For that are curious what I mean, in the history of the Academy, it's actually quite rare to get your sole nomination for Best Actress. I've looked at this stat in the past, and it's roughly true that in any given year 4/5 of the nominees will be a multiple-nominee, either already or in the future; this is much lower than any other acting category & resembles more a branch like Score or Cinematography. This year, we have a strange situation where none of the Best Actress nominees are on their sole nomination, even though two are enjoying their first. In addition to previous nominees Charlize Theron, Renee Zellweger, & Saoirse Ronan, we have Scarlett Johansson (cited for Best Actress for Marriage Story and Supporting Actress in Jojo Rabbit) and Cynthia Erivo (named for Best Actress & Best Original Song for Harriet). In addition, we have Margot Robbie getting her name out of the list of women who have been nominated only once in the Best Actress category (for 2017's I, Tonya), getting her second citation for Bombshell. So, who, exactly, are the women who have been nominated in the past only once for Best Actress? And which ones are most likely to get off that list in the future? Let's take a look, shall we?
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| Ann Harding |
Number of Solo Nominees: 12 (Nancy Carroll, Ann Harding, Lynn Fontanne, May Robson, Diana Wynward, Grace Moore, Elisabeth Bergner, Miriam Hopkins, Merle Oberon, Gladys George, Carole Lombard, and Margaret Sullavan)
Any Winners?: Not a one of them. Luise Rainer, Marie Dressler, Viven Leigh, and Helen Hayes came the closest, each only receiving two Oscar nominations in their careers.
I'd Like An Explanation: One of the larger lists of actresses, this may be because only a couple of actresses really dominated the decade in terms of public consciousness, and one of those oddly didn't receive a nomination (Joan Crawford). The early years of the cinema seemed to be kinder to emerging talents and in particular, crossover stars from the theater and opera like Fontanne and Moore.
Who Came Closest to Another Round?: A few of them probably came close. Hopkins received a Golden Globe nomination for her work in The Heiress, so I suspect she was in the running, Lombard was a major player who definitely wanted an Oscar (and may well have gotten one if she hadn't died tragically so early in her career), and Oberon certainly came close with her lead role in Best Picture nominee Wuthering Heights, though she had the misfortune of contending in 1939 against Oscar titans like Bette Davis and Greer Garson.
Most Likely to Get a Second: Elisabeth Bergner was the last living member of the dozen solo nominees listed above, dying in 1986, so no one will be getting a second citation.
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| Martha Scott |
Number of Solo Nominees: 7 (Martha Scott, Ginger Rogers, Jean Arthur, Gene Tierney, Celia Johnson, Dorothy McGuire, and Jeanne Crain)
Any Winners?: Ginger Rogers is one of the only women to win a Best Actress Oscar on her only nomination.
I'd Like An Explanation: The 1940's were dominated by a select 6-7 actresses (Rosalind Russell, Bette Davis, Kate Hepburn, Ingrid Bergman, Olivia de Havilland, Barbara Stanwyck, and Greer Garson) resulting in very few openings for ambitious screen stars. With the exception of perhaps Rogers (who was more noted for musical comedies) none of these are particularly stunning solo nominees, frequently getting upstaged even in their era by the more nominated women at the Box Office.
Who Came Closest to Another Round?: My money is on Tierney, who was a major dramatic actress for 20th Century FOX (her nominated film, Leave Her to Heaven, was the most successful film for the studio during the 1940's), and starred in significant motion pictures of the era like Laura, The Razor's Edge, and The Ghost and Mrs. Muir. Behind her would be Jean Arthur, who starred in two major Oscar films (Mr. Deeds Goes to Town and Shane), but was famously press-shy which probably didn't help, even in a pre-Twitter era.
Most Likely to Get a Second: Both Martha Scott and Jeanne Crain died in 2003, the last living women on that list.
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| Ava Gardner |
Number of Solo Nominees: 10 (Judy Holliday, Shirley Booth, Julie Harris, Ava Gardner, Maggie McNamara, Dorothy Dandridge, Carroll Baker, Nancy Kelly, Lana Turner, and Doris Day)
Any Winners?: Judy Holliday and Shirley Booth both won on their only shots at the fair.
I'd Like An Explanation: We see a slight uptick in the 1950's, possibly because of the decline of the studio system, and possibly because certain women that normally wouldn't do well with the Oscars (glamour girls and romantic comedy leads) both saw a major increase in popularity. Still, women such as Deborah Kerr, Elizabeth Taylor, and the Hepburns continued to prove that it's easy to repeat.
Who Came Closest to Another Round?: Ava Gardner was probably tops amongst the many legends on this list, with her performance in Night of the Iguana grabbing nominations at the Globes and BAFTA's but not the Oscars (Tennessee Williams-penned roles were a major Oscar draw for women of the era, with women ranging from Kate Hepburn to Vivien Leigh to Anna Magnani to Geraldine Page all landing nominations for his plays).
Most Likely to Get a Second: With the recent death of Doris Day, the only living person from this list is Carroll Baker, who is 88, but retired and hasn't had an acting credit since the short-lived 2003 TV series The Lyon's Den where she played Rob Lowe's mother.
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| Debbie Reynolds |
Number of Solo Nominees: 9 (Melina Mercouri, Lee Remick, Rachel Roberts, Debbie Reynolds, Samantha Eggar, Elizabeth Hartman, Anouk Aimee, Ida Kaminska, and Genevieve Bujold)
Any Winners?: Not a one. Sophia Loren, and Patricia Neal all only received two nominations in their careers, so that's the closest.
I'd Like An Explanation: The 1960's are a bit odd in that no woman received more than three nominations (that would be the ever dependable Kate Hepburn, as well as Mrs. Robinson-herself Anne Bancroft), but the decade is dominated by women who either were getting the final nominations of their oft-recognized careers (Bette Davis, Greer Garson, Deborah Kerr) or were starting a long affair with Oscar that would continue into the coming decades (Jane Fonda, Vanessa Redgrave, Julie Christie). That leaves a hodgepodge of foreign-born actresses (very much the rage in the 1960's) and random younger stars who never managed to pop to get the sole nominations.
Who Came Closest to Another Round?: I would imagine it was Lee Remick, to be honest. I know that Debbie Reynolds is the name everyone remembers from the above list, but Remick was nearly nominated in 1959 for Anatomy of a Murder where she played a rape victim and won a Globe nod. It's worth noting that in a very odd year (1966) Elizabeth Hartman could have been cited for her bizarre turn in You're a Big Boy Now as pretty much anyone with a pulse was contending that year (she did get a Globe nod).
Most Likely to Get a Second: Three of these women are still living, and two of them have made films in the past six years: Anouk Aimee and Genevieve Bujold (Samantha Eggar appears to have retired). I'd wager Aimee would have the best shot at a return nomination, perhaps if she got some Emmanuelle Riva sort of role?
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| Diana Ross |
Number of Solo Nominees: 11 (Ali MacGraw, Sarah Miles, Carrie Snodgress, Janet Suzman, Diana Ross, Cicely Tyson, Diahann Carroll, Valerie Perrine, Louise Fletcher, Carol Kane, and Marie Christine-Barrault)
Any Winners?: Louise Fletcher's nurse from Hell (which is pretty much a supporting turn, let's be honest) was the only victory for a sole nomination.
I'd Like An Explanation: This decade saw a number of women that could get nominated basically every time they opened a picture (Ellen Burstyn, Jane Fonda, Marsha Mason, Glenda Jackson), but like the years before we saw a combination of foreign actresses and movie star careers that didn't quite pan out. It's also worth noting the unfortunate fate of black actresses in this category (only two of which have ever been nominated for a second trophy), which means that Ross, Tyson, and Carroll were all one-and-done nominees.
Who Came Closest to Another Round?: Sarah Miles headlined a Best Picture nominee in 1987 in Hope and Glory, which could well have been a contender in a less competitive year. Diana Ross actually had buzz for Mahogany back in the day (1975 was a weird year), and there was some movement to make her the first black actress to win a Best Actress Oscar (that feat would happen 26 years later). Otherwise none of these women came particularly close before or after.
Most Likely to Get to Second: Snodgress & Carroll are the only women on the above list to have passed away, but the only women who seem like they could someday score another nomination are Tyson and Kane, both of whom work extremely regularly, though more so on television than in the cinema. Tyson, of course, in getting nominated again would join the likes of Henry Fonda, Peter O'Toole or Paul Newman in doing so, since she won this year's Honorary Oscar.
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| Melanie Griffith |
Number of Solo Nominees: 6 (Mary Tyler Moore, Marlee Matlin, Kathleen Turner, Sally Kirkland, Melanie Griffith, and Pauline Collins)
Any Winners?: Marlee Matlin became the youngest winner ever of the Best Actress award when she picked it up for Children of a Lesser God at the age of 21.
I'd Like An Explanation: No other decade will probably ever have a run quite like this. Jessica Lange, Meryl Streep, Glenn Close, and Sissy Spacek dominated (there is no year of the decade where at least one isn't nominated) and routinely it was the bulk of them. Most of the above women were either randomly-cited for tiny films (Matlin, Kirkland, Collins), matinee idols with quickly burnt-out movie stardoms (Turner, Griffith), or headlining a Best Picture winner (Moore).
Who Came Closest to Another Round?: Most assuredly Kathleen Turner, who was a major movie star in the 1980's and won back-to-back Golden Globes for Romancing the Stone and Prizzi's Honor, both mammoth hits that for some reason Oscar didn't really want to put his stamp on (the 1980's were very fond of drama, more so than usual, but even then Prizzi's Honor was a major Oscar-player with eight nominations and 1984 had a weird glut of similarly-themed farm-movies, so this one is hard to explain). Either way, there's a decent chance she was in sixth place twice before finally getting cited for Peggy Sue Got Married (when she probably came in second to Matlin, give-or-take Sissy Spacek).
Most Likely to Get to Second: All of these women save Moore are still alive and working, though none of them seem particularly prone to a second nomination. Turner gets the most attention currently, but that's almost entirely on-stage and she rarely makes movies. Perhaps it would be Pauline Collins? She's British, of-a-certain-age, and does bit roles frequently in BAIT-y looking projects (Albert Nobbs, Quartet). Perhaps she'll pull a Janet McTeer and randomly get in once more?
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| Sharon Stone |
Number of Solo Nominees: 8 (Catherine Deneuve, Angela Bassett, Stockard Channing, Elisabeth Shue, Sharon Stone, Kristin Scott Thomas, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Fernanda Montenegro)
Any Winners?: In one of the weirdest moments in on-paper Oscar history, Gwyneth Paltrow's career totally stalled with Oscar after Shakespeare in Love. Perhaps the Cate Blanchett curse?
I'd Like An Explanation: We continued to see a few actresses that totally dominated (Meryl Streep, Susan Sarandon, Emma Thompson), but by-and-large this list was actually considerably larger a few years ago. Actresses like Janet McTeer, Helen Hunt, and Helena Bonham Carter have made good in supporting roles in recent years, winnowing down the list a bit, something I suspect will continue to happen.
Who Came Closest to Another Round?: I mean, Gwyneth seems like the obvious choice, but she wasn't actually that close with Sylvia or Emma, so I'm going to go with Sharon Stone, who was such a big star in the 1990's and was very much in the HFPA's favor (scandalously so). Basic Instinct or The Mighty might have been close possibilities.
Most Likely to Get a Second: We're now going from the possible to the plausible for "most likely to get a second." All of these women are still living, and in the cases of Scott Thomas, Bassett, and Paltrow, so regularly make major films that it's difficult not to see at least one of them scoring again, if not all three. Scott Thomas in particular has been very close in recent years (look at something like Darkest Hour), and feels certain to land a supporting nod at some point to go with her English Patient citation.
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| Diane Lane |
Number of Solo Nominees: 10 (Halle Berry, Salma Hayek, Diane Lane, Keisha Castle-Hughes, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Imelda Staunton, Felicity Huffman, Ellen Page, Carey Mulligan, and Gabourey Sidibe)
Any Winners?: Halle Berry, who is one of only two women to win Oscars on their sole nomination this century.
I'd Like An Explanation: Meryl Streep, Kate Winslet, Judi Dench, and Cate Blanchett may have been nominated in perpetuity, but the biggest explanation is that we're not far enough away for this list to be super small. All of these women are still living and most of them are still very much in the hunt.
Who Came Closest to Another Round?: Carey Mulligan, probably, who somehow missed a lot of her buzz for Shame despite that seeming like a pretty plum part (then again, Fassbender missed there so the prudish Academy may just not have been feeling that sex addiction drama).
Most Likely to Get a Second: Like the 90's, it could be pretty much any of these women (even Castle-Hughes and Sandino Moreno, the most obscure names on this list, work regularly). Carey Mulligan is so frequently in Oscar-adjacent films, however, that she seems most likely (though Berry is a big enough star still that if she made something Oscar-bait, it'd likely land).
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| Ruth Negga |
Number of Solo Nominees (so far): 10 (Emmanuelle Riva, Quvenzhane Wallis, Felicity Jones, Rosamund Pike, Brie Larson, Charlotte Rampling, Isabelle Huppert, Ruth Negga, Yalitza Aparicio, and Olivia Colman)
Any Winners?: Both Brie Larson & Olivia Colman won on their only citations, though they're both recent wins so give it a few years.
I'd Like An Explanation: Too soon to tell, though it does appear like a number of strange ages for winners, either old (Rampling, Riva, Huppert), or young (Wallis) could be a contributing factor. That, and several movie stars just starting their careers haven't gotten the second go-around yet.
Who Came Closest to Another Round?: Pike. She was cited for a Golden Globe in Drama for A Private War in 2018 (great movie), and was very much a part of the conversation for a nomination that year even though she ultimately got beaten out (possibly by Aparicio).
Most Likely to Get a Second: Colman, Jones, & Larson are all regularly headlining films and high-profile projects, so I'd be surprised if any of these three don't end up getting cited at some point in the near future. Obviously with all of these women (save Riva) still alive, it could be any of them, but those three stand out as actresses who have a lot of momentum to land a second nomination.
And there you have it-the few, the proud, the really-wishing-they'd-landed-one-more. Who do you think will be the next nominee ? Share in the comments!
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