Glenn Close, Paul Thomas Anderson, and more Hollywood titans have multiple Academy Award nominations, but nary a win to their name.

Stars with the most Oscar losses without a win, from Bradley Cooper to Diane Warren

Glenn Close, Paul Thomas Anderson, and more Hollywood titans have multiple Academy Award nominations, but nary a win to their name.

By Wesley Stenzel

Wesley Stenzel

Wesley Stenzel is a news writer at **. He began writing for EW in 2022.

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March 15, 2026 2:00 p.m. ET

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Diane Warren, Paul Thomas Anderson, and Bradley Cooper. Credit:

Stefanie Keenan/GETTY; Lia Toby/Getty; Myrna M. Suarez/Getty

The Oscars are back — and so is perennial nominee Diane Warren.

The esteemed songwriter received her 17th nomination for Best Original Song, this time for her track "Dear Me" from *Diane Warren: Relentless *(2025), a documentary chronicling her storied career in the music industry.

Prior to this nomination, Warren had tied for the record for the most Oscar noms without a win following her loss at the 2025 ceremony, where her song "The Journey" from *The Six Triple Eight* (2024) lost to "El Mal" from *Emilia Pérez *(2024).

There's also another winless multi-nominee hoping to break their losing streak at the 2026 Oscars: filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson, who is nominated in three different categories for his work on *One Battle After Another *(2025).

Warren and Anderson are just two in a long list of Hollywood icons who have a multitude of Academy Award nominations but have yet to hear their name called when that envelope is opened. Here are some of the actors, filmmakers, and craftspeople with the most Oscar nominations without a single win.

Diane Warren

Diane Warren attends the 96th Academy Awards on March 10, 2024, in Hollywood, Calif.

Arturo Holmes/Getty

With 17 nominations to her name, songwriter Diane Warren currently has the most Oscar nods without a competitive win in the history of the Academy Awards. Her first nom came in 1988 for co-writing the Starship song "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" from *Mannequin *(1987), and she has received nine consecutive nominations between 2018 and 2026. Warren penned well-known nominated tracks like Aerosmith's "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" from *Armageddon* (1998) and Lady Gaga's "Til It Happens to You" from *The Hunting Ground *(2015), and also received nominations for songs from films like *Con Air *(1997), *Pearl Harbor* (2001), *RBG *(2018), and *Flamin' Hot *(2023).

Warren does have one Oscar, but she didn't win it competitively — instead, she was given the Honorary Academy Award at the 2022 Governor's Awards, which also honored Peter Weir and Euzhan Palcy.

Greg P. Russell

Greg P. Russell attends the 89th Academy Awards Nominee Luncheon at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Feb. 6, 2017, in Beverly Hills, Calif.

Steve Granitz/WireImage

Sound mixer Greg P. Russell also holds the record for the most Oscar nominations without a win. He has been nominated 17 times for his work on films like *The Rock *(1996), *Armageddon*, *Memoirs of a Geisha* (2005), and *Skyfall* (2012), as well as Michael Bay's first three *Transformers* movies and Sam Raimi's first two *Spider-Man* films.

However, Russell's 17th nomination (for Bay's *13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi*, 2016) was rescinded after the Academy found that he had violated campaigning rules by calling members of the Sound branch during the nominations period. (His *13 Hours* colleagues Gary Summers, Jeffrey J. Haboush, and Mac Ruth maintained their nomination for the film's sound mixing.)

Other prominent craftspeople have received an impressive amount of noms without a win. Art director Roland Anderson was nominated 15 times for movies like *A Farewell to Arms *(1957) and *Breakfast at Tiffany's* (1961). Cinematographer George J. Folsey, who shot films like *Meet Me in St. Louis* (1944) in the Golden Age of Hollywood, died in 1988 with 13 nominations and zero wins.

Another sound mixer, Rick Kline, garnered 11 nominations for movies like *Top Gun *(1986)* *and* The Mummy* (1999). Yet another sound mixer, Anna Behlmer, garnered 10 nominations for movies like *Braveheart* (1995) and *War of the Worlds* (2005), with her most recent nom coming in 2010 for *Star Trek* (2009).

Thomas Newman

Thomas Newman attends the 92nd Oscars Nominees Luncheon on Jan. 27, 2020, in Hollywood, Calif.

Kevin Winter/Getty

Composer Thomas Newman has a staggering 15 nominations to his name. He received his first nomination in 1995 for his score for *The Shawshank Redemption* (1994) and has penned 13 more original scores that scored nominations, including the soundtracks for films like *American Beauty* (1999), *Finding Nemo* (2003), *Skyfall*, *Bridge of Spies* (2015), and *Passengers* (2016), with his most recent nom coming for 2019's *1917*. He also received one Best Original Song nod for "Down to Earth" from *WALL-E* (2008), which he shared with the song's performer, Peter Gabriel.

Fellow composer Alex North also received 15 nominations across his career. He wrote 14 Oscar-nominated scores for films like *A Streetcar Named Desire *(1951), *Spartacus *(1960), and *Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?* (1966), and also scored one Best Original Song nom for "Unchained Melody" from *Unchained* (1955) — a track that was further popularized by covers by the Righteous Brothers and Elvis Presley. North was awarded an Honorary Oscar in 1986.

Walter Scharf is the composer with the next-most nominations without a win. He garnered 10 nominations for films like *Funny Girl* (1968) and *Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory* (1971) but ultimately never took home the gold.

Paul Thomas Anderson

Maya Rudolph and Paul Thomas Anderson at the 94th Academy Awards on March 27th, 2022, in Los Angeles.

Gilbert Flores/Variety/Penske Media via Getty

Paul Thomas Anderson currently holds the record for the most Oscar losses without a win by a director. The filmmaker has 14 nominations under his belt, including three this year for Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Picture for *One Battle After Another*. He previously received nominations in those same three categories for *There Will Be Blood* (2007), and earned nods for Best Picture and Best Director for both *Phantom Thread *(2017)* *and *Licorice Pizza* (2021), the latter of which also scored a Best Original Screenplay nom. Anderson also received noms for Best Original Screenplay for *Boogie Nights* (1997) and *Magnolia* (1999), as well as a Best Adapted Screenplay nom for *Inherent Vice* (2014).

Stanley Kramer is the next most-nominated filmmaker without a win. He was double-nominated for Best Picture and Best Director for *The Defiant Ones *(1958), *Judgment at Nuremberg *(1961), and *Guess Who's Coming to Dinner* (1967), and also received additional Best Picture noms for *High Noon* (1952), *The Caine Mutiny *(1954), and *Ship of Fools *(1965), bringing his grand total to nine. Kramer was honored with the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award in 1962.

Other oft-nominated filmmakers without competitive Oscars include Robert Altman (with seven nominations), Clarence Brown (with six), and Alfred Hitchcock, Sidney Lumet, and King Vidor (who each received five).

Technically, Federico Fellini had 12 nominations, and Ingmar Bergman had nine nominations across their careers without a personal win. However, both legendary filmmakers were responsible for multiple Oscar wins. Fellini directed four films that won Best Foreign Language Film, and Bergman helmed three — but those awards technically go to the country that submitted the film rather than individual filmmakers.

Bradley Cooper

Bradley Cooper attends the 96th Academy Awards on March 10, 2024, in Hollywood, Calif.

Mike Coppola/Getty

Bradley Cooper has perhaps the most varied career (and Oscar stat sheet) of anyone on this list, as his 12 nominations are divided across so many different categories. As an actor, he's been nominated four times as a lead — for *Silver Linings Playbook* (2012), *American Sniper* (2014), *A Star Is Born *(2018), and *Maestro* (2023) — and once as a supporting actor for *American Hustle* (2013). He's also a five-time Best Picture nominee since he produced *American Sniper*, *A Star Is Born*, *Joker* (2019), *Nightmare Alley* (2021), and *Maestro*. And he has two screenplay noms, too — one for Adapted Screenplay for *A Star Is Born* and one for Original Screenplay for *Maestro*.

Glenn Close attends the 93rd Academy Awards at Union Station on April 25, 2021, in Los Angeles.

Chris Pizzello-Pool/Getty

Glenn Close is one of two actors tied for the record of most Oscar losses without a win, with eight nominations across her career. Close's first three nominations came right in a row for supporting performances in *The World According to Garp *(1982), *The Big Chill *(1983), and *The Natural *(1984). She later received four nominations for Best Actress for *Fatal Attraction* (1987), *Dangerous Liaisons *(1988), *Albert Nobbs* (2011), and *The Wife *(2017). Her most recent nomination came in 2021 for her supporting turn as J.D. Vance's grandmother in *Hillbilly Elegy *(2020).

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Kathleen Kennedy

Kathleen Kennedy attends the 85th Academy Awards Nominations Luncheon at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Feb. 4, 2013, in Beverly Hills, Calif.

Kevin Winter/Getty

Before leading Lucasfilm in the Disney era, Kathleen Kennedy was a top-tier producer who nabbed eight nominations for Best Picture. Five of those noms came for movies directed by frequent collaborator Steven Spielberg — *E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial* (1982), *The Color Purple* (1985), *Munich* (2005), *War Horse* (2011), and *Lincoln* (2012) — while the remaining three were for *The Sixth Sense* (1999), *Seabiscuit* (2003), and *The Curious Case of Benjamin Button* (2008).

Peter O’Toole

Lorcan O’Toole, Peter O’Toole, and Kate O’Toole at the 2007 Academy Awards.

Steve Granitz/WireImage

Peter O'Toole is tied with Glenn Close as the actor with the most nominations without a win in Oscars history. He earned eight for Best Actor for *Lawrence of Arabia* (1962); *Becket *(1964)*; The Lion in Winter *(1968)*;* *Goodbye, Mr. Chips *(1970); *The Ruling Class *(1972)*; The Stunt Man *(1980)*;* *My Favorite Year *(1982)*;* and *Venus *(2006). However, he did receive an Honorary Academy Award in 2003.

Richard Burton

Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor (with her Academy Award) at the 1967 BAFTA Awards Dinner.

Trevor Humphries/Central Press/Getty

The acclaimed Richard Burton is the next most-nominated actor without any wins, nabbing seven nods across his career. His first nomination came in the Best Supporting Actor category in 1953 for* My Cousin Rachel* (1952). He then received six Best Actor nominations for *The Robe *(1953), *Becket*, *The Spy Who Came in From the Cold *(1965), *Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?*, *Anne of the Thousand Days *(1969), and *Equus *(1977). Though he never won an Oscar, Burton did end his career with a Grammy and two Tonys (one competitive in 1961 for *Camelot* and one honorary Special Tony in 1976).

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Amy Adams attends the 91st Academy Awards on Feb. 24, 2019, in Hollywood, Calif.

Dan MacMedan/Getty

Amy Adams is one of three actresses tied for the second-most Oscar nominations without a win. She earned five nominations for Best Supporting Actress for *Junebug* (2025), *Doubt *(2008), *The Fighter* (2010), *The Master* (2012), and *Vice* (2018), and also received one Best Actress nom for *American Hustle*.

Thelma Ritter

Thelma Ritter as Stella in 'Rear Window'.

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Character actress Thelma Ritter is tied with Amy Adams with the second-most nominations for a winless actress. She received four consecutive nominations for Best Supporting Actress between 1951 and 1954 for *All About Eve* (1950), *The Mating Season *(1951), *With a Song in My Heart *(1952), and *Pickup on South Street *(1953). She received two more Best Supporting Actress nominations for 1959's *Pillow Talk* and 1962's *Birdman of Alcatraz*. Although she never won an Oscar, she did win the Tony for Best Actress in a Musical for 1968's *New Girl in Town*, which she shared in a tie with her costar, Gwen Verdon.

Deborah Kerr

Deborah Kerr with her Honorary Academy Award at the 1994 Academy Awards.

Frank Trapper/Corbis via Getty

Deborah Kerr is the third actress with six Oscar nominations and zero wins. She received all Best Actress nominations for her work spanning just 11 total years: *Edward, My Son *(1949); *From Here to Eternity *(1953)*; The King and I *(1956)*; Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison* (1957)*;* *Separate Tables *(1958);* and The Sundowners *(1960). She received an Honorary Oscar in 1994.

Michelle Williams is next in line to join this group of actresses with five career nominations, while Saoirse Ronan is close behind with four.

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