Stars With the Most Oscar Nominations Without a Win, Ranked

There is nothing quite like hearing your name called on Oscar night. For these screen legends, it just has not happened yet. They have been recognized again and again by the Academy, turning in the kind of work that stays with you long after the credits roll. Still, the statue remains elusive.

This list looks at actors with the most acting nominations who have yet to win. Some are classic icons who helped define Hollywood. Others are modern favorites who seem to be in the conversation every few years. Either way, they have all built careers full of memorable performances that keep audiences rooting for them.

10. Irene Dunne

Irene Dunne was the picture of grace and wit on screen, which made her a natural for romantic comedies and heartfelt dramas alike. She floated through screwball charmers like ‘The Awful Truth’ and shifted into tender mode with ‘Love Affair’ without missing a beat. Her range made her a fixture of the studio era and a favorite for leading roles.

Across a run of acclaimed work, she notched five Best Actress nominations and somehow never heard her name read at the finish. Fans still talk about how she could suggest a whole inner life with a look. That quiet command helped her hold the screen in films such as ‘Theodora Goes Wild’ and ‘I Remember Mama’ and it kept her in the awards mix year after year.

9. Albert Finney

Albert Finney had that rare mix of raw energy and classical craft. He could swagger through ‘Tom Jones’ with gleeful abandon and then drill into the vulnerability of ‘The Dresser’ or the cool understatement of ‘Erin Brockovich’. Audiences loved the spark he brought to every frame and peers respected how he kept stretching himself.

His career collected five acting nominations without a win. The variety alone tells the story. Lead nods for early breakthroughs, a late supporting nod for a modern crowd pleaser, and plenty of stops in between. Whether he was fronting a film or sharpening it from the sidelines, he made the work feel alive.

8. Michelle Williams

Michelle Williams has quietly become one of the most consistent actors of her generation. She can be shattering in intimate dramas like ‘Blue Valentine’ and ‘Manchester by the Sea’ and she can slip into the glow of iconography with ‘My Week with Marilyn’. Her control is so fine that small gestures land like thunder.

She has earned five acting nominations so far without finding the win. The pattern is familiar by now. She takes complicated, emotionally knotted roles and makes them feel lived in. You end up carrying her characters around for days, which is why awards voters keep circling back to her work.

7. Annette Bening

Annette Bening brings a crackling intelligence to every part. From the sting of ‘The Grifters’ to the suburban satire of ‘American Beauty’ to the buoyant warmth of ‘The Kids Are All Right’ and the endurance test of ‘Nyad’, she anchors stories with presence and precision. You believe her the second she walks on.

She has five acting nominations and no win to date. The through line is simple. She finds the core of a character and plays it clean, minus the fuss. That kind of clarity can feel effortless on screen, even though it is anything but, which is why she has stayed near the center of Oscar conversations for decades.

6. Amy Adams

Amy Adams has a gift for empathy that pulls you close. She brings sparkle to ‘Enchanted’, steel to ‘The Fighter’, mystery to ‘The Master’, and quiet wonder to ‘Arrival’. No matter the register, she focuses everything on what her characters want and what it costs them to go after it.

That approach has earned her six acting nominations without a win so far. She is one of those performers whose name signals quality before the opening scene. Viewers know it and voters do too, which is why each new performance kicks off the same hopeful chorus that maybe this will be the year.

5. Thelma Ritter

Thelma Ritter could steal a film with a single line. She specialized in no nonsense New Yorkers who saw through the noise, whether in ‘All About Eve’, ‘Pillow Talk’, or a quick but unforgettable turn in ‘Rear Window’. Her timing was sharp, her humanity even sharper, and the combination made her beloved.

She scored six nominations for Best Supporting Actress and never won. That tally says a lot about how often she elevated whatever she touched. She made movies feel more grounded and more fun at the same time, which is a neat trick and a big reason her work still pops today.

4. Deborah Kerr

Deborah Kerr projected poise and quiet strength in equal measure. She sailed through epics and romances with a calm confidence that drew the camera in, from the heat of ‘From Here to Eternity’ to the elegance of ‘An Affair to Remember’ and the adventure of ‘The King and I’. Her screen presence felt effortless.

She earned six Best Actress nominations without a competitive win and later received an Honorary Award. It is easy to see why the Academy kept returning to her. She could be luminous without being remote and resolute without losing tenderness, a balance that defined many of her most celebrated roles.

3. Richard Burton

Richard Burton’s voice alone could hold a room. Add in that fierce gaze and you had an actor who commanded attention in everything from ‘Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf’ to ‘Becket’. He could unleash volcanic emotion or coil it tight, always with a sense of control that made the eruptions feel earned.

He amassed seven acting nominations and never converted one into a win. The performances remain towering, though, and the nominations pile up as proof. For many viewers, he set the standard for tragic grandeur, the kind that leaves a movie humming with leftover electricity.

2. Glenn Close

Glenn Close has been a force across decades. She can chill you to the bone in ‘Fatal Attraction’, glide through period intrigue in ‘Dangerous Liaisons’, and break your heart in ‘The Wife’. She seems to access a character’s engine and then run it at exactly the right speed for the story.

She has eight acting nominations to her name without a win so far. That number reflects a career of sustained excellence more than it does any single outcome on a single night. Every time she returns to the race, the sense of inevitability bubbles up again.

1. Peter O’Toole

Peter O’Toole embodied a kind of old school star power that still feels thrilling. He blazed into legend with ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ and kept finding rich roles in films like ‘The Lion in Winter’ and ‘My Favorite Year’. The charisma was obvious, but it was the sensitivity beneath it that made his work stick.

He received eight acting nominations and never won competitively, later accepting an Honorary Award that acknowledged the scale of his contribution. The streak became its own piece of Oscar lore, yet the performances are what endure. They carry the sweep and precision that define great screen acting.

Tell us which performance from these stars you think should have taken home the gold and share your picks in the comments.