Surprising stars who have never won an Oscar

The 92nd Academy Awards took place on Sunday, February 9, 2020. But some of Hollywood's most critically acclaimed stars went home empty-handed... again.

They might find some consolation in the fact that many great performers have never won an Oscar.

Take Amy Adams, for example. Adams has been nominated for six Academy Awards — five for best supporting actress and one for best actress. But, perhaps surprisingly, she's never won.

Most recently, she was nominated in 2019 for her performance as Lynne Cheney in "Vice." 

Glenn Close

Over the course of her career, Glenn Close has won three Emmys, three Tony Awards and three Golden Globes. 

She holds the record, at seven nominations, for the actress with the most Oscar nods without a win.

Samuel L. Jackson

Jackson was nominated for an Oscar for his role in "Pulp Fiction," but has not received a nomination since.

He has appeared in 150 films, winning critical acclaim for performances in "A Time to Kill" and "Jungle Fever."

Taraji P. Henson

Henson was nominated for best supporting actress in 2009 for her performance in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button." 

Though her portrayal of NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson in "Hidden Figures" was critically acclaimed, Henson was not nominated for an Academy Award in 2017.

Tom Cruise

Tom Cruise has three Oscar nominations to his name for his work on "Born on the Fourth of July," "Jerry Maguire" and "Magnolia."

He won Golden Globes for all three of those films.

Steve Buscemi

Famed character actor Steve Buscemi's career spans decades. He has won two solo Screen Actors Guild Awards, two Independent Spirit Awards and a Golden Globe — but he's never been nominated for an Oscar.

Saoirse Ronan

Though Ronan is a relative newcomer to Hollywood, she's racked up four Oscar nominations since 2008.

In 2020, Ronan was nominated for best actress for her portrayal of Jo March in Greta Gerwig's re-imagination of "Little Women," but the award went to Renée Zellweger.

Eddie Murphy

In 2007, Eddie Murphy won a Screen Actors Guild Award and a Golden Globe for his portrayal of doomed R&B star Jimmy Early in "Dreamgirls."

The performance also earned Murphy an Oscar nomination. But the trophy was awarded instead to Alan Arkin for his role in "Little Miss Sunshine." 

Murphy received no nominations for his work in 2019's "Dolemite Is My Name."

Ed Harris

Ed Harris has four Oscar nominations: Three for best supporting actor and one for best actor.

He earned a Screen Actors Guild Award for his work in "Apollo 13" and a Golden Globe for his performance in "The Truman Show."

Laura Linney

Laura Linney has three Oscar nominations, four Tony nominations, two Independent Spirit Award nominations, and a BAFTA nomination — all with no wins.

Linney has won at the Emmys, the Golden Globes and the Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Jim Carrey

In 1999 and 2000, Carrey pulled a repeat at the Golden Globes, winning back-to-back best actor trophies for his work in "The Truman Show" and "Man on the Moon."

In 2005, he was nominated for a Golden Globe and a BAFTA Award for his acting in "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind."

Carrey has never been nominated for an Oscar.

Judy Garland

Judy Garland never received a full-sized Oscar, but she was awarded a seven-inch-tall Academy Juvenile Award for her work in two 1939 films — "The Wizard of Oz" and "Babes in Arms."

She was nominated for two other Academy Awards.

Pam Grier

Pam Grier was nominated for a Golden Globe and a Screen Actors Guild Award for her titular role in Quentin Tarantino's 1997 film "Jackie Brown." 

The Academy did not nominate Grier for the role, a decision which is still considered a significant snub.

Peter O'Toole

With eight nominations, Peter O'Toole owns the overall record for most acting Oscar nods without a win.

His first Academy Award nomination came for his performance in the 1962 war epic "Lawrence of Arabia." But that year, the best actor Oscar went instead to Gregory Peck for his role in "To Kill a Mockingbird."

O'Toole received an honorary Oscar for his lifelong contribution to film in 2002.

Paul Giamatti

Despite turning in several critically acclaimed performances in films like "Sideways" and "12 Years a Slave," Giamatti has only received one Oscar nomination.

He earned the best supporting actor nod for his portrayal of the Depression-era boxing manager Joe Gould in the 2005 film "Cinderella Man."

Alfred Hitchcock

Famed horror director Alfred Hitchcock was nominated five times for the best director Oscar. 

Though he never won a competitive Oscar, in 1968, Hitchcock was given the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award, an honorary recognition for his contributions to film.

Cicely Tyson

Cicely Tyson was nominated in 1973 for her performance in "Sounder." That year, the trophy went to Liza Minnelli for her work in "Cabaret."

In November 2018, she received an honorary Oscar at The Governors Awards ceremony, a dinner gala held annually by the Academy's board of governors since 2009.

John Malkovich

John Malkovich has earned quite a few nominations from major award associations. 

He has two from the Oscars, three at the Golden Globes, two nods from the Screen Actors Guild and a BAFTA Award nomination — all without a win.

Edward Norton

Norton has been nominated for three Oscars. His most recent Oscar nod was for his supporting role in 2015's best picture winner, "Birdman."

Sigourney Weaver

The Academy has nominated Sigourney Weaver twice for best actress and once for best supporting actress.

Weaver won a BAFTA Award in 1997 and two Golden Globes in 1988.

Michael B. Jordan

Michael B. Jordan has not been nominated for an Oscar. 

In 2013, Hollywood Reporter film critic Todd McCarthy wrote, "Jordan at moments gives off vibes of a very young Denzel Washington."

Michael Keaton

Michael Keaton has one Oscar nomination, for his work in "Birdman." 

Keaton won the Golden Globe for the same performance, but lost the BAFTA Award. His performance as a member of the "Spotlight" ensemble also earned him a SAG Award and Critics' Choice Award.

Jessica Chastain

The Academy has nominated Jessica Chastain twice, for her roles in "Zero Dark Thirty" and "The Help."

Chastain won a Golden Globe and a Critics' Choice Award for her turn in "Zero Dark Thirty." She also earned nominations from those two groups for her performances in "A Most Violent Year" and "Molly's Game."

Robert Downey Jr.

Robert Downey Jr. has two Oscar nominations for his performances in "Chaplin" and "Tropic Thunder."

Terry Gilliam

Terry Gilliam has one Oscar nomination to his name, a best original screenplay nod for "Brazil," a film he also directed.

Gilliam has also been in the director's chair of film classics like "Monty Python and the Holy Grail," "12 Monkeys" and "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas."

Angela Bassett

Angela Bassett has one Oscar nomination. She was nominated for her portrayal of Tina Turner in the 1993 biopic "What's Love Got to Do with It."

Annette Bening

Annette Bening has earned four Oscar nominations, two Tony nominations and an Emmy nomination, all without a win.

Bening has also racked up nine Golden Globe nods, winning two.

Jake Gyllenhaal

Jake Gyllenhaal has one Oscar nod for his performance in "Brokeback Mountain."

Gyllenhaal has also earned two nominations from the Golden Globes and three from the Screen Actors Guild, without a win. 

He was nominated for three BAFTA Awards, and won one, for his role in "Brokeback Mountain."

Naomi Watts

The four major awards associations for film— the Oscars, BAFTAs, SAG Awards and Golden Globes — have nominated Naomi Watts a total of eight times.

From those eight nominations, she took home one Screen Actors Guild Award, for being a member of the outstanding cast of "Birdman."

Ethan Hawke

Ethan Hawke has four Oscar nods to his name — two for acting and two for adapting the screenplays of "Before Sunset" and "Before Midnight."

His most recent nomination was for his supporting role in Richard Linklater's 2014 film, "Boyhood."

Michelle Williams

Michelle Williams has four Oscar nods. Most recently, she earned a best supporting actress nomination for her role in the 2016 film "Manchester by the Sea."

David Lynch

Director and screenwriter David Lynch has earned four Oscar nominations. He has directed critically acclaimed works like "The Elephant Man," "Mulholland Drive" and "Blue Velvet."

Mark Ruffalo

Mark Ruffalo has three Oscar nods to his name, all for best supporting actor.

His three Oscar-nominated performances were "The Kids Are Alright" in 2010, "Foxcatcher" in 2014, and "Spotlight" in 2015.

Helena Bonham Carter

Helena Bonham Carter has earned two Oscar nominations during her career.

She has also been nominated for eight Golden Globes, but has never won.

Ridley Scott

The Academy has nominated filmmaker Ridley Scott four times.

The Library of Congress has preserved three of his films — "Blade Runner," "Thelma & Louise" and "Alien" — in the National Film Registry, an honor bestowed on movies deemed culturally or historically significant.

Catherine Keener

Catherine Keener has two Oscar nominations for her supporting roles in "Capote" and "Being John Malkovich."

David Fincher

Director David Fincher has earned two Oscar nominations for "The Social Network" and "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button."

"The Social Network" also won Fincher a BAFTA Award and a Critics' Choice Award.

Emily Blunt

Emily Blunt has delivered many critically acclaimed performances throughout her career, earning her many nominations at the Critics' Choice Awards, the BAFTA Awards, and SAG Awards.

She currently has no Oscar nominations.

Paul Thomas Anderson

Filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson has eight Academy Award nominations. He is tied with Peter O'Toole and Bradley Cooper for having earned the most nominations without a win.

Scarlett Johansson

Scarlett Johansson earner her first two Oscar nominations in 2020. 

She was nominated for best actress for her performance in "Marriage Story," and for best supporting actress for her role in "Jojo Rabbit."

Both of those awards went to other people.

Peter Sellers

The Academy nominated comic actor Peter Sellers three times — twice for acting, and once for best live action short film.

Sellers died in 1980, six months after winning his first Golden Globe.

Johnny Depp

Johnny Depp has three Oscar nominations to his name, including a nomination for playing Captain Jack Sparrow in "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl."

Michelle Pfeiffer

Michelle Pfeiffer has three Academy Award nominations and six Golden Globe nominations.

She won the Golden Globe for best actress in a drama for her performance in the 1989 musical "The Fabulous Baker Boys."

Richard Harris

Richard Harris, remembered by many for playing Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore in the first two Harry Potter films, was nominated for two Oscars during his lifetime.

Bradley Cooper

The Academy has nominated Bradley Cooper for eight Oscars.

Four of those Oscars were in acting categories, three were for best picture and one was for adapting the screenplay to "A Star is Born."

Stanley Tucci

Stanley Tucci earned his only Oscar nomination for his supporting role in "The Lovely Bones."

He has two Golden Globes and three Emmys for television performances.

Willem Dafoe

Willem Dafoe has earned four Oscar nods, three for best supporting actor and one for best actor.

Harrison Ford

Harrison Ford has just one Oscar nomination. 

Ford has four Golden Globe nominations for acting. Though he has never won in a competitive category at the Globes, he was awarded the honorary Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2002, for outstanding contributions to the world of entertainment. 

Tim Curry

Tim Curry has never been nominated by any of the four major award associations for film, but he has been nominated for three Tony Awards and one Primetime Emmy.

His breakthrough movie role was as Dr. Frank-N-Furter in "The Rocky Horror Picture Show." The film was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Film Registry in 2005.

Will Smith

Will Smith's performances in "Ali" and "The Pursuit of Happyness" both earned him a best actor Oscar nod. 

Jonathan Pryce

Jonathan Pryce earned his first Oscar nomination in 2020 for his performance in "The Two Popes."

Woody Harrelson

The Academy has nominated Woody Harrelson for three Oscars.

Harrelson has also earned four Golden Globe nominations and six solo Screen Actors Guild Awards. Additionally, he won a SAG Award as a member of the ensemble cast of "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri."

Terrence Malick

Director and writer Terrence Malick has three Oscar nominations without a win. He was nominated for his work on "The Thin Red Line" and "The Tree of Life."

Both films were also nominated for best picture.

Salma Hayek

Salma Hayek has one Oscar nomination for her portrayal of Mexican painter Frida Kahlo in the 2002 film "Frida." 

That same performance earned Hayek nominations — but no wins — for a Golden Globe, a BAFTA Award and a SAG Award.

Bill Murray

Bill Murray has one Oscar nomination for his work in the 2003 film "Lost in Translation."

The role won Murray a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe and an Independent Spirit Award.

Tom Hardy

Tom Hardy was nominated for an Oscar for his supporting role in "The Revenant."

Though that is his only Oscar nod, Hardy has also turned in critically acclaimed performances in "Mad Max: Fury Road," "Locke" and "Bronson."

Harvey Keitel

The Academy has nominated Harvey Keitel for only one Oscar during his decades-long career. He was nominated for his supporting role in the 1992 film "Bugsy." 

Keitel has appeared in at least seven films that were nominated for best picture.

Nick Nolte

Nick Nolte has three Oscar nods.

His most recent nomination came for his supporting role in the 2011 mixed-martial-arts drama "Warrior."