Actors With the Most Oscar Nominations but No Wins

Some of Hollywood's greatest actors have been nominated for several awards but never taken an Oscar home.

Some actors, despite receiving multiple Oscar nominations, have never won an Academy Award. While highly acclaimed for their performances, people like Glenn Close, Amy Adams and Bradley Cooper continue to await the elusive gold statuette.

Sure, we know it’s nice to be nominated and recognized for your work, but a win is a win. These are the actors and actresses who have been nominated for an Oscar the most without ever securing victory.

12. Montgomery Clift (Tie)

Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

Number of nominations: 4

Birthdate: Oct. 17, 1920

An early method actor, Montgomery Clift made his debut in the 1948 western “Red River.”

Clift earned three Best Actor nods from 1948 to 1953 in “The Search,” “A Place in the Sun” (with good friend Elizabeth Taylor) and “From Here to Eternity.” He also secured a nomination for Best Supporting Actor for “Judgment at Nuremberg” in 1961.

12. Charles Boyer (Tie)

Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

Number of nominations: 4

Birthdate: Aug. 28, 1899

French actor Charles Boyer received four Oscar nominations beginning in 1937. His first was for his portrayal of Napoleon Bonaparte in “Conquest.” The next year, he received another Best Actor nomination for his role as mastermind of the underworld in “Algiers.”

His third nomination came in 1944 for the film “Gaslight,” where he played a manipulative husband who convinces his wife she’s going insane. And in 1961, his final Oscar nod was for a supporting role in the romantic film, “Fanny.”

Despite his talent and nominations, he never took home an Academy Award.

12. Warren Beatty (Tie)

Uncredited / AP Photo

Number of nominations: 4

Birthdate: March 30, 1937

Warren Beatty has four nominations but no wins — at least in the Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor categories. In 1968, he got a Best Actor nod for his portrayal of Clyde Barrow in “Bonnie and Clyde.” Best Actor nominations followed in 1979 (for “Heaven Can Wait”) and 1982 (for “Reds”). His final Best Actor nomination came in 1992 for his portrayal of gangster Bugsy Siegel in “Bugsy.”

However, Beatty does have a Best Director Oscar for “Reds.”

12. Agnes Moorehead (Tie)

Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

Number of nominations: 4

Birthdate: Dec. 6, 1900

You may remember Agnes Moorehead as the thorny mother-in-law from the sitcom “Bewitched,” but before her TV career, she was a contemporary of none other than Orson Welles as one of his Mercury Players.

She was nominated three times for Best Supporting Actress — for Welles’ “The Magnificent Ambersons” in 1942, “Mrs. Parkington” in 1944, “Johnny Belinda” in 1948 and “Hush…Hush, Sweet Charlotte” in 1964.

Moorehead is also a six-time Emmy nominee for her role as Endora in “Bewitched,” but she never won there either.

7. Bradley Cooper (Tie)

Jordan Strauss / Invision/AP Photo

Number of nominations: 5

Birthdate: Jan. 5, 1975

Bradley Cooper currently has five nominations in the acting category — for “Silver Linings Playbook” in 2013, “American Hustle” in 2014, “American Sniper” in 2015 and “A Star Is Born” in 2019.

He earned his fifth nomination in 2024 for his role as composer Leonard Bernstein in “Maestro.” We will soon find out if this is his year, though “Oppenheimer” actor Cillian Murphy is proving hard to beat.

7. Annette Bening (Tie)

Jordan Strauss / Invision/AP Photo

Number of nominations: 5

Birthdate: May 29, 1958

Annette Bening earned her first nomination in the Best Supporting Actress category in 1991 for “The Grifters.” Nearly a decade later, in 2000, she garnered a nomination for Best Actress for her role in “American Beauty,” where she portrayed a discontented suburban wife. She next received a Best Actress nod for “Julia,” in which she plays the titular character, and finally, in 2011, she received yet another nomination for her portrayal of one half of a lesbian couple in “The Kids Are All Right.”

She also received a 2024 nomination for her role in “Nyad” as Diana Nyad, the real-life endurance swimmer who attempts to complete a long-distance swim from Cuba to Florida.

7. Michelle Williams (Tie)

Joel C Ryan / Invision/AP Photo

Number of nominations: 5

Birthdate: Sept. 9, 1980

Like Bradley Cooper, Michelle Williams still has plenty of time to pick up a golden statuette or two in her lifetime. So far, however, she’s received five nominations but no wins.

In 2006, she secured her initial Oscar nomination for her supporting performance in “Brokeback Mountain” opposite her then-partner Heath Ledger. In 2011, she received acclaim for her leading role in “Blue Valentine” opposite Ryan Gosling. The following year, she garnered attention for her depiction of Marilyn Monroe in “My Week with Marilyn.” And her fourth nod arrived in 2017 for her role in “Manchester by the Sea.”

In 2023, she graced the red carpet a fifth time with a nomination for her role as the matriarch of the Fableman family in “The Fabelmans,” Steven Spielberg’s autobiographical movie.

7. Arthur Kennedy (Tie)

John Irving / Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 DEED)

Number of nominations: 5

Birthdate: Feb. 17, 1914

Arthur Kennedy is all but forgotten today (he was more a stage actor than film actor), but he garnered five nominations in the 1950s. His first nod came in 1949 for “Champion,” followed by nominations for “Bright Victory” (1951), “Trial” (1955), “Peyton Place” (1957) and “Some Came Running” (1958).

Despite these accolades, he never secured an Oscar win.

7. Albert Finney (Tie)

AP Photo

Number of nominations: 5

Birthdate: May 9, 1936

British actor Albert Finney garnered five Academy Award nominations during his career. His first nomination came in 1964 for Best Actor in the film “Tom Jones,” in which he played the titular role. He received his second nomination for Best Actor in 1975 for “Murder on the Orient Express,” followed by nods in the same category for “The Dresser” (1983) and “Under the Volcano” (1984).

His fifth and final Oscar nomination was in the Best Supporting Actor category for “Erin Brockovich” in 2001 as Ed Masry, Erin’s surly but fair boss.

4. Thelma Ritter (Tie)

Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

Number of nominations: 6

Birthdate: Feb. 14, 1905

Character actress Thelma Ritter received six Oscar nominations — all for Best Supporting Actress for roles in “All About Eve” (1950), “The Mating Season” (1951), “With a Song in My Heart” (1952), “Pickup on South Street” (1953) as well as “Pillow Talk” (1959) and “Birdman of Alcatraz” (1962).

She has been nominated more times in this category than any other actress.

4. Deborah Kerr (Tie)

AP Photo

Number of nominations: 6

Birthdate: Sept. 30, 1921

Scottish actress Deborah Kerr received six Best Actress nods during her illustrious career, starting with 1949’s “Edward, My Son.” Nominations for her two most memorable films, “From Here to Eternity” (1953) and “The King and I” (1956), followed.

She also received nods for “Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison” in 1958, “Separate Tables” in 1959 and “The Sundowners” in 1961.

4. Amy Adams (Tie)

Jordan Strauss / Invision/AP Photo

Number of nominations: 6

Birthdate: Aug. 20, 1974

Amy Adams is relatively young with a long career ahead of her, so she will likely have plenty more nominations and (hopefully!) even some wins.

Currently, she has five Best Supporting Actress nods for “Junebug” (2005), “Doubt” (2008), “The Fighter” (2010), “The Master” (2012) and “Vice” (2018). She also won a Best Actress nomination for “American Hustle” (2013).

3. Richard Burton

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Number of nominations: 7

Birthdate: Nov. 10, 1925

It’s hard to believe a legend like Richard Burton came home from the Oscars empty handed seven times, but he most certainly did.

His first nomination was for “My Cousin Rachel” (1952), which paved the way for Oscar nominations for his roles in “The Robe” (1953), “Becket” (1964), “The Spy Who Came in from the Cold” (1965), “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” (1966), “Anne of the Thousand Days” (1969) and “Equus” (1977).

1. Peter O’ Toole (Tie)

AP Photo

Number of nominations: 8

Birthdate: Aug. 2, 1932

Another person you may have assumed was an Oscar-winning actor but isn’t is another legendary actor, Peter O’Toole.

His first nomination was for his iconic role in “Lawrence of Arabia” (1962) as the titular character. Subsequent nominations followed for his roles in “Becket” (1964), “The Lion in Winter” (1968), “Goodbye, Mr. Chips” (1969), “The Ruling Class” (1972), “The Stunt Man” (1980), “My Favorite Year” (1982) and “Venus” (2006).

However, in 2002, the Academy gave him an Honorary Award for his overall contributions to film.

1. Glenn Close (Tie)

Evan Agostini / Invision/AP Photo

Number of nominations: 8

Birthdate: March 19, 1947

Glenn Close is one of America’s best actors and has played wildly different and memorable characters. Despite this, she’s never won an Oscar.

She’s been nominated for roles in “The World According to Garp” (1982), “The Big Chill” (1983), “The Natural” (1984), “Fatal Attraction” (1987), “Dangerous Liaisons” (1988), “Albert Nobbs” (2011), “The Wife” (2017) and “Hillbilly Elegy” (2020).

Luckily, Close is still acting and may yet have a winning year.