Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
The Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. It is given in honor of an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance in a supporting role while working within the film industry. The award was traditionally presented by the previous year's Best Supporting Actor winner.
At the 9th Academy Awards ceremony held in 1937, Gale Sondergaard was the first winner of this award for her role in Anthony Adverse. Initially, winners in both supporting acting categories were awarded plaques instead of statuettes. Beginning with the 16th ceremony held in 1944, winners received full-sized statuettes. Currently, nominees are determined by single transferable vote within the actors branch of AMPAS; winners are selected by a plurality vote from the entire eligible voting members of the Academy.
Since its inception, the award has been given to 82 actresses. Dianne Wiest and Shelley Winters have received the most awards in this category with two awards each. Despite winning no awards, Thelma Ritter was nominated on six occasions, more than any other actress. As of the 2020 ceremony, Laura Dern is the most recent winner in this category for her role as Nora Fanshaw in Marriage Story.
Winners and nominees
In the following table, the years are listed as per Academy convention, and generally correspond to the year of film release in Los Angeles County; the ceremonies are always held the following year.| Indicates the winner |
was the first winner in this category for her performance in Anthony Adverse.|alt=Black-and-white publicity photo of Gale Sondergaard, circa 1940s.
was the first black person to win an Oscar for her performance in Gone with the Wind.|alt=Black-and-white publicity photo of Hattie McDaniel in 1941.
won for her performance in Mrs. Miniver.|alt=Black-and-white publicity photo of Teresa Wright in 1942.
won for her performance in None but the Lonely Heart.|alt=Black-and-white portrait of Ethel Barrymore in 1937.
won for her performance in Gentleman's Agreement.|alt=Black-and-white publicity photo of Celeste Holm in 1947.
, Miyoshi Umeki became the first and only Asian woman to win an Oscar for acting.|alt=Black-and-white photo of Miyoshi Umeki, circa 1950–54.
won for her performance in Separate Tables.|alt=Black-and-white publicity photo of Wendy Hiller in 1953.
won twice for her roles in The Diary of Anne Frank and A Patch of Blue.|alt=Black-and-white publicity photo of Shelley Winters, circa 1951.
won for her performance in Airport.|alt=Black-and-white photo of Helen Hayes in 1972.
became the youngest winner and nominee in this category for her performance in Paper Moon ; also the youngest competitive winner in Oscars history.|alt=Photo of Tatum O'Neal in 2014.
won for her portrayal of the titular character in Julia.|alt=Photo of Vanessa Redgrave in 2011.
won for her performance in California Suite.|alt=Photo of Maggie Smith in 2007.
has received four nominations in this category, winning once for Kramer vs. Kramer.|alt=Color studio portrait of Meryl Streep by Jack Mitchell, circa 1976–79.
became the oldest winner in this category for her performance in A Passage to India.|alt=Black-and-white photo of Peggy Ashcroft, circa 1962.
won for her performance in Prizzi's Honor.|alt=Photo of Anjelica Huston in 2014.
won for her roles in Hannah and Her Sisters and Bullets over Broadway, both directed by Woody Allen.|alt=Photo of Dianne Wiest in 1990.
won for her performance in The Accidental Tourist.|alt=Photo of Geena Davis in 1989.
won for her portrayal of Bridget Fagan Brown in My Left Foot, becoming the first Irish actress to win an Oscar.|alt=Photo of Brenda Fricker in 1990.
won for her performance in Ghost.|alt=A photo of Whoopi Goldberg in 2008.
won for her performance in My Cousin Vinny.|alt=Photo of Marisa Tomei in 2008.
won for her performance in Mighty Aphrodite.|alt=Photo of Mira Sorvino in 2007.
won for her performance in The English Patient.|alt=Photo of Juliette Binoche in 2017.
won for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth I in Shakespeare in Love.|alt=Photo of Judi Dench in 2007.
won for her performance in Girl, Interrupted.|alt=Photo of Angelina Jolie in 2014.
won for her portrayal of Alicia Nash in A Beautiful Mind.|alt=Photo of Jennifer Connelly in 2010.
won for her performance in Cold Mountain.|alt=Photo of Renée Zellweger in 2010.
won for her portrayal of Katharine Hepburn in The Aviator, becoming the first performer to win an Oscar for portraying a real-life Oscar winner.|alt=Photo of Cate Blanchett in 2015.
won for her performance in The Constant Gardener.|alt=Photo of Rachel Weisz in 2018.
won for her performance in Dreamgirls.|alt=Photo of Jennifer Hudson in 2011.
won for her performance in Michael Clayton.|alt=Photo of Tilda Swinton in 2016.
won for her performance in Vicky Cristina Barcelona, becoming the first Spanish actress to win an Oscar.|alt=Photo of Penélope Cruz in 2018.
won for her performance in Precious.|alt=Photo of Mo'Nique in 2010.
won for her portrayal of Alice Eklund-Ward in The Fighter.|alt=Photo of Melissa Leo in 2009.
won for her performance in The Help.|alt=Photo of Octavia Spencer in 2016.
won for performance as Fantine in Les Misérables.|alt=Photo of Anne Hathaway in 2014.
won for her portrayal of Patsey in 12 Years a Slave.|alt=Photo of Lupita Nyong'o in 2019.
won for her performance in Boyhood.|alt=Photo of Patricia Arquette in 2015.
won for her portrayal of Gerda Wegener in The Danish Girl.|alt=Photo of Alicia Vikander in 2019.
won for her performance in Fences.|alt=Photo of Viola Davis in 2016.
won for her portrayal of LaVona Golden in I, Tonya.|alt=Photo of Allison Janney in 2014.
won for her performance in If Beale Street Could Talk''.|alt=Photo of Regina King in 2018.
Multiple wins and nominations
The following individuals received two Best Supporting Actress awards:| Wins | Actress |
| 2 | Dianne Wiest |
| 2 | Shelley Winters |
The following individuals received three or more Best Supporting Actress nominations:
| Nominations | Actress |
| Thelma Ritter | |
| Amy Adams | |
| 4 | Ethel Barrymore |
| 4 | Lee Grant |
| 4 | Agnes Moorehead |
| 4 | Geraldine Page |
| 4 | Maggie Smith |
| 4 | Maureen Stapleton |
| 4 | Meryl Streep |
| 3 | Kathy Bates |
| 3 | Cate Blanchett |
| 3 | Glenn Close |
| 3 | Gladys Cooper |
| 3 | Celeste Holm |
| 3 | Diane Ladd |
| 3 | Angela Lansbury |
| 3 | Frances McDormand |
| 3 | Anne Revere |
| 3 | Octavia Spencer |
| 3 | Claire Trevor |
| 3 | Marisa Tomei |
| 3 | Dianne Wiest |
| 3 | Kate Winslet |
| 3 | Shelley Winters |
Multiple nominations from the same film
- Hattie McDaniel and Olivia de Havilland in Gone with the Wind
- Patricia Collinge and Teresa Wright in The Little Foxes
- May Whitty and Teresa Wright in Mrs. Miniver
- Gladys Cooper and Anne Revere in The Song of Bernadette
- Eve Arden and Ann Blyth in Mildred Pierce
- Celeste Holm and Anne Revere in Gentleman's Agreement
- Barbara Bel Geddes and Ellen Corby in I Remember Mama
- Ethel Barrymore and Ethel Waters in Pinky
- Celeste Holm and Elsa Lanchester in Come to the Stable
- Celeste Holm and Thelma Ritter in All About Eve
- Jan Sterling and Claire Trevor in The High and the Mighty
- Eileen Heckart and Patty McCormack in The Bad Seed
- Hope Lange and Diane Varsi in Peyton Place
- Susan Kohner and Juanita Moore in Imitation of Life
- Diane Cilento, Edith Evans, and Joyce Redman in Tom Jones
- Joyce Redman and Maggie Smith in Othello
- Helen Hayes and Maureen Stapleton in Airport
- Ellen Burstyn and Cloris Leachman in The Last Picture Show
- Madeline Kahn and Tatum O'Neal in Paper Moon
- Ronee Blakely and Lily Tomlin in Nashville
- Jane Alexander and Meryl Streep in Kramer vs Kramer
- Teri Garr and Jessica Lange in Tootsie
- Margaret Avery and Oprah Winfrey in The Color Purple
- Joan Cusack and Sigourney Weaver in Working Girl
- Anjelica Huston and Lena Olin in Enemies, A Love Story
- Jennifer Tilly and Dianne Wiest in Bullets over Broadway
- Kate Hudson and Frances McDormand in Almost Famous
- Helen Mirren and Maggie Smith in Gosford Park
- Queen Latifah and Catherine Zeta-Jones in Chicago
- Adriana Barraza and Rinko Kikuchi in Babel
- Amy Adams and Viola Davis in Doubt
- Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick in Up in the Air
- Amy Adams and Melissa Leo in The Fighter
- Jessica Chastain and Octavia Spencer in The Help
- Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz in The Favourite
Age superlatives