Awards for Debut in Acting, Directing, Other Achievements
Individuals who won Academy Awards for their film debut acting performances:
Best Actor
None
Best Actress
Shirley Booth (Come Back, Little Sheba, 1952)
Julie Andrews (Mary Poppins, 1964)
Barbra Streisand (Funny Girl, 1968)
Marlee Matlin (Children of a Lesser God, 1986)
Best Supporting Actor
Harold Russell (The Best Years of Our Lives, 1946)
Timothy Hutton (Ordinary People, 1980)
Haing S. Ngor (The Killing Fields, 1984)
Best Supporting Actress
Gale Sondergaard (Anthony Adverse, 1936)
Katina Paxinou (For Whom the Bell Tolls, 1943)
Mercedes McCambridge (All the King’s Men, 1949)
Eva Marie Saint (On the Waterfront, 1954)
Jo Van Fleet (East of Eden, 1955)
Tatum O’Neal (Paper Moon, 1973)
Anna Paquin (The Piano, 1993)
Jennifer Hudson (Dreamgirls, 2006)
Lupita Nyong’o (12 Years a Slave, 2013)
Honorary Award
Harold Russell (The Best Years of Our Lives, 1946)
Juvenile Award
Claude Jarman Jr. (The Yearling, 1946)
Vincent Winter (The Little Kidnappers, 1954)
Individuals who won Oscar Awards for debut direction:
Best Director
Delbert Mann (Marty, 1955)
Jerome Robbins (West Side Story, 1961)
Robert Redford (Ordinary People, 1980)
James L. Brooks (Terms of Endearment, 1983)
Kevin Costner (Dances with Wolves, 1990)
Sam Mendes (American Beauty, 1999)
Best Picture: Big Five Winners
Three films have received the Big Five Academy Awards: Best Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, and Screenplay (Original or Adapted).
It Happened One Night (1934)
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Most Consecutive awards
Any awards
Walt Disney was awarded a record of 10 awards in the eight consecutive years from 1931/32 through 1939. Eight (listed below) are for Short Subject (Cartoon), and two were Special Awards: one for the creation of Mickey Mouse, and one recognizing the innovation of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
Best Actress
Two actresses have won two consecutive awards:
Luise Rainer (The Great Ziegfeld, 1936 and The Good Earth, 1937)
Katharine Hepburn (Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, 1967 and The Lion in Winter, 1968)
Best Actor
Two actors have won two consecutive awards:
Spencer Tracy–Captains Courageous (1937) and Boys Town (1938)
Tom Hanks–Philadelphia (1993) and Forrest Gump (1994)
Best Director
Three directors have won two consecutive awards:
John Ford – The Grapes of Wrath (1940) and How Green Was My Valley (1941)
Joseph L. Mankiewicz – A Letter to Three Wives (1949) and All About Eve (1950)
Alejandro G. Iñárritu – Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014) and The Revenant (2015)
Best Supporting Actor
Jason Robards won two consecutive awards for All the President’s Men in 1976 and Julia in 1977
Best Supporting Actress
No consecutive winner for Best Supporting Actress
Best Original Screenplay
No consecutive winner for Best Original Screenplay
Best Adapted Screenplay
Joseph L. Mankiewicz won two consecutive adapted screenplay awards for A Letter to Three Wives in 1949 and All About Eve in 1950
Robert Bolt won for Doctor Zhivago in 1965 and A Man for All Seasons in 1966
Best Cinematography
Emmanuel Lubezki has won three consecutive awards for Gravity in 2013, Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) in 2014 and The Revenant in 2015
Best Art Direction
Thomas Little won 4 consecutive awards for Best Art Direction. He won Best Art Direction, Black and White, for the films How Green Was My Valley in 1941, This Above All in 1942, and The Song of Bernadette in 1943, and then Oscar the next year in 1944 for Best Art Direction, Color for the film Wilson.
Best Film Editing
Angus Wall and Kirk Baxter won for The Social Network in 2010 and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo in 2011
Best Original Score
Roger Edens won three consecutive awards for composing the scores for Easter Parade (1948), On the Town (1949), and Annie Get Your Gun (1950)
Best Original Song
Three composers have won two consecutive awards for best original song, but under different award names:
Henry Mancini (music) and Johnny Mercer (lyrics) shared the awards for Best Music (Song) for “Moon River” from Breakfast at Tiffany’s in 1961 and “Days of Wine and Roses” from Days of Wine and Roses in 1962
Alan Menken (music) won twice consecutively for Best Music (Original Song) for “Beauty and the Beast” from Beauty and the Beast (lyrics by Howard Ashman) in 1991 and “A Whole New World” from Aladdin (lyrics by Tim Rice) in 1992
Best Visual Effects
Jim Rygiel and Randall William Cook won three consecutive visual effects Oscars for The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002), and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003).
Best Sound Mixing
Thomas Moulton won 3 consecutive awards for The Snake Pit in 1948, Twelve O’Clock High in 1949, and All About Eve in 1950.
Best Costume Design
Of Edith Head’s 8 awards won for Best Costume Design, three were won in consecutive years: in 1949 for The Heiress, in 1950 for All About Eve, and in 1951 for A Place in the Sun.
Best Short Subject (Cartoon)
Of Walt Disney’s many awards for Best Animated Short, eight of these wins were in consecutive years, for Flowers and Trees in 1931/32, Three Little Pigs in 1932/33, The Tortoise and the Hare in 1934, Three Orphan Kittens in 1935, The Country Cousin in 1936, The Old Mill in 1937, Ferdinand the Bull in 1938, and The Ugly Duckling in 1939
Best Short Subject (Two-Reel)
Of Walt Disney’s mulitple awards for Best Live Action Short, four of his wins were in consecutive years, in 1950 for In Beaver Valley, in 1951 for Nature’s Half Acre, in 1952 for Water Birds, and in 1953 for Bear Country
Best Documentary (Feature)
Walt Disney won two consecutive awards for The Living Desert in 1953 and The Vanishing Prairie in 1954
