Minnesota's History Of Oscar Winners

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The 89th Annual Academy Awards are this Sunday, honoring the best in movies for 2016.

Many experts expect this year's awards to be, shall we say, Los Angeles-centric, with "La La Land" and its 14 nominations being considered the heavy favorite.

But every once in awhile, Oscar has shined its light on Minnesota. Here's a list of Minnesota's most golden moments.

• Jessica Lange has amassed six Academy Award nominations, and has won twice. Her first award was for best supporting actress for 1982's "Tootsie." Her second was for best actress in the 1994 film "Blue Sky."
• Judy Garland, who was born in Grand Rapids, won a special Oscar in 1939 for her role in "The Wizard of Oz." Her childhood home and museum form a popular tourist attraction.
• Director George Roy Hill was born in Minneapolis, and his father was the owner of the Minneapolis Tribune newspaper. He attended Blake Schools before heading to Hollywood, where he directed two movies featuring the popular on-screen duo of Paul Newman and Robert Redford. He won the Oscar for directing "The Sting" in 1973.
• Gig Young grew up in St. Cloud before winning the best supporting actor award for his "yowsah, yowsah, yowsah" role in the 1969 film "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?"
• Prince, arguably among the most famous people to emerge from Minnesota, won an Oscar in 1984 for the now defunct category of best song score. He won for his work on "Purple Rain," and accepted with Wendy and Lisa by his side.
• Bob Dylan, arguably also among the most famous people to emerge from Minnesota, also won an Oscar, though he had to wait a good deal longer for his. Even though he wrote the famous tune "Knockin' On Heaven's Door" for the 1973 Sam Peckinpah film "Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid," he didn't win an award until post Y2K, when "Things Have Changed" from the 2000 film "Wonder Boys" won best song.
• Bloomington native Pete Docter has been nominated eight times for an Academy Award, and has won twice for best animated film, having directed both "Up" and "Inside Out" for Pixar.
• Ethan and Joel Coen are by far the most Oscar-blessed Minnesotans. They have been nominated fourteen times, winning four Oscars as a team. They won best original screenplay for 1996's "Fargo" (for which Joel Coen's wife Frances McDormand also won best actress), and won three awards for 2007's "No Country For Old Men," which won the best picture award, among others.