There is no difference between an Oscar and an Academy Award. The prizes are officially called Academy Awards, but they are widely known by the nickname Oscars. Presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, they honor achievement in filmmaking and are considered the most prestigious in the movie industry.
The nickname Oscar refers specifically to the gold-plated Academy Award statuette. Several explanations for the name have been proposed. Actress Bette Davis claimed that the statuette’s backside looked like that of her husband Harmon Oscar Nelson. Columnist Sidney Skolsky maintained that he gave the award its nickname, while other sources have credited Academy librarian Margaret Herrick, who declared that the statuette looked like her Uncle Oscar.