thing has happened. We first published this list only three months ago but then the focus was on the possibility that Ellen Burstyn would make history as the oldest nominee ever in that category. But Pieces of a Woman proved polarizing when it "opened" and was ignored outside of Vanessa Kirby's Best Actress bid.
So an update to the list. Which elder women have been looked at fondly by Oscar in the Best Supporting Actress category? Supporting (for both men and women) skews older than Lead since Hollywood prefers midtwenties to mid fortysomethings for protagonists. Herewith the women who broke through the wall of ingenues, girlfriends, wives, and mothers, to score Oscar nominations in Best Supporting Actress category later in life...
25 OLDEST NOMINEES IN BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
stars indicate an Oscar-winning role
Just outside this "oldest" list: Jacki Weaver in Silver Linings Playbook, Ethel Barrymore in None but the Lonely Heart ★ , and Meryl Streep in Into the Woods were all 65 when they were nominated for those films, Judi Dench and Sally Field, were both nominated at 66 for Chocolat and Lincoln respectively. Maggie Smith in Gosford Park, Lilia Skala in Lilies of the Field , Rosemary Harris in Tom & Viv and Ethel Barrymore (again) in The Spiral Staircase were all 67 years of age. But our list begins at 68 years of age.
25 ETHEL BARRYMORE at 68 for The Paradine Case (1947)
All four of Ethel Barrymore's nominations arrived in the span of just six years (she was their everything in this category in the 1940s). This was the third of them and it's also notable as one of the shortest Oscar performances to ever be nominated in any category; she's onscreen for about four minutes. [Discussed on the Supporting Actress Smackdown]
24 FAY BAINTER at 68 in The Children's Hour (1961)
This amazing actress had previously won the Oscar for Jezebel (1938). Twenty-three years later she returned for her final nomination for a film which brought her out of big screen retirement (though she'd continued working on the stage and in television during the 1950s). It was her final role and she died in 1968 at the age of 74.
23 RUTH GORDON at 69 for Inside Daisy Clover (1965)
Her first three Oscar nominations were in the Screenplay categories but after she began focusing on acting (which she'd only done very sporadically before this role) in her later years the Academy got even more excited about her. [Discussed on the Supporting Actress Smackdown]
22 HELEN HAYES at 70 for Airport (1970) ★
Hayes is the only EGOT winner on this list but that's not her only awards-claim to fame. She still holds the record for the performer with the longest stretch inbetween Oscar wins. She won for The Sin of Madelon Claudet (1931) and then again for Airport (1970) thirty-nine years later. The longest stretch between nominations record is held by Henry Fonda who was honored for The Grapes of Wrath (1940) and did not return until On Golden Pond (1981). [Discussed on the Supporting Actress Smackdown]
21 ETHEL BARRYMORE at 70 for Pinky (1949)
It's funny that 50% of Barrymore's nominations came for performances where she barely ever leaves her bed and the dramatics happen around her or are contingent upon her death (see also The Spiral Staircase). This was the last of her four nearly consecutive nominations. She made nine more films after Pinky and passed away in 1959 at the age of 79.
20 KATHY BATES at 71 for Richard Jewell (2019)
After a long Oscar absence post-About Schmidt, Bates finally returned playing the sad mom of a man accused of a deadly bombing. Next up for Kathy is the ex-con drama Home (directed by the German actress Franka Potente) and after that she's supposedly making a comedy with both Dame Maggie Smith and The Lovely Laura Linney. PLEASE LET THAT PROJECT HAPPEN!
19 (DAME) MARGARET RUTHERFORD at 71 for The VIPS (1963) ★
This is a strange Oscar win but 1963 is one of the strangest lineups ever in the Supporting Actress category given that it's the only time three women from the same film competed. Though you'll see plentiful "Dames" on this list, Margaret Rutherford did not receive the Dame title until after her Oscar-winning role and the other women listed were already Dames when these nominations arrived. [Discussed at the Supporting Actress Smackdown]
18 RUTH GORDON at 72 for Rosemary's Baby (1968) ★
It's one of the greatest supporting performances of all time so thankfully Oscar didn't let their anti-horror bias get in the way. [Discussed on the Supporting Actress Smackdown]
17 LAUREN BACALL at 72 for The Mirror Has Two Faces (1996)
A surprise Oscar night loss for this movie legend with her only nomination. But Oscar would make it up to her with an Honorary Oscar, fourteen years later. She died in 2014 at the age of 89.
16 DAME MAY WHITTY at 72 for Night Must Fall (1937)
More on her later in this same list.
15 YOUN YUH-JUNG at 73 for Minari (2020)
We couldn't have imagined that she would become the frontrunner for the win this season when we first saw the beautiful Minari. Aside from her brilliant and endearing performance as the grandmother who "smells like Korea" everything was working against her even snagging the nomination. Oscar historically does not embrace non-English language performances in supporting categories (they're kinder to those in lead) and Oscar has been epically stingy with Asian actors even passing them over when they're in buzzy Best Picture winners (Slumdog Millionaire, The Last Emperor, Parasite received 0 acting nominations between them). But here we are and after her SAG and BAFTA wins she could well become the second Asian and the second oldest woman to ever win this category! We'll find out later this month. DISCUSSING TOMORROW NIGHT AT THE SMACKDOWN
14 GLENN CLOSE at 73 for Hillbilly Elegy (2020)
She turned 74 shortly after receiving her eighth nomination. Only five women in history have ever received 8 or more Oscar nods. Should she lose on Oscar night again she'll tie Peter O'Toole's record of most nominations without ever winning. She's currently in second place at 7-0 having beaten Deborah Kerr and Thelma Ritter's 6-0 record when she lost for The Wife (2018). DISCUSSING TOMORROW NIGHT AT THE SMACKDOWN.
13 PEGGY WOOD at 74 for The Sound of Music (1965)
She turned 74 just before the nominations arrived. [Discussed on the Supporting Actress Smackdown]
12 JOSEPHINE HULL at 74 for Harvey (1950) ★
She held the record of "oldest Supporting Actress winner" for over three decades. She won this statue for reprising her popular stage role. A handful of years earlier she'd done the stage to film transfer with another big comedy hit, Arsenic and Old Lace.
11 DAME EDITH EVANS at 76 for Tom Jones (1963)
The first of her two appearances on this list. [Discussed at the Supporting Actress Smackdown]
10 GLADYS COOPER at 76 for My Fair Lady (1964)
Her screen career stretched from silent films in 1917 through her death in 1971. This was her last major role and a "comeback" with Oscar since she hadn't been nominated in 21 years (The Song of Bernadette, 1943). She only made two more films after My Fair Lady but was working in television up until her death. [Discussed on the Supporting Actress Smackdown]
09 DAME EDITH EVANS at 77 for The Chalk Garden (1964)
Dame Evans was like a Maggie Smith of her day (albeit less famous), popular whenever playing haughty elderly snobs. After two quick Oscar nominations in supporting in her seventies she was nominated for lead actress in her eighties for The Whisperers (1968), her greatest performance. She died in 1976. [Discussed on the Supporting Actress Smackdown]
08 DAME PEGGY ASHCROFT at 77 for A Passage to India (1984) ★
She's still the oldest winner of all time in this particular category. She's now held the record longer than her predecessor Josephine Hull in Harvey (1950) did. Will anyone ever take this mantle from her? Ashcroft only appeared in 12 movies in her life stretching from 1933's The Wandering Jew through Madame Sousatzka in 1988. She died in 1991. [Discussed on the Supporting Actress Smackdown]
07 DAME MAY WHITTY at 77 for Mrs Miniver (1942)
Some people find the rose competition subplot in Mrs Miniver a distraction. We call it 'bliss'. This was Whitty's second Oscar nomination and she kept working in cinema until her death in 1948.
06 ANN SOTHERN at 79 for The Whales of August (1987)
Oscar did her wrong by ignoring her rich work in Lady in a Cage but after a fine career in film which began in the silent era she received one of those "career achievement" style nominations for this, her final film, which briefly brought her out of retirement. She died in 2001 at the age of 92. [Discussed on the Supporting Actress Smackdown]
05 EVA LE GALLIENNE at 82 for Ressurection (1980)
She was the very last Oscar nominee to be born in the 19th century! She only made three films in her long life, and Resurrection was the last of them. She was a legend of the stage though, famous there by the age of 21. In fact, during the Oscar season for Ressurection, she was busy headlining a Broadway play "To Grandmother's House We Go" which brought her a Tony nomination for Best Actress (she'd previously won a Special Tony honoring her career in 1964). She died in 1991. [Discussed on the Supporting Actress Smackdown]
04 JESSICA TANDY at 82 for Fried Green Tomatoes (1991)
This beloved actress followed up her Oscar win for Driving Miss Daisy (1989) with one more Oscar honor. Call it a victory lap. She was very busy in the last years of her life, making three more films and one telefilm after Tomatoes before her death in 1994. [Discussed on the Supporting Actress Smackdown]
03 JUNE SQUIBB at 84 for Nebraska (2013)
This character actress has been well employed since her Oscar-nominated breakout. Since Nebraska which was barely nine years ago, she's made over three dozen films or tv shows. She's not slowing down in her nineties either. She recently co-starred in the Apple TV+ film Palmer and next she'll be seen in two ensemble comedies: the stage-to-film adaptation The Humans (2021) and something called Shoot the Rooster with a pretty fun cast list.
02 RUBY DEE at 85 for American Gangster (2007)
Oscar didn't honor her for her most famous big screen showcase A Raisin in the Sun (1961) or her strong supporting work in Edge of the City (1957) but they grabbed the chance for a 'career achievement' style nomination for her very brief but stinging role in this crime drama opposite Denzel Washington. She amassed an impressive 100+ credits in film and television. (About 10 of those came after this honor and her death in 2014.)
01 GLORIA STUART at 87 for Titanic (1997)
What an epic send-off for this list ... though it wasn't quite for Gloria who was able to make three more pictures after Titanic before her death in 2010 at the age of... 100! The centerian's big screen career stretched from the early talkies with six films in 1932 alone, her debut year (by far the most famous being James Whale's The Old Dark House) through 2004's Land of Plenty though there was a huge gap in the middle. She didn't make any films or TV shows from 1947 through 1975! So she disappeared from screens from the age of 37 through the age of 65... which is, if you think about it, a kind of darkly comic visualization of Hollywood's problem with women. They love both the ingenues and the grandmothers but in between they tend to be all over the place and confused about their affections! P.S. We'll be discussing 1997 this year in the final season of the Supporting Actress Smackdown.
What do you make of this list dear readers?
Reader Comments (43)
* throws priceless necklace into the Atlantic *
Jessica Tandy was superb in The Birds. Her phone conversation scene is for the ages.
Ruby Dee's late in life nomination and awards season is something that always makes me so happy. She was too young to get the type of supporting roles that Oscar nominated Black actresses for in the 1950s and 1960s, and too old for the types of roles they honored actresses for in the 1970s. But, seeing her rally, for a film whose buzz was dropping quickly, was impressive and her SAG moment is one of the best, outside of Meryl Streep wearing pants.
Very excited to hear about a Laura Linney + Maggie Smith + Kathy Bates film. I'd love to see Maggie make it onto this list.
I love all these ladies. I believe in seniority and I still can't believe that Burstyn was left out like she's going to be around forever.
Having said that I must confess that I'm not familiar at all with Youn's filmography. What movies should I watch? What would you say is her American/Brit equivalent?
As usual a great reaI
Love Squibb's rudeness in Nebraska
Loved Ruby Dee's slap
Eva La Galliene's goodbye
Bates press conference scene
Bacall's picture monologue
Gordon is The best not just one of the best.
Bainter should have won Supporting Actress
Rutherford was a real presence
Peggy -- the media keeps saying "the meryl streep of Korea" but i think that's reallly lazy on their part . Youn Yuh-Jung was not a consistent present in Korean cinema the way Streep was for American cinema, she made only three movies as a young star (after her breakout award-winning debut in WOMAN OF FIRE when she was 25) and then was absent for almsot all of the next 30 years (!!!) after which she was an elderly actress doing great work consistently on film and TV. So I think maybe she's closer to a Jessica Tandy or a Judi Dench where the reason people love and revere them is almost entirely their senior citizen years.
I haven't seen many of her films but she is fucking fantastic in THE HOUSEMAID (2010)
Oooo, yes! My actresssexuality is tingling! I’d also be interested in seeing a 25 Youngest for this category, since this is where Oscar likes to honor young thespians.
I wonder who might join this list in the coming years a la Ruby Dee, Gloria Stuart, or Lauren Bacall -- never-nominated actresses getting their first nod when 70+ years old. Jamie Lee Curtis? Meg Ryan? Robin Wright?
Nathaniel - Thank you so much for keeping the Supporting Actress Smackdown alive. I only recently discovered THE CHILDREN'S HOUR because of it. Odd movie for a number of reasons, but Fay Bainter was indeed excellent.
It's fun to scroll past the famous names, and think back on their performances. As Ruth Gordon said, "It's very encouraging".
I saw Lady in a Cage during the pandemic, and Ann Sothern was so great in it. For a B movie, the acting was sensational and the sense of danger and terror are heightened by committed performances from her and de Havilland.
And with regards to Glenn Close, I want her to get an Oscar, but hopefully she will have a chance for a better performance. I'm just dying for a "Follies" movie with her in it.
I think it shows just how things change from year to year when I think that in 1962 for me it's a contest between Patty Duke (16) and Mary Badham (10), and then the very next year it's a choice between 2 septuagenarians Margaret Rutherford and Edith Evans. I guess Peggy Ashcroft emerges as the oldest supporting actress I'd've voted for. Josephine Hull would be #2. That means Glenn Close would be #3. I'm leaning towards her right now, but I still have to see Colman and Bacalova. and both are recommended by too many reliable sources to assume anything.
Nathaniel - I wonder how much that tack is sort of a default label for foreign legends who show up at Oscar every once in a while. I remember when Huppert was doing interviews for Elle and she got a couple "French Meryl Streep" lines thrown at her. Surely there are better ways to summarize a career!
Poor Eva Le Gallienne. Nobody ever spells her name correctly...
That scene in American Gangster <3
Maybe Rita Moreno joins this list next year
Thanks! That's what I was I thinking. I keep reading "legend" but she has enormous gaps in her IMDB filmography.
but now
If she's a Tandy, should we root against her?
Thanks for the great piece, Nathaniel.
My pleasant demeanor begins to frazzle when I read comments such as, "I don't want Glenn Close to win for this film. Next time it's hers." What were the chances that there would be a next time after the Academy snubbed Close for THE WIFE? There was even an article on this very site titled "Glenn Close Will Never Win A Competitive Oscar". And, here we are. Close is nominated again, and people are saying, "next time". It's sad that she won't be rewarded for her performance. The woman is 74 year-old. How many more "next times" does an actress of her age & stature actually have left? I have zero respect for the voting membership of the Academy.
My early congrats to Youn Yuh-jung. At lease Close will be losing to someone who deserves it as much as she does.
Good for June Squibb -- 91 and two films in post-production and one just announced.
PEGGY SUE --- nooo. she's awesome.
WGC -- yeah the "there will be plenty of other chances" is so often famous last words with ANY oscar nominee. It's statistically easier to score a second nomination than a first but it's not like history isn't filled with thousands of people across 92 years with just 1 nomination. This is why you should reward people when they deserve it and not wait for career oscars... which invariably trip more deserving people up and then the cycle continues. I blame all of this on Jodie Foster. lol since there is no way on god's green earth that Glenn shouldn't have won for Dangerous Liaisons. What's more this "make up" effect also results in some people getting ridiculous amounts of mediocre nomination (Glenn included) because Oscar feels guilty. Amy Adams and Glenn Close both deserve to be Oscar winners but do either of them deserve every nomination they've received? Nope.
MRW -- fixed. just left out one "n" ;) -- Signed, NNathaniel
WGC and Nathaniel - I would be happy if Close wins a career Oscar, but we always hope that the award goes for a deserving performance of theirs. Then again, "Oscar winner" is such a general term that most people don't associate it with what film they actually won for. But I'm also of the opinion that 8 Oscar nominations is an award in of itself. That speaks more about the strength of their career and talent than someone who is nominated once and wins.
Yes, it was an odd win for a sort of odd film, but I just love Margaret Rutherford so I'm glad she got an Oscar at some point.
As to Lauren Bacall, is there a reason she never attracted awards traction in the 1940s and 1950s? She starred in some classics (although maybe they weren't seen that way then?) so it seems a bit odd.
Nathaniel you are so right about Glenn winning Dangerous Liasons -- and it wouldn't even create a paradox since Foster would win her oscar for Silence of the Lambs anyway. She also deserved to win for Fatal Attraction, but you think I'm taking Cher's oscar away? HELL NO!
Wowowow never knew JUNE SQUIBB was 84 in Nebraska. Love her!
@ Scott C:
Bacall was always seen more as a great star and a great beauty than a great actress. All the more ironic that she won two Tonys (two noms, two wins), while neither Davis (0 noms) nor Hepburn (two noms, 0 wins, 1 loss to Bacall) could pull that off.
Raul: "I'm also of the opinion that 8 Oscar nominations is an award in of itself. That speaks more about the strength of their career and talent than someone who is nominated once and wins."
There is definitely something to be said for that, god point.
Just rewatched Rosemary's Baby the other night... so disturbing. Ruth Gordon is so fantastic, and Mia Farrow should've received her Oscar nod for it! Sad that she never got her due with the Academy, especially when there were plenty of opportunities to do so. Same with Marilyn Monroe...definitely deserved a nod.
Anyway, this was a fun list. Thanks :)
P.S. I never want to hear about Kathy Bates in Richard Jewell ever again! She's a sweet lady, but it reminds me of the choice they made instead of JLo in Hustlers. ...
Kathy Bates is playing Benny Safdie's mother in a James L Brooks produced adaptation of a Judy Blume classic. Hopefully he and his brother decide to write for her since they have used most of the cast of Dolores Claiborne already.
Philip H.- Agreed on Mia Farrow deserving a nomination for Rosemary’s Baby. She should honestly have been nominated 3 or 4 times, so the fact that she’s NEVER been nominated has to put her in contention for best actress to never be nominated for an Oscar. Funny that Robert Evans convinced her to take the role in Rosemary’s Baby despite her then-husband Frank Sinatra’s objection to it by promising her she’d get an Oscar nomination for it, and that never happened for her.
What a great list! It's rare to see a list with a Tandy nominated performance that has somebody on her level (Gordon in RB, maybe a Dame May Whitty if you're feeling generous)! I'll risk the ire of bullying Pfans to preach the truth this time. Can't wait to see the inevitable Oldest Nominated performances in Actress and Supporting Actress when a performance is likely to break through.
Call it a victory lap
Did any other actors deserve the win for their "victory lap"? Shame the Academy bulked when given the chance to give a deserving 2/2 record.
Jacques --regarding victory laps: I think Meryl is even better in SILKWOOD than she is in SOPHIE'S CHOICE (minority opinion but i hold firm ;) -- but the Academy had to make it up to Shirley Maclaine who they had mistreated (and since that was also a triumphant performance, spread the wealth!). I think a lot of people dont deserve to win on the victory lap though. I've never done a study of this phenomenon but it's pretty clear anecdotally that Oscar voters pay attention to you directly after they've noticed you... so if you do something they like in that short window (well, the window is short for most, not all) they will give you a victory lap nod (and i think victory lap nods exist for nominations-only performances too.) whether or not you deserve it.
One example that comes to mind is Jeremy Renner in The Town (2010). I like him in that movie a lot but I think no way is he nominated there if they hadn't just nominated him for The Hurt Locker and were thus paying close attention. I'm sure there are loads of other examples.
Edwin sucks about Mia in her prime. I feel strongly that she deserved 2 nominations, 4 when i'm feeling generous... though I'm not sure i'd have ever given her the win.
Philip I can't. That's still so disappointing. What a star turn!
It breaks my heart that is looking more and more likely that Glenn is never going to win a competitive Oscar. If she makes that Sunset Blvd movie it can go 3 ways: a genius reinvention of a classic film with strong performances, visuals and directing, a tour de force from Glenn, that gets at least 10 nominations including best picture winning all the visuals and sound categories = Glenn wins her Oscar and gets a nomination for producing the film. 2nd is a solid adaptation not beloved by critics but a solid film with a respectable box office and a degree of love from audiences with a tour de force from Glenn , gets 4 nominations for visuals and sound = Glenn gets an Oscar. 3rd option is an adaptation hated by the critics but praised for the visuals, a moderate box office, tour de force by Glenn and gets 2 nominations( best actress and costumes )= The wife story repeats or she gets her Oscar based on the HYPER OVERDUE NARRATIVE ?. I think the third one is the likely one and If they denied her an Oscar for masterclasses in acting like FA and DL, for me it’s kind of improbably rewarding her for an Andrew Loyd Webber musical ( who has yet to earn a nomination in any of the film adaptation from his work). Sigh who knows, I want to believe in justice but the academy is so into Meryl and they see Glenn as just a friend.
Call me sentimental, but Gloria Stuart should have won for TITANIC. She was really the heart and soul of that film. Basinger just wasn't all that good in LA CONFIDENTIAL.
Comment glitch ate my comment. That's okay because generally you are doing a great job Nathaniel! As a long standing commenter and loyal reader I'll make it quick this time.
FOSTER4EVA
TANDY4EVA
Good examples Nathaniel! Agree on Silkwood which is a pretty common opinion these days. Somebody put the Terms Of Endearment leading ladies in such perfect and succinct comparison a while back in the comments here:
Debra Winger = F. Murray Abraham
Shirley Maclaine = Tom Hulce
I remember liking Renner in The Town, but would have to look at other contenders to be sure how deserving he was.
Helen Hayes, as the longest performer with a gap between wins, not sure about that...what about Katharine Hepburn, morning glory 1932 and on golden pond 1981
Johnbo -- but she won twice in between those two wins so Hayes has the record. Hepburn's longest gap between wins is 1933-1967 (34 year gap to Hayes' 39)
@LASA, I think the 4th option is that it goes the way of the Prom - a few Golden Globe nominations, but no real legs because the film is a stinker. No Oscar nom for Glenn.
I think Sunset Blvd, other than the Norma scenes, just doesn't work. And you really need those other scenes to work for the musical to be compelling. But so many of the songs are boring and/or bad.
Johno- Are we just skipping over Hepburn's back to back Best Actress wins in 67 and 68?!?
@Jacques You are right Streep should have won for Silkwood instead. Cher also should have won for Silkwood so Glen Close could win for Fatal Attraction.
This was so lovely to read. And agreed on Ruth Gordon. It's so nice when they don't let genre bias get in the way.
Well, better late than never. Youn winning will be a milestone award.