She kept her accessories very minimal save for a delicate choker. Gwyneth Paltrow's striking pink Ralph Lauren gown was an instant classic. She is of Irish, French/French-Canadian, Pennsylvania Dutch (German), and Native American ancestry.. She worked a number of jobs before she became an actress. She had one sibling... Named after child star Shirley Temple, Shirley Jones started singing at the age of six. Known as "The First lady of the American Theater", Helen Hayes had a legendary career on stage and in films and television that spanned over eighty years. Janet Gaynor was born Laura Gainor on October 6, 1906, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Donna grew up as a farm girl, much like many young ... Actress and producer Eva Marie Saint was born on July 4, 1924 on Newark, New Jersey. The gown was remarkably similar to the one worn by Joanne Woodward a year earlier. Elizabeth Taylor did not hold back in this dramatic Christian Dior gown. Davis wore a dress with elaborate lapels to accept her best actress Oscar. RELATED: No 'thank you'? Here's a look back at the gowns worn by Oscar-winning best actresses. Judy Holliday didn't attend the awards in 1951, but she did try to give an acceptance speech from the New York Oscars party where she and fellow nominee Gloria Swanson were celebrating. The plunging back was unquestionably one of the most talked-about gowns of the evening. However, her outfit was simple — she wore white tennis shoes and a simple skirt and jacket to accept the statue. She made history at the ceremony by giving part of her acceptance speech in sign language! She made her cinema debut in Don't Bother to Knock (1952) in ... Patricia Neal, the Oscar and Tony Award-winning actress, was born Patsy Louise Neal in Packard, Kentucky, where her father managed a coal mine and her mother was the daughter of the town doctor. Her father, Jerome Jesse Berry, was African-American, and worked as a hospital attendant. The incomparable Meryl Streep took home her third Oscar playing Margaret Thatcher in "The Iron Lady" in 2012. She is of Irish, and one eighth German, descent. Renee Zellweger wore this fabulous one-shoulder white dress covered in sparkly beading. RELATED: Are shoulder pads back in style? The 2019 Oscar winners are here! The gown features intricate floral embellishments all throughout the bodice and skirt for a magical effect. Subsequent research by AMPAS has resulted in a list of unofficial or de facto nominees, based on records of which films were evaluated by the judges. The award is traditionally presented by the previous year's Best Actor winner. Norma Shearer was the third woman to take home the Oscar for best actress. Her film career also includes ... Jo Van Fleet was born on December 29, 1915 in Oakland, California. She has two older brothers. The stunning star paired the look with long white gloves and a bib-style necklace. She paired the look with a long pendant and shoulder-length curls. Despite her age and weight, she became one of the top box office draws of the sound era. The designer of Garson's (second from left) stylish set remains unknown. "The Rose Tattoo" marked Magnani's first English-speaking role in Hollywood. With more ups ... Jodie Foster started her career at the age of two. She wore a white Armani tuxedo jacket with shimmering pants and white gloves. Upon graduating from high school, Shirley went to New York to audition for the casting director of Rodgers & ... Rita Moreno is one of the very few performers to win an Oscar, an Emmy, a Tony and a Grammy, thus becoming an EGOT. Renee Zellweger nabbed her second Academy Award in 2020, this time as best actress for her role as Judy Garland in the eponymous biopic. Natalie Portman poses while pregnant at the Oscars in 2011. Pregnant with her daughter Mamie Gummer, that expectant-mom glow added extra shine. There's never been a more outrageous Oscars gown than the one worn by Cher in 1988. Academy Award Winner: Name of Character Role : Best Supporting Actress* Academy Award Winner : Name of Character Role : 1927-28: Janet Gaynor Seventh Heaven, Street Angel, and Sunrise: Diane/Angela/The Wife : N/A: N/A: 1928-29: Mary Pickford Coquette: Norma Besant : N/A: N/A: 1929-30: Norma Shearer The Divorcee: Jerry Bernard Martin : N/A: N/A: 1930-31: Marie Dressler Min and Bill: … [1] Currently, nominees are determined by single transferable vote within the actors branch of AMPAS; winners are selected by a plurality vote from the entire eligible voting members of the Academy. She was the illegitimate child of Marina Magnani and an unknown father, often said to be from Alexandria, Egypt, but whom Anna herself claimed was from the Calabria region of Italy although she never ... Joanne Gignilliat Trimmier Woodward was born on February 27, 1930, in Thomasville, Georgia, to Wade Woodward and Elinor Gignilliat Trimmier Woodward in a modest household. RELATED: Oscars 2017: And the Academy Award nominations go to... Again, Hepburn skipped the Oscars — not once in all of her 12 nominations did she go to the ceremony. Just three years after taking home her first Oscar, Jodie Foster won again in 1992 and chose a demure outfit for the occasion. Fletcher wore a pale, sheer Alfred Fiandaca gown for her win as Nurse Ratched in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest." It is given in honor of an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance in a leading role while working within the film industry. The style seems like it would have been appropriate for both the young actress at the Academy Awards and a high schooler on her way to prom. Natalie Portman took home the Oscar for her work in "Black Swan" and looked stunning in a purple gown from fashion-forward brand Rodarte. She was born Rosita Dolores Alverío in the hospital in Humacao, Puerto Rico on December 11, 1931 (but raised in nearby, smaller Juncos, which had no hospital), to seamstress Rosa ... Patty Duke was born Anna Marie Duke on December 14, 1946 in Elmhurst, New York, to Frances Margaret (McMahon), a cashier, and John Patrick Duke, a cab driver and handyman. ... Academy Award-winning actress Marion Cotillard was born on September 30, 1975 in Paris. She was born in Smyrna, Georgia, to Betty Lou (Bredemus) and Walter Grady Roberts, one-time actors and playwrights, and is of English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh, German, and Swedish descent. She was educated at the University of Minnesota and later married ... Alice Brady was born in New York City on November 2, 1892. Her father was a British patent attorney with a lucrative practice in Japan, but due to Joan and older sister Olivia de Havilland's recurring ailments the family moved to ... Eileen Evelyn Greer Garson was born on September 29, 1904 in London, England, to Nancy Sophia (Greer) and George Garson, a commercial clerk. ", Looking pretty as a princess, Gwyneth Paltrow holds the award she won for her work in "Shakespeare in Love. Her maternal grandmother, Frances Martha Dominguez, was of Mexican descent, and her other roots include German, English, and ... Julia Fiona Roberts never dreamed she would become the most popular actress in America. ", Courtesy Everett Collection / Everett Collection / Everett Col, Audrey Hepburn won best actress for her role in "Roman Holiday.". The award ceremony has been the site of so many iconic fashion moments, and the stars who have taken home the trophy for best actress never fail to wear glamorous looks. The turtleneck dress came complete with big shoulder pads that were even further accentuated by beading throughout. The 2nd Academy Awards is unique in being the only occasion where there were no official nominees. Ingrid Bergman's demure look at the awards ceremony in 1945 was a departure from the more ornate gowns of Oscars past. After her high school graduation in 1947, Grace ... Anna Magnani was born in Rome, Italy (not in Egypt, as some biographies claim), on March 7, 1908. However, she didn't attend the ceremony — instead, her friend Cary Grant accepted on her behalf. Jane Fonda poses in a flowy gown after receiving her Academy Award. The actress told InStyle that she still has the stunning gown but she doesn't see herself wearing it again. Fonda wore a black suit as a statement of support for women's equality, and to protest the Vietnam War. Considered by many critics to be the greatest living actress, Meryl Streep has been nominated for the Academy Award an astonishing 21 times, and has won it three times. Kate Winslet poses at the Academy Awards in 2009. Her parents divorced when she was 10. The cocktail dress featured a floral tulle laid over a body-hugging white dress. Sophia Loren's win for "Two Women" was the first time an actor won for a foreign language film — but she was too nervous to attend the ceremony, later saying that she thought she'd faint if she actually won. Though she wasn't yet Princess of Monaco, Grace Kelly exuded Hollywood royalty in this mint silk gown designed by Edith Head. ", Frances McDormand poses with her Oscar for "Fargo.". Her family is of Russian Jewish and Polish Jewish descent.Marlee lost much of her hearing at the age of eighteen months. As Claudette ... Ruth Elizabeth Davis was born April 5, 1908, in Lowell, Massachusetts, to Ruth Augusta (Favor) and Harlow Morrell Davis, a patent attorney. Sally Field accepts her award for best actress. This glittering and glamorous gown looked beautiful on Theron as she won. Her... Fay Bainter's career began as a child performer in 1898. Vivien Leigh took home the Oscar for playing Scarlett O'Hara in "Gone With the Wind.". The combination of those most mundane of attributes has led some to suggest that she was made for the role of Agatha Christie's indomitable sleuth, Jane Marple, whom Rutherford ... Lila Kedrova was a Russian actress, who spend most of her career as an expatriate. Paired with pearls and curls, it's an instant reminder of Old Hollywood. [3] Starting with the 9th ceremony held in 1937, the category was officially limited to five nominations per year. Bergman's simple blouse and skirt combination allowed her award to really shine. Fontaine (left; to her right is presenter Ginger Rogers) wore a dramatic black lace dress, designed by I. Magnin & Co. She paired it with an eye-catching black and white hairpiece. Her father was a transportation worker, and Susan lived a fairly comfortable life as a child, but the precocious little redhead had no idea of the life that awaited her. Matlin's detailed lilac number was designed by Theoni V. Aldredge. In 1994, Holly Hunter was nominated in both the best actress and best supporting actress categories. The Academy Award for Best Actress is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). "Maybe (my daughter) Ava will — it would make a pretty wedding dress." Ellen Burstyn had a Broadway conflict, missing the ceremony to star in "Same Time, Next Year." Veteran character actress Anne Revere became another in the long line of talented artists whose careers would crash under the weight of the "Red Scare" hysteria that tore through Hollywood in the 1940s and 1950s. The 25 greatest Best Actress winners in Oscar history. Her mother, a piano teacher, was attending a play when she went into labor and made it to the hospital just in time. She moved to New York, working as a model, until producer Dino De Laurentiis... Susan Sarandon was born Susan Abigail Tomalin in New York City, NY, to homemaker Lenora Marie (Criscione) and Phillip Leslie Tomalin, an advertising executive. She took home the statuette for best actress and wore a sophisticated Vera Wang creation for the event. She was of mostly Irish (with a small amount of English and German) ... Josephine Sherwood changed her name after marrying stage actor Shelly Hull in 1910. Jennifer Jones (second from left) celebrated her win in a simple dress. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Her parents divorced in 1950 and her mother then married stuntman Jock Mahoney, and they had a daughter, Princess O'Mahoney. Her father, Donald Cole, was a consulting engineer, and died in 1926 when Kim was only three years old. She paired the look with delicate chandelier earrings. Her mother, Helga Bullock (née Helga Mathilde Meyer), was a German opera singer. Olivia Colman looked regal in a custom-made Prada gown that combined unlikely elements, like a turtleneck, long sleeves and a silk organza cape that gathered into a bow at the back. Olivia De Havilland accepts her award for best actress onstage. Her dedication to her craft has earned her the respect of many of today's great actors including Meryl... Marlee Beth Matlin was born in Morton Grove, Illinois, to Libby (Hammer) and Donald Matlin, an automobile dealer. The following year, this unwieldy and confusing system was replaced by the current system in which an actress is nominated for a specific performance in a single film. If a film were made of the life of Vivien Leigh, it would open in India just before World War I, where a successful British businessman could live like a prince. She didn't attend the 1964 ceremony. Nicole Kidman poses with her best actress Oscar at the 75th annual Academy Awards. Always true to herself, she was able to ... Katina Paxinou was born in 1900, in Piraeus, Greece. Her parents were very ambitious for her as they recognized ... A natural and lovely talent who was discovered for films by Samuel Goldwyn, the always likable Teresa Wright distinguished herself early on in high-caliber, Oscar-worthy form -- the only performer ever to be nominated for Oscars for her first three films. Her parents were Emilie (Königsberger) and Heinrich Rainer, a businessman. She was the daughter of a salesman and his wife, Catherine, who herself was the daughter of Frank Lloyd Wright, the world-renowned architect. Theron is of Afrikaner (Dutch, with some French Huguenot and German) descent, and Afrikaner ... Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon was born on March 22, 1976 at Southern Baptist Hospital (now Memorial Medical Center) in New Orleans, Louisiana. The show aired tonight on ABC, and now we all know which Oscars 2020 nominees took home the most coveted prize in film, the Oscar®. Tell us what you think about this feature. Spencer Tracy and Bette Davis accept their awards for best actor and best actress at the 11th Annual Academy Awards. Her father, Riccardo Scicolone, was married to another woman and refused to marry her mother, Romilda Villani, despite the fact that she was the mother of his two children (Sophia and ... Anne Bancroft was born on September 17, 1931 in the Bronx, the daughter of Michael Italiano (1905-2001), a dress pattern maker, and Mildred DiNapoli (1908-2010), a telephone operator, both of whom were the children of Italian immigrants.