Mother-Daughter Duos at the Oscars
Saturday, October 19, 2024 at 9:30PM 
Fernanda Montenegro in Walter Salles' I'M STILL HERE.
This past week, Fernanda Montenegro celebrated her 95th birthday. A living legend of Brazilian culture in various mediums, she is our oldest living Best Actress nominee. Montenegro is back on the awards trail with Walter Salles' I'm Still Here. While her late-film cameo won't excite many voters, Brazil's Best International Film submission is raking in Audience Awards at festivals worldwide and sterling reviews to match. Perhaps Sony Pictures Classics can even look away from Saoirse Ronan and Almodóvar's leading ladies for a moment, and mount a Best Actress campaign for Fernanda Torres. Her performance as Eunice Paiva is nothing short of magnificent.
Though a longshot, Torres' nomination would be amply deserved, making her and Montenegro one of the few mother-daughter duos to score acting Oscar nominations. It's a very exclusive club that includes…
JUDY GARLAND & LIZA MINNELLI
1954) Best Actress, Judy Garland in A STAR IS BORN
1961) Best Supporting Actress, Judy Garland in JUDGMENT AT NUREMBERG
1969) Best Actress, Liza Minnelli in THE STERILE CUCKOO
1972) Liza Minnelli in CABARET (winner)
GOLDIE HAWN & KATE HUDSON
1969) Best Supporting Actress, Goldie Hawn in CACTUS' FLOWER (winner)
1980) Best Actress, Goldie Hawn in PRIVATE BENJAMIN
2000) Best Supporting Actress, Kate Hudson in ALMOST FAMOUS
DIANE LADD & LAURA DERN
1974) Best Supporting Actress, Diane Ladd in ALICE DOESN'T LIVE HERE ANYMORE
1990) Best Supporting Actress, Diane Ladd in WILD AT HEART
1991) Best Actress, Laura Dern in RAMBLING ROSE
1991) Best Supporting Actress, Diane Ladd in RAMBLING ROSE
2014) Best Supporting Actress, Laura Dern in WILD
2019) Best Supporting Actress, Laura Dern in MARRIAGE STORY (winner)
JANET LEIGH & JAMIE LEE CURTIS
1960) Best Supporting Actress, Janet Leigh in PSYCHO
2022) Best Supporting Actress, Jamie Lee Curtis in EVERYTHING, EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE (winner)
Interestingly, all these pairs include one winner – Minnelli, Hawn, Dern, and Curtis. That means that Kate Hudson is the only Oscarless daughter of this elite four. In half of these cases, the daughter's nomination(s) came after the mother's death – Minnelli and Curtis – and in both, one can sense that maternal memory played a part in the Academy's embrace. Indeed, some have speculated over the years that The Sterile Cuckoo might have been considerably helped by Hollywood's goodwill to a bereaved daughter. In Curtis' case, her status as an industry baby even made it to her speech. It should be noted that both the 2022 and 2019 Supporting Actress champions also share some Oscar glory with their fathers. Tony Curtis was a Best Actor nominee for The Defiant Ones while Bruce Dern got recognized for Coming Home and Nebraska. As far as direct familial connections, fathers and daughters are the most common couplet in the acting Oscar categories.
It's also worth pointing out that Laura Dern and Diane Ladd managed a feat that's yet to be repeated, managing to be nominated for the same film – 1991's Rambling Rose. Another important tidbit concerns Jeannie Berlin and her mother, Elaine May. While both women are Oscar nominees, May's two nominations are in the writing categories, so they are excluded from this list. Who knows? With her recent Tony win, we might see the actress auteur back on the big screen and up for some Academy glory. That said, her attentions are now focused on a long-awaited directorial follow-up to Ishtar. Still, May's age has left insurers nervous, and the project is searching for a shadow director to back her up.
But speaking of May and Berlin, what other mother-daughter Oscar-nominated pairings could still happen? There's Montenegro and Torres, of course, but here's a selection of alternative possibilities.
INGRID BERGMAN & ISABELLA ROSSELLINI
Hollywood has never given Rossellini much to do in terms of prestige fare for some unfathomable reason, so she's been away from Oscar glory. She probably came somewhat close with her breakthrough, Blue Velvet, but no dice. I also think she's more interesting than Rosie Perez in Fearless, but AMPAS clearly thought otherwise. Regardless, the underutilized Rossellini might still join her mother in the Oscar-nominee pantheon if Conclave proves a hit. She's good in a small role and has one memorable moment, perfectly pitched to become an Oscar clip.
DIANA ROSS & TRACEE ELLIS ROSS
Though she's primarily a TV actress, Tracee Ellis Ross has dabbled in film and received good reviews for her troubles. She's very popular, and the right role might secure her enough support. Recently, she was fantastic in American Fiction, suggesting a life's worth of backstory without making it seem labored or forced. Her chemistry with last season's Best Actor nominee, Jeffrey Wright, leaves a strong impression that lingers and echoes long after she's gone.
VANESSA REDGRAVE & JOELY RICHARDSON
Richardson is another actress who's found her greatest successes on the small screen. Still, she's been a reliable supporting presence for decades and the might project might just do the trick. Remember her callous yet fragile Marie Antoinette in The Affair of the Necklace or her take on a younger Queen Elizabeth in Anonymous? In the latter she shared the character with her mother, something that has happened before in Wetherby and The Fever. In fact, from all these pairs, Redgrave and Richardson are the ones that most often work on the same project.
MELANIE GRIFFITH & DAKOTA JOHNSON
It'll take a while until awards voters are ready to accept Dakota Johnson as a serious actress, but she's been working on her dramatic pedigree while still doing a lot of the blockbuster fare that has defined a budding career. Ironic and detached, her screen presence is a prickly thing that lends fascinating qualities to such films as The Lost Daughter and her various collaborations with Luca Guadagnino.
UMA THURMAN & MAYA HAWKE
So far, Hawke feels like a juvenile thespian with a limited range but evident appeal. It'll be interesting to see if she can expand her horizons and ace the sorts of roles AMPAS likes to recognize. Though young with a young career to match, Hawke already starred in two Best Picture nominees – Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood and Maestro – and is a centerpiece character in one of this year's Best Animated Feature frontrunners – Inside Out 2.
ROSEMARY HARRIS & JENNIFER EHLE
If it were up to me, Jennifer Ehle would already have multiple Oscar nominations, but the Academy disagrees. Moreover, they have had opportunity to notice her since she's been in a handful of buzzy titles like Best Picture winner The King's Speech and Zero Dark Thirty. Ehle is a hard-working actor who mostly plays supporting roles and has a keen ability to turn even the smallest bit part into a showcase for her talents. Fairly recently, she delivered a knockout turn in She Said and was a fantastic psychosexual foible for the titular Saint Maude.
BLYTHE DANNER & GWYNETH PALTROW
Finally, we have this odd pair. After distancing herself from the big screen to build up her Goop brand, Paltrow seems ready for a return. She's been seen smooching on Timothée Chalamet for Josh Safdie's Marty Supreme, and she's also set to appear in Rachel Israel's Miracle on 74th Street. In the same period, Danner never went away, having been a constant presence from the 70s to now, going through her Emmy-winning TV star heyday. Some years ago, she got a modicum of buzz for I'll See You in My Dreams, which might indicate an eagerness to reward this Hollywood veteran. A juicy supporting role in a buzzy flick is just what she needs to make those golden dreams come true.
Which of these mother-daughter duos is closest to making that Oscar foursome into a quintet? Will it be one of this year's possibilities, one of the other examples given, or someone else altogether?
Reader Comments (4)
I’ll place my bet on Oscar fave Meryl Streep and her youngest daughter Louisa Jacobson. While other actresses have their daughters appearing with them in vanity projects, Jacobson is presently starring in the Emmy-nominated HBO period drama The Gilded Age. As Marian Brook, a good hearted heiress, Jacobson is solid in her work with visible promise of better work when given a more nuanced role.
This is a very interesting list, thanks for putting it together! I completely agree about Tracee Ellis Ross being fantastic in American Fiction and was just talking about how great she was yesterday. I think Dakota Johnson is a likely future nominee though I would also be excited about Jennifer Ehle.
I wish Chiara Mastroianni would join this group since she's as good as her mother. Both her parents were nominated when working in other languages, so it's not impossible.
I know some people cry nepotism about Maya Hawke and Dakota Johnson but I think Dakota could break through with the right role,Hawke i'm not sure yet as i've not seen her in anything.
Danner could have had a nomination in 1980's weak Best Supporting Actress field for The Great Santini,she's very good in that,so glad Gwyneth is acting again..
Rossellini is going to need to campaign to get the nomination.
Ehle is always great,I thought she might have had a chance for She Said or Zero Dark Thirty,maybe when she's older like her mother she might be recognised,I love the Harris Tom and Viv nomination.
Agreed on Ross,I don't watch modern TV shows so American Fiction was my first introduction to her and I thought she was really good,selling that brother and sister bond with ease,sad we didn't get more of her.
Still sad Judy 54 and Janet 60 didn't win the Oscar.
Claudio this was a great idea,what about father daughter is their many of them apart from the Derns and Fondas.