Top 10 Best Actresses to Have Never Won an Oscar

The Top Ten

  1. Michelle Pfeiffer

    Michelle Marie Pfeiffer is an American actress and producer. She gained major popularity during the 1980s and 1990s. Pfeiffer has earned international acclaim and numerous awards for her performances in both comedic and dramatic roles.

    A total phenomenon who is talented, brilliant, believable, and can sing, act, and do it all!

  2. Glenn Close

    Glenn Close is an American actress. Her career spans more than five decades, during which she has been praised for her versatility and commanding performances. Close has received numerous awards, including three Primetime Emmy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and three Tony Awards, along with eight... read more

  3. Annette Bening

    Annette Carol Bening is an American actress. She began her stage career with the Colorado Shakespeare Festival company in 1980 and played Lady Macbeth at the American Conservatory Theater in 1984. Bening has received multiple Academy Award nominations for her film work.

  4. Toni Collette

    Toni Collette is an Australian actress and musician with a successful career in film, television, and theater. She is also the lead singer of the band Toni Collette and the Finish. Collette has received critical acclaim for her performances in works such as Muriel's Wedding, The Sixth Sense, and Hereditary... read more

  5. Amy Adams

    Amy Lou Adams is an American actress. She is the recipient of two Golden Globe Awards and has received six Academy Award nominations and seven BAFTA nominations.

    Known for both comedic and dramatic roles, Adams has appeared in films such as Enchanted, American Hustle, Arrival, and Vice.

    No, she was snubbed for a nomination (again!) for the movie "Arrival." The movie was nominated, but she didn't get a nomination.

    Of course, the overrated Meryl Streep was (again!?) nominated as leading actress (undeserved) for her movie "Florence Foster Jenkins." It's hard to believe that Amy Adams wasn't nominated as leading actress for "Arrival," but it also proves that the Oscar nominations are a joke. She really deserved a nomination that year, and she certainly deserves a Best Actress Oscar after all these years of outstanding acting in her career.

    She might get one this year for Arrival. At least a nomination, anyway.

  6. Naomi Watts

    Naomi Ellen Watts is a British actress who began her career in Australian film and television. She made her screen debut in the 1986 drama film For Love Alone and later appeared in the television series Hey Dad. !.

    She gained international recognition for her performances in Flirting (1991), The... read more

  7. Lesley Ann Warren

  8. Kate Nelligan

  9. Laura Linney

    Laura Leggett Linney is an American actress known for her work in film, television, and theater. She has received multiple Emmy Awards and has been nominated for three Academy Awards. Linney's notable roles include appearances in The Truman Show, You Can Count on Me, and the Netflix series Ozark.

  10. Thelma Ritter

    Thelma Ritter (February 14, 1902 - February 5, 1969) was an American actress celebrated for her comedic roles portraying working-class characters. She was widely recognized for her distinctive New York accent and relatable screen presence. Ritter earned six Academy Award nominations for Best Supporting... read more

    Excellent actress! Very underappreciated!

    11. The Newcomers
  11. ?

    Wunmi Mosaku

  12. ?

    Teyana Taylor

    Teyana Taylor is an American R&B singer who signed with Kanye West's G.O.O.D. Music label in 2012. Her debut album, VII, was released in November 2014 and included the songs "Dreams" and "Do Not Disturb." She later released K.T.S.E. in 2018, The Album in 2020, and Escape Room in 2025.

    13. The Contenders

  13. Gena Rowlands

  14. Joan Allen

  15. Emily Watson

  16. Debra Winger

    Mary Debra Winger (born May 16, 1955) is an American actress. She starred in An Officer and a Gentleman (1982), Terms of Endearment (1983), and Shadowlands (1993), and each role earned her a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress. She won the National Society of Film Critics Award for Best... read more

    Should be higher than Michelle and Annette.

  17. Winona Ryder

    Winona Ryder is an American actress who made her film debut in the 1986 film Lucas. She rose to prominence in the late 1980s and 1990s with roles in films like Beetlejuice, Heathers, and Edward Scissorhands. Ryder has received critical acclaim and multiple award nominations throughout her career.

    Excellent actress.

  18. Diane Lane

    Diane Lane is an Oscar-nominated American actress. Born and raised in New York City, she made her screen debut in George Roy Hill's 1979 film A Little Romance, starring opposite Laurence Olivier. Lane's later credits include Unfaithful, Under the Tuscan Sun, and Man of Steel.

  19. Bette Midler

    Bette Midler, born December 1, 1945, is an American singer, songwriter, actress, comedian, and film producer. She was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, and began her professional career in several Off-Off-Broadway plays. She later performed in Broadway productions such as Fiddler on the Roof and Salvation during... read more

  20. Uma Thurman

    Uma Karuna Thurman is an American actress and model. She has starred in a wide range of films, including romantic comedies, dramas, science fiction, and action movies. Some of her most notable roles include Pulp Fiction, Les Misérables (1998), Kill Bill: Vol. 1, Kill Bill: Vol. 2, The Producers, and... read more

  21. Lily Tomlin

  22. Sigourney Weaver

    Susan Alexandra "Sigourney" Weaver is an American actress and film producer. Following her film debut as a minor character in Annie Hall, she quickly rose to prominence in 1979 with her first lead role as Ellen Ripley in Alien.... read more

  23. Brenda Blethyn

  24. Helena Bonham Carter

    Helena Bonham Carter is an English actress known for her versatility in both independent films and major blockbusters. She received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress for her performance as Kate Croy in The Wings of the Dove, and a nomination for Best Supporting Actress for portraying Queen... read more

  25. Liv Ullmann

    A top actress, but her career was based in Sweden. She appeared in many films directed by Ingmar Bergman, whose movies did win Oscars.

    However, it's very rare for actresses in foreign-language films to be nominated for an Oscar, and she was nominated twice. Also, don't forget she won a Golden Globe and has 53 awards and nominations (mostly European) throughout her career. Not exactly what you'd call an ignored actress.

  26. Irene Dunne

    Irene Marie Dunn (December 20, 1898 - September 4, 1990) was an American film actress and singer active during the 1930s, 1940s, and early 1950s. Dunne received five Academy Award nominations for Best Actress for her performances in Cimarron (1931), Theodora Goes Wild (1936), The Awful Truth (1937),... read more

  27. Angela Bassett

    Angela Evelyn Bassett is an American actress and activist. She is best known for her biographical film roles, particularly her portrayal of Tina Turner in the 1993 biopic What's Love Got to Do with It. For that performance, she received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress and won the Golden... read more

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