The Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress is an award presented annually by the
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It has been awarded since the
9th Academy Awards to an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance in a
supporting role in a film released that year. The award is traditionally presented by the previous year's
Best Supporting Actor winner. In lieu of the traditional
Oscar statuette, supporting acting recipients were given plaques up until the
16th Academy Awards,[1] when statuettes were awarded to each category instead.[2]
In the first three years of the awards, actors and actresses were nominated as the best individuals in their categories, along with all qualifying cumulative work.[6] The current system, in which an actress is nominated for a specific performance in a single film, was introduced for the
4th Academy Awards, in the lead acting categories.[6] Simultaneously, along with the introduction of the supporting acting categories, all four acting categories were limited to a maximum five nominations per year.[6]
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.[7] For the first five ceremonies, the eligibility period spanned twelve months, from August 1 to July 31.[8] For the 6th ceremony held in 1934, the eligibility period lasted from August 1, 1932, to December 31, 1933.[8] Since the 7th ceremony held in 1935, the period of eligibility became the full previous calendar year from January 1 to December 31.[8]
Films with multiple Supporting Actress nominations
There have been 36 instances in which films have produced more than one nominee within this category. Tom Jones (1963) was the only film which garnered three nominations, while all others obtained two.
^Richmond, Ray (February 15, 2023).
"Oscar Flashback: In 1940, Hattie McDaniel became the first African American winner. But she had to accept her award in a 'No Blacks' hotel". GoldDerby. Retrieved December 3, 2023. Yet despite the undeniable progress inherent in McDaniel's triumph, that night 83 years ago was rife with racist and humiliating overtones for McDaniel, the daughter of two former slaves. It began months before with her being barred from the Gone with the Wind world premiere on December 15, 1939, at the Loew's Grand Theater on Peachtree Street in Atlanta. Star Clark Gable had threatened to boycott the event unless McDaniel were allowed to attend, but she convinced him to go, anyway, while she stayed away, a victim of Georgia's strict segregation laws of the time.
Levy, Emanuel (2003), All About Oscar: The History and Politics of the Academy Awards, New York, United States: Continuum International Publishing Group,
ISBN978-0-82641-452-6
The Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress is an award presented annually by the
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It has been awarded since the
9th Academy Awards to an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance in a
supporting role in a film released that year. The award is traditionally presented by the previous year's
Best Supporting Actor winner. In lieu of the traditional
Oscar statuette, supporting acting recipients were given plaques up until the
16th Academy Awards,[1] when statuettes were awarded to each category instead.[2]
In the first three years of the awards, actors and actresses were nominated as the best individuals in their categories, along with all qualifying cumulative work.[6] The current system, in which an actress is nominated for a specific performance in a single film, was introduced for the
4th Academy Awards, in the lead acting categories.[6] Simultaneously, along with the introduction of the supporting acting categories, all four acting categories were limited to a maximum five nominations per year.[6]
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.[7] For the first five ceremonies, the eligibility period spanned twelve months, from August 1 to July 31.[8] For the 6th ceremony held in 1934, the eligibility period lasted from August 1, 1932, to December 31, 1933.[8] Since the 7th ceremony held in 1935, the period of eligibility became the full previous calendar year from January 1 to December 31.[8]
Films with multiple Supporting Actress nominations
There have been 36 instances in which films have produced more than one nominee within this category. Tom Jones (1963) was the only film which garnered three nominations, while all others obtained two.
^Richmond, Ray (February 15, 2023).
"Oscar Flashback: In 1940, Hattie McDaniel became the first African American winner. But she had to accept her award in a 'No Blacks' hotel". GoldDerby. Retrieved December 3, 2023. Yet despite the undeniable progress inherent in McDaniel's triumph, that night 83 years ago was rife with racist and humiliating overtones for McDaniel, the daughter of two former slaves. It began months before with her being barred from the Gone with the Wind world premiere on December 15, 1939, at the Loew's Grand Theater on Peachtree Street in Atlanta. Star Clark Gable had threatened to boycott the event unless McDaniel were allowed to attend, but she convinced him to go, anyway, while she stayed away, a victim of Georgia's strict segregation laws of the time.
Levy, Emanuel (2003), All About Oscar: The History and Politics of the Academy Awards, New York, United States: Continuum International Publishing Group,
ISBN978-0-82641-452-6