Part 3 of this series closes out our look at 50 famous actors who received Academy Award nominations but never won a competitive Oscar. From classic stars like Gloria Swanson and Judy Garland to modern favourites such as Scarlett Johansson, Angela Bassett and Paul Giamatti, these performers show how difficult it is to actually win on Hollywood’s biggest night.
Below you will find brief career highlights plus every Oscar nomination listed for each actor, covering categories from Best Actor and Best Actress to Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress and even writing and producing nods.
- Actors 31–50 in the “50 Famous Actors Nominated but Never Won an Oscar” series
- A mix of classic Hollywood legends and contemporary awards favourites
- All Academy Award nominations listed by ceremony, category and film
- Honorary Oscars, Juvenile Awards and major lifetime honours noted
Nicholas King Nolte (born February 8, 1941) is an American actor known for intense leading roles in both drama and romance. He first came to prominence in the miniseries Rich Man, Poor Man (1976), which earned him an Emmy nomination, and later won a Golden Globe for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama for The Prince of Tides (1991).
Nolte has received three Academy Award nominations across leading and supporting categories.
Academy Award nominations:
- 65th Academy Awards (1992) – Best Actor, The Prince of Tides (1991)
- 72nd Academy Awards (1999) – Best Actor, Affliction (1998)
- 85th Academy Awards (2012) – Best Supporting Actor, Warrior (2011)
Eleanor Jean Parker (26 June 1922 – 9 December 2013) was an American actress whose career included acclaimed work in both film and television. She earned a Golden Globe nomination for the series Bracken’s World and a Primetime Emmy nomination for The Eleventh Hour.
Parker received three Academy Award nominations for Best Actress.
Academy Award nominations (Best Actress):
- 23rd Academy Awards (1951) – Caged (1950)
- 24th Academy Awards (1952) – Detective Story (1951)
- 28th Academy Awards (1956) – Interrupted Melody (1955)
William Horatio Powell (29 July 1892 – 5 March 1984) was an American actor known primarily for his film work. Under contract to MGM, he became famous opposite Myrna Loy in 14 films, including the beloved Thin Man series as detective Nick Charles.
Powell earned three Best Actor Oscar nominations and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1636 Vine Street.
Academy Award nominations (Best Actor):
- 6th Academy Awards (1934) – The Thin Man (1934)
- 8th Academy Awards (1936) – My Man Godfrey (1936)
- 20th Academy Awards (1947) – Life with Father (1947)
Gloria Mae Josephine Swanson (27 March 1899 – 4 April 1983) was an American actress who first rose to fame in dozens of silent films in the 1920s. She starred in sophisticated dramas directed by Cecil B. DeMille and continued her success in films like The Affairs of Anatol (1921), Beyond the Rocks (1922), Zaza (1923) and Madame Sans‑Gêne (1925).
Swanson earned three Best Actress nominations, most famously for Billy Wilder’s Sunset Boulevard (1950), which also brought her a Golden Globe.
Academy Award nominations (Best Actress):
- 1st Academy Awards (1929) – Sadie Thompson (1928)
- 3rd Academy Awards (1931) – The Trespasser (1929)
- 24th Academy Awards (1951) – Sunset Boulevard (1950)
Webb Parmelee Hollenbeck (November 19, 1889 – October 13, 1966), known professionally as Clifton Webb, was an American actor, singer and dancer. He worked extensively on stage, including in Noël Coward’s Blithe Spirit and numerous Broadway musical revues, before becoming a notable film actor.
Webb received three Oscar nominations spanning both supporting and leading categories.
Academy Award nominations:
- 17th Academy Awards (1945) – Best Supporting Actor, Laura (1944)
- 19th Academy Awards (1946) – Best Supporting Actor, The Razor’s Edge (1946)
- 21st Academy Awards (1949) – Best Actor, Sitting Pretty (1948)
Debra Lynn Winger (born May 16, 1955) is an American actress who earned three Best Actress Oscar nominations. She won the National Society of Film Critics Award for Terms of Endearment and the Tokyo International Film Festival Best Actress prize for A Dangerous Woman (1993).
Winger has also received international lifetime achievement honours and starred in projects such as the Netflix series The Ranch (2016–2020).
Academy Award nominations (Best Actress):
- 55th Academy Awards (1983) – An Officer and a Gentleman (1982)
- 56th Academy Awards (1984) – Terms of Endearment (1983)
- 66th Academy Awards (1994) – Shadowlands (1993)
Natalie Wood (20 July 1938 – 29 November 1981) was an American actress who began acting at age four and co‑starred in Miracle on 34th Street (1947) by age eight. As she matured, she became a major star in films throughout the 1960s.
Wood received one Best Supporting Actress nomination and two Best Actress nominations during her career.
Academy Award nominations:
- 28th Academy Awards (1956) – Best Supporting Actress, Rebel Without a Cause (1955)
- 34th Academy Awards (1962) – Best Actress, Splendor in the Grass (1961)
- 36th Academy Awards (1964) – Best Actress, Love with the Proper Stranger (1963)
Scarlett Ingrid Johansson (born November 22, 1984) is an American actress and singer. She was the world’s highest‑paid actress in 2018 and 2019 and has repeatedly appeared on the Forbes Celebrity 100 list. Her accolades include a BAFTA, a Tony and an Honorary César, plus numerous Golden Globe and SAG nominations.
At the 92nd Academy Awards, Johansson achieved the rare feat of receiving two acting nominations in the same year, for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress.
Academy Award nominations:
- 92nd Academy Awards (2020) – Best Actress, Marriage Story (2019)
- 92nd Academy Awards (2020) – Best Supporting Actress, Jojo Rabbit (2019)
Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone (born July 6, 1946) is an American actor and filmmaker whose career spans more than fifty years. He has a Golden Globe and Critics’ Choice Award, plus three Oscar nominations across acting and writing categories. Stallone is one of only two actors, alongside Harrison Ford, to star in a number‑one box‑office film in six consecutive decades.
He has also been honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and induction into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
Academy Award nominations:
- 49th Academy Awards (1977) – Best Actor, Rocky (1976); also nominated for Best Original Screenplay
- 88th Academy Awards (2016) – Best Supporting Actor, Creed (2015)
- Part 1 : Unveiling Every Best Picture Oscar Winner (1927–2024)
- Part 2 : Unveiling Every Best Picture Oscar Winner (1927–2024)
- Part 3 : Unveiling Every Best Picture Oscar Winner (1927–2024)
- Part 4 : Unveiling Every Best Picture Oscar Winner (1927–2024)
- Part 5 : Unveiling Every Best Picture Oscar Winner (1927–2024)
Sir Kenneth Charles Branagh (born 10 December 1960) is a British actor and filmmaker whose career spans Shakespeare adaptations, blockbusters and personal dramas. He has received Academy Award nominations in a record number of distinct categories, including acting, directing, writing and producing, and eventually won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for Belfast (2021).
Branagh has also collected BAFTA, Emmy and Golden Globe awards and was knighted in 2012.
Selected Academy Award nominations (acting):
- 62nd Academy Awards (1990) – Best Actor, Henry V (1989)
- 84th Academy Awards (2012) – Best Supporting Actor, My Week with Marilyn (2011)
Edward Albert Heimberger (22 April 1906 – 26 May 2005), known professionally as Eddie Albert, was an American actor with a long career on stage and screen. He is fondly remembered for playing Oliver Wendell Douglas on the sitcom Green Acres and for roles in series such as Switch, Falcon Crest, The Carol Burnett Show and Columbo.
Albert earned two Oscar nominations for Best Supporting Actor along with BAFTA and Golden Globe nominations.
Academy Award nominations (Best Supporting Actor):
- 26th Academy Awards (1954) – Roman Holiday (1953)
- 45th Academy Awards (1973) – The Heartbreak Kid (1972)
Isabelle Yasmine Adjani (born 27 June 1955) is a French actress and singer who has won a record five César Awards and numerous other honours. She became internationally famous for playing Adèle Hugo in The Story of Adele H. (1975) and was nominated for the Best Actress Oscar at age 20, then the youngest nominee in the category.
Adjani is also the first French actress to receive two Academy Award nominations for performances in foreign‑language films.
Academy Award nominations (Best Actress):
- 49th Academy Awards (1977) – The Story of Adele H. (1975)
- 63rd Academy Awards (1990) – Camille Claudel (1988)
Angela Evelyn Bassett (born August 16, 1958) is an American actress whose film and television work since the 1980s has earned her Emmys, Golden Globes and widespread acclaim. Time named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2023.
Bassett received an Academy Honorary Award in January 2024 recognising her lifetime achievements, after two competitive Oscar nominations.
Academy Award nominations:
- 67th Academy Awards (1995) – Best Actress, What’s Love Got to Do with It (1993)
- 96th Academy Awards (2024) – Best Supporting Actress, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022)
Keira Christina Knightley (born 26 March 1985) is an English actress known for independent films, blockbusters and especially period dramas. At age 20 she became the third‑youngest Best Actress nominee for Pride & Prejudice (2005).
Knightley has earned Oscar, BAFTA, Golden Globe and Olivier nominations and received an OBE in 2018 for services to drama and charity.
Academy Award nominations:
- 78th Academy Awards (2006) – Best Actress, Pride & Prejudice (2005)
- 87th Academy Awards (2015) – Best Supporting Actress, The Imitation Game (2014)
Brenda Blethyn (born 20 February 1946) is an English actress known for her character work and versatility. She won a BAFTA, Golden Globe and Cannes prize for her performance in Secrets & Lies (1996) and later became beloved on television as detective Vera Stanhope.
Blethyn has two Oscar nominations and was appointed OBE in 2003 for services to drama.
Academy Award nominations:
- 69th Academy Awards (1997) – Best Actress, Secrets & Lies (1996)
- 71st Academy Awards (1999) – Best Supporting Actress, Little Voice (1998)
Judith Davis (born 23 April 1955) is an Australian actress whose four‑decade career spans stage and screen. She has won multiple AACTA, BAFTA, Emmy, Golden Globe and SAG awards and is the first Australian to receive Oscar nominations in both Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress categories.
Academy Award nominations:
- 57th Academy Awards (1985) – Best Actress, A Passage to India (1984)
- 65th Academy Awards (1993) – Best Supporting Actress, Husbands and Wives (1992)
James Byron Dean (8 February 1931 – 30 September 1955) was an American actor whose brief career left an outsized impact on cinema and culture. Despite appearing in only three major films, he became a symbol of youthful rebellion and remains a key fashion and film icon.
Dean was the first actor to receive a posthumous Best Actor nomination and remains the only actor with two posthumous acting nominations.
Academy Award nominations (Best Actor):
- 29th Academy Awards (1956) – East of Eden (1955)
- 30th Academy Awards (1957) – Giant (1956)
Paul Edward Valentine Giamatti (born June 6, 1967) is an American actor celebrated for nuanced performances in films and television. His breakthrough in American Splendor (2003) led to major roles in Sideways, Cinderella Man, John Adams and The Holdovers.
Giamatti has two Oscar nominations: one for Best Supporting Actor and one for Best Actor, 18 years apart.
Academy Award nominations:
- 78th Academy Awards (2006) – Best Supporting Actor, Cinderella Man (2005)
- 96th Academy Awards (2024) – Best Actor, The Holdovers (2023)
Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; 10 June 1922 – 22 June 1969) was an American actress, singer and vaudevillian whose powerful contralto voice and emotional performances made her a global icon. She rose to fame as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz (1939) and went on to an extensive stage and screen career.
Garland received an Academy Juvenile Award in 1940, a Cecil B. DeMille Award, a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and two competitive Oscar nominations.
Academy Award nominations:
- 27th Academy Awards (1955) – Best Actress, A Star Is Born (1954)
- 34th Academy Awards (1962) – Best Supporting Actress, Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)
Dame Julia Mary Walters (born 22 February 1950), known professionally as Julie Walters, is an English actress whose work spans film, television and theatre. She has multiple BAFTA Film and Television Awards, two International Emmys, a Golden Globe and an Olivier Award, and received the BAFTA Fellowship in 2014.
Walters has two Oscar nominations and has been honoured with OBE, CBE and DBE appointments for her services to drama.
Academy Award nominations:
- 56th Academy Awards (1984) – Best Actress, Educating Rita (1983)
- 73rd Academy Awards (2001) – Best Supporting Actress, Billy Elliot (2000)
Across these 50 actors, the Academy Award record tells only part of the story. Some broke nomination records, some received honorary Oscars or Juvenile Awards, and others became cultural icons whose influence far outlives any trophy.
Whether it is Peter O’Toole’s eight nominations, Scarlett Johansson’s rare double nod, or Judy Garland’s enduring legacy, this list shows that being “Oscar-less” does not diminish the impact of a truly great performance. If anything, it reminds us how many unforgettable turns the Academy simply could not all reward.
