Which Hollywood actresses and actors have won the most Oscars?

Meryl Streep and Emma Stone backstage at the Academy Awards
(Image credit: Shutterstock/Rex)

The 2024 Oscars are officially here, with A-listers descending on LA's Dolby Theatre from far and wide this evening to celebrate the past year in film.

The prestigious ceremony is the most anticipated event of award season, with only a select few actors and actresses taking home a golden statuette. 

This year, Emma Stone is tipped for the Best Actress gong for her critically acclaimed portrayal of Bella in Poor Things. And if she did succeed, she would be the proud owner of two oscars - a very exclusive club that only boasts 44 members in the whole history of the Oscars.

Here's a breakdown of the actors and actresses with the most Oscar wins and nominations.

REX
(Image credit: Rob Latour/REX/Shutterstock)

These are the actors and actresses with the most Oscar wins...

Katharine Hepburn (4 wins, 12 nominations) Best Actress: Morning Glory (1933) Best Actress: Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner (1967) Best Actress: The Lion in Winter (1968) Best Actress: On Golden Pond (1981)

Meryl Streep (3 wins, 21 nominations) Best Supporting Actress: Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) Best Actress: Sophie’s Choice (1982) Best Actress: The Iron Lady (2011)

Jack Nicholson (3 wins, 12 nominations) Best Actor: One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest (1975) Best Supporting Actor: Terms of Endearment (1983) Best Actor: As Good as It Gets (1997)

Ingrid Bergman (3 wins, 7 nominations) Best Actress: Gaslight (1944) Best Actress: Anastasia (1956) Best Supporting Actress: Murder on the Orient Express (1974)

Daniel Day-Lewis (3 wins, 6 nominations) Best Actor: My Left Foot (1989) Best Actor: There Will Be Blood (2007) Best Actor: Lincoln (2012)

Frances McDormand (3 wins, 6 nominations) Best Actress: Fargo (1996) Best Actress: Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017) Nomadland (2020)

Walter Brennan (3 wins, 4 nominations) Best Supporting Actor: Come and Get It (1936) Best Supporting Actor: Kentucky (1938) Best Supporting Actor: The Westerner (1940)

Bette Davis (2 wins, 10 nominations) Best Actress: Dangerous (1935) Best Actress: Jezebel (1938)

Spencer Tracy (2 wins, 9 nominations) Best Actor: Captains Courageous (1937) Best Actor: Boys Town (1938)

Denzel Washington (2 wins, 9 nominations) Best Supporting Actor: Glory (1989) Best Actor: Training Day (2001)

Marlon Brando (2 wins, 8 nominations) Best Actor: On the Waterfront (1954) Best Actor: The Godfather (1972)

Jack Lemmon (2 wins, 8 nominations) Best Supporting Actor: Mister Roberts (1955) Best Actor: Save the Tiger (1973)

Cate Blanchett (2 wins, 8 nominations) Best Supporting Actress: The Aviator (2004) Best Actress: Blue Jasmine (2013)

Dustin Hoffman (2 wins, 7 nominations) Best Actor: Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) Best Actor: Rain Man (1988)

Jane Fonda (2 wins, 7 nominations) Best Actress: Klute (1971) Best Actress: Coming Home (1978)

Robert De Niro (2 wins, 7 nominations) Best Supporting Actor: The Godfather Part II (1974) Best Actor: Raging Bull (1980)

Tom Hanks (2 wins, 5 nominations) Best Actor: Philadelphia (1993) Best Actor: Forrest Gump (1994)

Anthony Hopkins (2 wins, 6 nominations) Best Actor: The Silence of the Lambs Best Actor: The Father

Jessica Lange (2 wins, 6 nominations) Best Actress: Blue Sky (1994) Best Supporting Actress: Tootsie (1982)

Maggie Smith (2 wins, 6 nominations) Best Actress: The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969) Best Supporting Actress: California Suite (1978)

Michael Caine (2 wins, 6 nominations) Best Supporting Actor: Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) Best Supporting Actor: The Cider House Rules (1999)

Fredric March (2 wins, 5 nominations) Best Actor: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931) Best Actor: The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)

Gary Cooper (2 wins, 5 nominations) Best Actor: Sergeant York (1941) Best Actor: High Noon (1952)

Jodie Foster (2 wins, 4 nominations) Best Actress: The Accused (1988) Best Actress: The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

Elizabeth Taylor (2 wins, 5 nominations) Best Actress: Butterfield 8 (1960) Best Actress: Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)

Sean Penn (2 wins, 5 nominations) Best Actor: Mystic River (2003) Best Actor: Milk (2008)

Olivia de Havilland (2 wins, 5 nominations) Best Actress: To Each His Own (1946) Best Actress: The Heiress (1949)

Gene Hackman (2 wins, 5 nominations) Best Actor: The French Connection (1971) Best Supporting Actor: Unforgiven (1992)

Glenda Jackson (2 wins, 4 nominations) Best Actress: Women in Love (1970) Best Actress: A Touch of Class (1973)

Renée Zellweger (2 wins, 4 nominations) Best Actress: Cold Mountain (2003) Best Actress: Judy (2019)

Anthony Quinn (2 wins, 4 nominations) Best Supporting Actor: Viva Zapata! (1952) Best Supporting Actor: Lust for Life (1956)

Shelley Winters (2 wins, 4 nominations) Best Supporting Actress: The Diary of Anne Frank (1959) Best Supporting Actress: A Patch of Blue (1965)

Sally Field (2 wins, 3 nominations) Best Actress: Norma Rae (1979) Best Actress: Places in the Heart (1984)

Melvyn Douglas (2 wins, 3 nominations) Best Supporting Actor: Hud (1963) Best Supporting Actor: Being There (1979)

Peter Ustinov (2 wins, 3 nominations) Best Supporting Actor: Spartacus (1960) Best Supporting Actor: Topkapi (1964)

Jason Robards (2 wins, 3 nominations) Best Supporting Actor: All the President’s Men (1976) Best Supporting Actor: Julia (1977)

Dianne Wiest (2 wins, 3 nominations) Best Supporting Actress: Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) Best Supporting Actress: Bullets over Broadway (1994)

Luise Rainer (2 wins, 2 nominations) Best Actress: The Great Ziegfeld (1936) Best Actress: The Good Earth (1937)

Vivien Leigh (2 wins, 2 nominations) Best Actress: Gone with the Wind (1939) Best Actress: A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)

Hilary Swank (2 wins, 2 nominations) Best Actress: Boys Don’t Cry (1999) Best Actress: Million Dollar Baby (2004)

Helen Hayes (2 wins, 2 nominations) Best Actress: The Sin of Madelon Claudet (1931) Best Supporting Actress: Airport (1970)

Kevin Spacey (2 wins, 2 nominations) Best actor: American Beauty Best Supporting Actor: The Usual Suspects (1995)

Christoph Waltz (2 wins, 2 nominations) Best Supporting Actor: Inglorious Basterds (2009) Best Supporting Actor: Django Unchained (2012)

Mahershala Ali (2 wins, 2 nominations) Best Supporting Actor: Moonlight (2016) Best Supporting Actor: Green Book (2018)

Only time will tell whether another name will make it onto this list over the weekend.

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Jenny Proudfoot
Features Editor

Jenny Proudfoot is an award-winning journalist, specialising in lifestyle, culture, entertainment, international development and politics. She has worked at Marie Claire UK for seven years, rising from intern to Features Editor and is now the most published Marie Claire writer of all time. She was made a 30 under 30 award-winner last year and named a rising star in journalism by the Professional Publishers Association.