Oscar’s Most-Nominated: Best Actress (Part I)

Just as I did this time last week with the actors, I’m now highlighting the actresses who received most or all of their Oscar nominations for a leading role. This list was even longer than their male counterpart, even after I divided it into two sets again. So this post only showcases the actresses who received four to five nods from the Academy. Tomorrow I’ll wrap it all up with a look back at the ones who received six or more.

Note: This list is in descending order, ending with the actress who’s received the most nominations. Titles that are italicized designate the movies they won an Oscar for and titles marked with an asterisk are for supporting role nominations.

Annette Bening in American Beauty (1999)

ANNETTE BENING (4 nominations):
The Grifters*
American Beauty
Being Julia
The Kids Are All Right

Greta Garbo in Ninotchka (1939)

GRETA GARBO (4 nominations):
Anna Christie
Romance
Camille
Ninotchka

Marsha Mason in The Goodbye Girl (1977)

MARSHA MASON (4 nominations):
Cinderella Liberty
The Goodbye Girl
Chapter Two
Only When I Laugh

Rosalind Russell in My Sister Eileen (1942)

ROSALIND RUSSELL (4 nominations):
My Sister Eileen
Sister Kenny
Mourning Becomes Electra
Auntie Mame

Barbara Stanwyck in Double Indemnity (1944)

BARBARA STANWYCK (4 nominations):
Stella Dallas
Ball of Fire
Double Indemnity
Sorry, Wrong Number

Julie Christie in Darling (1965)

JULIE CHRISTIE (4 nominations, 1 win):
Darling
McCabe & Mrs. Miller
Afterglow
Away from Her

Holly Hunter in The Piano (1993)

HOLLY HUNTER (4 nominations, 1 win):
Broadcast News
The Firm*
The Piano
Thirteen*

Diane Keaton in Annie Hall (1977)

DIANE KEATON (4 nominations, 1 win):
Annie Hall
Reds
Marvin’s Room
Something’s Gotta Give

Nicole Kidman in The Hours (2002)

NICOLE KIDMAN (4 nominations, 1 win):
Moulin Rouge!
The Hours
Rabbit Hole
Lion*

Jennifer Lawrence in Silver Linings Playbook (2012)

JENNIFER LAWRENCE (4 nominations, 1 win):
Winter’s Bone
Silver Linings Playbook
American Hustle*
Joy

Helen Mirren in The Queen (2006)

HELEN MIRREN (4 nominations, 1 win):
The Madness of King George*
Gosford Park*
The Queen
The Last Station

Julia Roberts in Erin Brockovich (2000)

JULIA ROBERTS (4 nominations, 1 win):
Steel Magnolias*
Pretty Woman
Erin Brockovich
August: Osage County*

Emma Thompson in Howards End (1992)

EMMA THOMPSON (4 nominations, 1 win):
Howards End
In the Name of the Father*
The Remains of the Day
Sense and Sensibility

Joanne Woodward in The Three Faces of Eve (1957)

JOANNE WOODWARD (4 nominations, 1 win):
The Three Faces of Eve
Rachel, Rachel
Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams
Mr. & Mrs. Bridge

Jane Wyman in Johnny Belinda (1948)

JANE WYMAN (4 nominations, 1 win):
The Yearling
Johnny Belinda
The Blue Veil
Magnificent Obsession

Jodie Foster in The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

JODIE FOSTER (4 nominations, 2 wins):
Taxi Driver*
The Accused
The Silence of the Lambs
Nell

Glenda Jackson in Women in Love (1969)

GLENDA JACKSON (4 nominations, 2 wins):
Women in Love
Sunday Bloody Sunday
A Touch of Class
Hedda

Irene Dunne in The Awful Truth (1937)

IRENE DUNNE (5 nominations):
Cimarron
Theodora Goes Wild
The Awful Truth
Love Affair
I Remember Mama

Anne Bancroft in The Miracle Worker (1962)

ANNE BANCROFT (5 nominations, 1 win):
The Miracle Worker
The Pumpkin Eater
The Graduate
The Turning Point
Agnes of God

Susan Hayward in I Want to Live! (1958)

SUSAN HAYWARD (5 nominations, 1 win):
Smash-Up: The Story of a Woman
My Foolish Heart
With a Song in My Heart
I’ll Cry Tomorrow
I Want to Live!

Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday (1953)

AUDREY HEPBURN (5 nominations, 1 win):
Roman Holiday
Sabrina
The Nun’s Story
Breakfast at Tiffany’s
Wait Until Dark

Jennifer Jones in The Song of Bernadette (1943)

JENNIFER JONES (5 nominations, 1 win):
The Song of Bernadette
Since You Went Away*
Love Letters
Duel in the Sun
Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing

Shirley MacLaine in Terms of Endearment (1983)

SHIRLEY MACLAINE (5 nominations, 1 win):
Some Came Running
The Apartment
Irma la Douce
The Turning Point
Terms of Endearment

Julianne Moore in Still Alice (2014)

JULIANNE MOORE (5 nominations, 1 win):
Boogie Nights*
The End of the Affair
The Hours
Far from Heaven
Still Alice

Susan Sarandon in Dead Man Walking (1995)

SUSAN SARANDON (5 nominations, 1 win):
Atlantic City
Thelma & Louise
Lorenzo’s Oil
The Client
Dead Man Walking

Olivia de Havilland in The Heiress (1949)

OLIVIA DE HAVILLAND (5 nominations, 2 wins):
Gone with the Wind*
Hold Back the Dawn
To Each His Own
The Snake Pit
The Heiress

Elizabeth Taylor in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)

ELIZABETH TAYLOR (5 nominations, 2 wins):
Raintree County
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Suddenly, Last Summer
BUtterfield 8
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

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