Who Has Been Nominated for the Most Oscars but Never Won?
When it comes to Academy Award nominations, some actors, directors, producers, and other film professionals have been honored several times over by their peers. But as the people listed in the table below have learned, multiple Oscar nods are no guarantee that a nominee will be taking home a golden statuette at the end of the night. The late, great actor Peter O’Toole, for example, was nominated eight times in his long and illustrious career. Though he was given an honorary Oscar in 2003, he never actually won one.
In 2026 songwriter Diane Warren became the most nominated person in history without a competitive Oscar win. Maybe next year?
| name | nominations | field |
|---|---|---|
| *Recipient of an honorary Oscar. | ||
| **Technically, 17 nominations, but one was rescinded after the nominee violated the academy’s campaign regulations. | ||
| ***Recipient of several honorary Oscars, including noncompetitive Oscars in the scientific or technical achievement category. | ||
| Diane Warren* | 17 | songwriting |
| Greg P. Russell | 16** | sound mixing |
| Roland Anderson | 15 | art direction |
| Thomas Newman | 15 | musical score (14), songwriting (1) |
| Alex North* | 15 | musical score (14), songwriting (1) |
| Loren L. Ryder*** | 14 | sound (12), special effects (2) |
| George J. Folsey | 13 | cinematography |
| Bradley Cooper | 12 | acting (5), producing (5), screenwriting (2) |
| Federico Fellini* | 12 | screenwriting (8), directing (4) |
| Rick Kline | 11 | sound mixing |
| Anna Behlmer | 10 | sound mixing |
| Walter Lantz* | 10 | animation |
| Walter Scharf | 10 | musical score (9), songwriting (1) |
| Glenn Close | 8 | acting |
| Kathleen Kennedy* | 8 | producing |
| Peter O’Toole* | 8 | acting |
| Robert Altman* | 7 | directing (5), producing (2) |
| Richard Burton | 7 | acting |
| Amy Adams | 6 | acting |
| Deborah Kerr* | 6 | acting |
| Thelma Ritter | 6 | acting |
| Annette Bening | 5 | acting |
| Irene Dunne | 5 | acting |
| Albert Finney | 5 | acting |
| Alfred Hitchcock* | 5 | directing |
| Arthur Kennedy | 5 | acting |
| Sidney Lumet* | 5 | directing (4), screenwriting (1) |
| Michelle Williams | 5 | acting |
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen.
Citation Information
Article Title:
Who Has Been Nominated for the Most Oscars but Never Won?
Website Name:
Encyclopaedia Britannica
Publisher:
Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
Date Published:
15 March 2026
Access Date:
November 15, 2026