Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress



The Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given in honor of an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance in a supporting role while working within the film industry.

At the 9th Academy Awards ceremony held in 1937, Gale Sondergaard was the first winner of this award for her role in Anthony Adverse. Initially, winners in both supporting acting categories were awarded plaques instead of statuettes. Beginning with the 16th ceremony held in 1944, however, winners received full-sized statuettes. 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.

Since its inception, the award has been given to 78 actresses. Dianne Wiest and Shelley Winters have received the most awards in this category with two awards each. Despite winning no awards, Thelma Ritter was nominated on six occasions, more than any other actress. As of the 2017 ceremony, Viola Davis is the most recent winner in this category for her role as Rose Maxson in Fences.

Winners and nominees
In the following table, the years are listed as per Academy convention, and generally correspond to the year of film release in Los Angeles County; the ceremonies are always held the following year.

Multiple nominations

 * 6 nominations
 * Thelma Ritter (6/0)


 * 4 nominations


 * Amy Adams (4/0)
 * Ethel Barrymore (4/1)
 * Lee Grant (4/1)
 * Agnes Moorehead (4/0)
 * Geraldine Page (4/0)
 * Maggie Smith (4/1)
 * Maureen Stapleton (4/1)
 * Meryl Streep (4/1)


 * 3 nominations


 * Cate Blanchett (3/1)
 * Glenn Close (3/0)
 * Gladys Cooper (3/0)
 * Celeste Holm (3/1)
 * Diane Ladd (3/0)
 * Angela Lansbury (3/0)
 * Frances McDormand (3/0)
 * Anne Revere (3/1)
 * Claire Trevor (3/1)
 * Marisa Tomei (3/1)
 * Dianne Wiest (3/2)
 * Kate Winslet (3/0)
 * Shelley Winters (3/2)


 * 2 nominations


 * Jane Alexander (2/0)
 * Joan Allen (2/0)
 * Fay Bainter (2/1)
 * Kathy Bates (2/0)
 * Beulah Bondi (2/0)
 * Alice Brady (2/1)
 * Dyan Cannon (2/0)
 * Joan Cusack (2/0)
 * Penélope Cruz (2/1)
 * Viola Davis (2/1)
 * Judi Dench (2/1)
 * Melinda Dillon (2/0)
 * Mildred Dunnock (2/0)
 * Edith Evans (2/0)
 * Ruth Gordon (2/1)
 * Gloria Grahame (2/1)
 * Marcia Gay Harden (2/1)
 * Eileen Heckart (2/1)
 * Wendy Hiller (2/1)
 * Holly Hunter (2/0)
 * Anjelica Huston (2/1)
 * Madeline Kahn (2/0)
 * Catherine Keener (2/0)
 * Shirley Knight (2/0)
 * Elsa Lanchester (2/0)
 * Piper Laurie (2/0)
 * Mercedes McCambridge (2/1)
 * Sylvia Miles (2/0)
 * Helen Mirren (2/0)
 * Julianne Moore (2/0)
 * Maria Ouspenskaya (2/0)
 * Estelle Parsons (2/1)
 * Marjorie Rambeau (2/0)
 * Vanessa Redgrave (2/1)
 * Julia Roberts (2/0)
 * Joyce Redman (2/0)
 * Gale Sondergaard (2/1)
 * Octavia Spencer (2/1)
 * Jacki Weaver (2/0)
 * May Whitty (2/0)
 * Michelle Williams (2/0)
 * Teresa Wright (2/1)

Multiple awards
The following individuals received two Best Supporting Actress awards: