by Nathaniel R
Emma & Annette rising
The last time we did this list three years ago, Glenn Close (Hillbilly Elegy) and Frances McDormand (Nomadland) had just risen on the list with new nominations adding to their overall tally. After the nominations that year Glenn lost again and Frances won again. With Emma Stone (Poor Things) taking her second Oscar on Sunday night and Annette Bening & Jodie Foster (both in Nyad) in the shortlists this season once again, it's time for a refresher. They aren't the only stars to have moved up or entered the hallowed ranks in the past few years.
What follows is a List of Oscar's 40 All Time Favorite Actresses...
The list is restricted to women with 5 or more nominations. The exception to this 5 and above only rule is that 4 acting nominations will get you in the list if you've won twice. Only the acting statistics are accounted for so Emma Thompson, for example, is not ranked. If you included her screenplay win she would have made the list. If you counted non-acting nominations, you'd also see Shirley Maclaine jump a rank as she was nominated for documentary once. Now that virtually every major star is also a producer these types of extra stats will only get murkier so we're opting not to include them and focusing only on what the Academy thinks of them as actors.
🔺 = the actress has moved up the chart or strengthened her placement since the last publication of this list (in March 2021). An explanation of how the rank was determined is at the end of the post.
† = deceased so there will be no change to her Oscar stats
OSCAR'S HOLY TRINITY
And 37 More Royals
THE HOLY TRINITY
01 Meryl Streep 21 nominations | 3 wins
02 Katharine Hepburn † 12 nominations | 4 wins
03 Bette Davis † 10/11 nominations* | 2 wins
* some people count Bette's write-in for Of Human Bondage, some do not
THE SUPREME GODDESSES
04 Ingrid Bergman † 7 nominations | 3 wins
05 🔺 Cate Blanchett 8 nominations | 2 wins
06 Jane Fonda 7 nominations | 2 wins
07 Geraldine Page † 8 nominations | 1 win
08 🔺 Judi Dench 8 nominations | 1 win
09 🔺 Frances McDormand 6 nominations | 3 wins
10 Glenn Close 8 nominations
11 Greer Garson † 7 nominations | 1 win
12 Kate Winslet 7 nominations | 1 win
13 Elizabeth Taylor † 5 nominations | 2 wins | honorary statue
14 Jessica Lange 6 nominations | 2 wins
15 Maggie Smith 6 nominations | 2 wins
DEMI-GODDESSES
16 Audrey Hepburn † 5 nominations | 1 win | honorary statue
17 Sissy Spacek 6 nominations | 1 win
18 Deborah Kerr † 6 nominations | 0 wins | honorary statue
19 Ellen Burstyn 6 nominations | 1 win
20 Vanessa Redgrave 6 nominations | 1 win
21 Olivia de Havilland † 5 nominations | 2 wins
22 🔺 Jodie Foster 5 nominations | 2 wins
23 Amy Adams 6 nominations | 0 wins
24 Thelma Ritter † 6 nominations | 0 wins
25 Shirley Maclaine 5 nominations | 1 win
26 Anne Bancroft † 5 nominations | 1 win
27 Susan Sarandon 5 nominations | 1 win
28 Susan Hayward † 5 nominations | 1 win
29 Norma Shearer † 5 nominations | 1 win
30 Jennifer Jones † 5 nominations | 1 win
31 🔺 Nicole Kidman 5 nominations | 1 win
32 Julianne Moore 5 nominations | 1 win
And closing out the list of Oscar's most beloved...
33 Glenda Jackson † 4 nominations | 2 wins
34 Renée Zellweger 4 nominations | 2 wins
35🔺 Emma Stone 4 nominations | 2 wins
36 Shelley Winters † 4 nominations | 2 wins
37 Barbara Stanwyck † 4 nominations | 0 wins | 1 honorary
38 🔺 Annette Bening 5 nominations | 0 wins
39 Irene Dunne † 5 nominations | 0 wins
40 🔺 Michelle Williams 5 nominations | 0 wins
THE REST OF THE POST IS NOT COMPREHENSIVE (SO DON'T TELL US WE MISSED SOMEONE). JUST NAMES THAT COULD THEORETICALLY JOIN THE LIST ABOVE...
Who will be next to join the all time Oscar Actress hierarchy?
Tantalizingly close to list and still working in movies with 4 nods each
Kathy Bates, Viola Davis, Holly Hunter, Diane Keaton, 🔺 Penelope Cruz, Jennifer Lawrence, Helen Mirren, Julia Roberts, Saoirse Ronan, and Emma Thompson
3 nods. Will any of them see a fourth?
🔺 Jessica Chastain, Laura Dern, Michelle Pfeiffer, 🔺 Carey Mulligan, Natalie Portman, Octavia Spencer, Charlize Theron, and 🔺 Olivia Colman
2-time nominees -- will there be a third?..
Anne Hathaway, Sally Hawkins, Scarlett Johansson, Rooney Mara, Melissa McCarthy, 🔺 Angela Bassett, and Margot Robbie
Comment? You know you wanna.
How the ranks were determined... Number of nominations determines general placement, with wins counting as an extra half nomination each to determine initial rank. Once that is done, wins determine rank. In the event that someone has the same stats in nominations and wins, the tiebreaker factor is that lead counts more than supporting. If the tie stubbornly remains it is broken by endurance (how many year the spread of nominations covers). Further mitigating factors: Three wins is so uncommon that it gives the actress a phantom extra full nomination in terms of ranking (thus Ingrid Bergman trumps Geraldine Page). Honorary statues (Oscar or Jean Hersholt) give the actress a phantom extra boost with the same affect as an additional nomination and win (thus Liz Taylor jumps Jessica Lange)... unless she never won a competitive Oscar in which case it only counts as a phantom win or nomination (thus Kerr cannot pole vault up to do battle with Lange or Blanchett) which of those to be determined by the gatekeeper (yours truly).
In the event that someone has multiple wins they may vault over the next immediate rivals if said rivals have never won a competitive Oscar and/or half or more of their nominations are in supporting (thus de Havilland trumps Thelma Ritter despite having less nominations). This also accounts for four women with only 4 nominations entering this 5 nomination only "Most Beloved" ranks.)