Summary

• Meryl Streep holds the record for most Oscar nominations, scoring an impressive 21 but with only 3 wins.
• Katharine Hepburn tops the list with 4 Oscar wins, all for Best Actress in a Leading Role.
• Cate Blanchett won an Oscar for portraying Hepburn in 'The Aviator', showcasing her talent as an actress.

While every actor dreams of bringing home an Oscar, only a few have won multiple statuettes, with one standing out as the actor with the most Oscar wins. Since the acting branch is the largest within the Academy, the acting categories end up being one of the most competitive each year. Moreover, the branch gets to have a big influence in the Best Picture category, which every Academy member votes for, with a great bunch of actors taking part in the ceremony's most prestigious decision.

The Oscars have been going on since 1929, and some actors have broken unbelievable records throughout the Academy Awards history. Meryl Streep is by far the actor with the most Oscar nominations, a whopping 21, and she won three times. Meanwhile, Glenn Close and Peter O'Toole tie in the category of actors with the most Oscar nominations and no wins, each having eight nods and eight losses. Of course, winning isn't everything, and it's an honor just to be nominated, but it's also a special achievement to be the one actor to win the most Oscars.

Katharine Hepburn Won Four Oscars

Katharine Hepburn is the actor who won the most Oscars, earning four of the most prestigious awards an actress can get: Best Actress in a Leading Role. In fact, of all Hepburn's 12 nominations, she always received recognition for her lead performance in a movie. Surprisingly, Hepburn never once stepped foot in the ceremonies to receive her Academy Awards. She said, "As for me, prizes are nothing," indicating that her true reward was the incredible roles that made her 66-year acting career so memorable (via THR).

The legendary actress was nominated for the first time in 1934 for her performance in Morning Glory, which today isn't even considered among Katharine Hepburn's best movies. She played a wannabe actress in the New York movie scene and right away she won her first Oscar for that performance. Nearly 35 years ed until Hepburn received another Oscar, but it turned out to be the first of two consecutive wins. Her second win was for Guess Who's Coming to Dinner in 1968, then The Lion in Winter one year later. She won her fourth Oscar for On Golden Pond in 1982, at age 75.

Cate Blanchett Won An Oscar For Playing Katharine Hepburn

With seven Oscar nominations and two wins, Cate Blanchett is also one of the most-awarded actors in the Academy's history. What makes the feat even more interesting is that Blanchett won her first Oscar by playing Katharine Hepburn in Martin Scorsese's true story of Howard Hughes, a successful film producer and aviation magnate who was romantically involved with Hepburn in the '30s. Although The Aviator isn't primarily about her character, Blanchett effectively steals the show by adapting Hepburn's distinctive charm to her own features, resulting in an original yet accurate portrayal of the actress.

Which Actors Are 1 Win Shy Of Tying Katharine Hepburn

Among actors who are still working and alive today, Jack Nicholson, Meryl Streep, s McDormand, and Daniel Day-Lewis all have 3 Oscars each. McDormand is the most recent Oscar recipient of the bunch for her lead role in the 2021 Best Picture winner Nomadland. McDormand and Streep have the best chances in the pool to tie Hepburn, as both remain active in the acting space. Oscar winner Daniel Day-Lewis notably has reaffirmed his stance on his retirement from acting while Nicholson has not appeared in any movie since 2010.