50 unbelievable Oscars records, from the youngest winner to the most nominated film ever
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- The 98th Academy Awards were held on Sunday.
- A few records were broken with this year's crop of winners.
- Jessie Buckley took the best actress statue home to Ireland for the first time ever.
At the 98th Academy Awards on Sunday, a whole new class of winners were minted.
This year's crop of nominated films, which were largely well-liked by critics, came from around the world — and made history. For example, "Sinners" became the most-nominated film ever, "Sentimental Value" was the first Norwegian film to ever win best international feature, and Jessie Buckley is the first Irish woman to win best actress.
A few other records were broken with this year's winners. Here are some Oscars records that could prove helpful at your next trivia night.
Autumn Durald Arkapaw is the first woman to ever win best cinematography.Autumn Durald Arkapaw at the 2026 Oscars.Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
Arkapaw, who won for "Sinners," was only the fourth woman to ever be nominated for the award and the first to win.
In a heartwarming moment, she asked every woman in the audience to stand up as she thanked them for paving the way.
Amy Madigan set a new record for the longest gap between first nomination and first win.Amy Madigan at the 2026 Oscars.Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic/Getty Images
Madigan received her first (and until this year, only) nomination in 1986 for best supporting actress in the film "Twice in a Lifetime." Forty years later, she finally won for playing the villainous Aunt Gladys in "Weapons."
Jessie Buckley is the first Irish woman to win best actress.Jessie Buckley at the 2026 Oscars.Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic/Getty Images
Buckley, who won best actress for playing Agnes Shakespeare in "Hamnet," became the first Irish person to win best actress — she thanked the country for paying for her family's flights to the ceremony.
This year, there was also the seventh tie in Oscars history, and the first in 13 years.Jack Piatt and Sam A. Davis, winner of the Live Action Short Film award for "The Singers"; Alexandre Singh and Natalie Musteata, winners of the Best Live Action Short Film Award for "Two People Exchanging Saliva",Brianna Bryson/Getty Images; Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
The teams from "The Singers" and "Two People Exchanging Saliva" took turns at the podium to accept their respective Oscars for best live-action short film.
This has happened six other times: in 2013 for best sound editing; in 1995 for best live-action short film; in 1987 for best feature documentary; in 1969 for best actress; in 1950 for best documentary (short subject); and in 1932 for best actor.
In 2025, Sean Baker became the first person since Walt Disney to win four Oscars in one night — and the first to win them for the same movie.Sean Baker, winner of the Best Picture, Best Directing, Best Film Editing, and Best Original Screenplay for "Anora", poses in the press room during the 97th Annual Oscars at Ovation Hollywood on March 02, 2025Mike Coppola/Getty Images
Baker won for writing, directing, editing, and producing "Anora," which took home another Oscar for its leading lady, Mikey Madison.
In one night, in 1954, Disney took home the Oscars for best documentary feature for "The Living Desert," best documentary short subject for "The Alaskan Eskimo," best short subject (cartoon) for "Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom," and best short subject (two-reel) for "Bear Country."
That means the two are tied, but Baker had a clean sweep of "Anora" wins. The only award it lost was for best supporting actor.
Legendary composer John Williams has the most Oscar nominations of any living person, with 54 nods.Reuters
Williams has won five times, for his work on "Fiddler on the Roof," "Jaws," "Star Wars," "E.T. the Extra Terrestrial," and "Schindler's List."
He was nominated for the 54th time in 2024 for "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny."
He is also the only person to ever be nominated for an Oscar in seven different decades.Hollywood, California: John Williams, the winner of the 1982 Academy Award for the Best Original Score for E.T., stands backstage during the Academy Awards Ceremony holding his Oscar.Bettmann/Getty Images
He's been nominated at least once a decade since his first nomination for 1968's "Valley of the Dolls."
His 2023 nomination made the then-90-year-old the oldest nominee ever — he broke his own record one year later.
However, with 22 wins from 59 nominations, Walt Disney is the most decorated Oscar winner in history.Movie producer Walt Disney holding four Oscar awards he won for best feature-length documentary, short documentary, cartoon & two-reeler at Academy Awards ceremonyGeorge Silk/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
He was nominated for 58 during his lifetime, from 1932 to 1964. He received a final posthumous nomination (and win) at the 1968 ceremony — best short subject (cartoon) — for "Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day."
Karla Sofía Gascón made history in 2025 as the first transgender actor to be nominated in any category.Karla Sofía Gascón attends the 82nd Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton on January 05, 2025Amy Sussman/Getty Images
Gascón was nominated for best actress for her performance in "Emilia Pérez," making her the first trans actor to be nominated for an acting Academy Award. She lost to Mikey Madison.
Troy Kotsur's best supporting actor win for "CODA" in 2022 made him the first deaf man and the second deaf actor overall to win an Oscar.US actor Troy Kotsur holds his award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for "CODA" as he attends the 2022 Vanity Fair Oscar Party on March 27, 2022.PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images
In 2022, Kotsur took home the best supporting actor award for his role in "CODA" as supportive, yet stubborn, father Frank Rossi.
In "CODA," his wife was played by Marlee Matlin, who was the first deaf actor ever to win an Oscar. She won the best actress statue for "Children of a Lesser God."
Marlee Matlin became both the first deaf person to win an Oscar and the youngest best actress winner when she won for 1986's "Children of a Lesser God."3/30/1987-Los Angeles, CA-Actress Marlee Matlin holds her Oscar, which she recieved for Best Actress, as she signs "I love you" at the Academy Awards.Bettmann/Getty Images
She was 21 at the time of her win.
The youngest winner of best actor was 29-year-old Adrien Brody, who won for "The Pianist" in 2003.Best actor Adrien Brody poses with his Oscar at the 75th annual Academy Awards Sunday, March 23, 2003, in Los Angeles. Brody won for "The Pianist.Reed Saxon/AP Images
Brody was close to 30 when he won in 2003. In 2025, he won his second Academy Award for his role in "The Brutalist."
Brody has now also joined an elite club of 10 other actors who have won best actor more than once — he's now peers with Spencer Tracy, Jack Nicholson, Marlon Brando, Dustin Hoffman, Gary Cooper, Tom Hanks, Fredric March, Anthony Hopkins, and three-time winners Daniel Day-Lewis and Sean Penn.
Timothée Chalamet became the first actor to be nominated for best actor twice before the age of 30 since James Dean.Timothée Chalamet at the 2026 Oscars.Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times/Getty Images
Chalamet received his first Oscar nomination in 2018 for his role in "Call Me By Your Name" when he was 23. Seven years later, he was nominated once again for playing Bob Dylan in "A Complete Unknown" at age 29.
He was nominated for his third Academy Award this year, for "Marty Supreme," just a few weeks after he turned 30.
The last time an actor had two best actor nominations to his name before turning 30 was in 1957, when James Dean (posthumously) received two nominations in 1956 and 1957. He died in September 1955 at the age of 24.
In 2022, Ariana DeBose became the first openly queer person of color to win an acting Oscar. She won for "West Side Story."Ariana DeBose poses with her Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for 'West Side Story' in the press room at the 94th Annual Academy Awards at Hollywood and Highland on March 27, 2022David Livingston/Getty Images
DeBose also became the first Afro-Latina woman to win.
In her acceptance speech, she called herself an "openly queer woman of color, an Afro-Latina who found her strength in life through art. And that's what I believe we're here to celebrate. Anybody who's ever questioned your identity ever or find yourself living in the gray spaces? I promise you this: There is indeed a place for us."
Marlon Brando and Robert De Niro were the only men to win Oscars for playing the same role — Vito Corleone, in "The Godfather" and "The Godfather Part II" — until Joaquin Phoenix took home the Oscar for "Joker.""The Dark Knight" and "Joker."Warner Bros. Pictures.
Brando portrayed Vito Corleone as an old man with adult children and grandkids, while De Niro played him as a young man who had just emigrated from Italy.
When Joaquin Phoenix won for "Joker," it marked the second time this happened, as Heath Ledger posthumously won for his performance as the Joker in 2008's "The Dark Knight."
Ariana DeBose and Rita Moreno were the first women to win Oscars for playing the same role. They each won for playing Anita in "West Side Story."Rita Moreno and Ariana DeBose attend the 94th Annual Academy Awards on March 27, 2022.Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic/Getty Images
Moreno won for playing Anita in the 1961 film "West Side Story" at the 1962 Oscars. Sixty years later, DeBose took home the Oscar for the same role in Steven Spielberg's 2021 remake.
"Parasite" was the 12th film in history to win best picture without receiving a single acting nod.This would be the first time a South Korean film has won any kind of Oscar at all.CJ Entertainment
The last time this happened was in 2009, with "Slumdog Millionaire." Here are the other 10 movies this has happened to.
There are two best picture nominees this year that would've joined this list if they had won: "F1" and "Train Dreams."
"Parasite" was also the first foreign-language film to win best picture. Two international films were also nominated this year ("Sentimental Value" and "The Secret Agent"), but they lost to "One Battle After Another."
Meryl Streep is the most-nominated actress in Oscar history, with a staggering 21 nominations under her belt. She's won three times.meryl streep oscars 2012Michael Buckner/Getty Images
Streep has won best actress twice, for "Sophie's Choice" and "The Iron Lady." She won best supporting actress for "Kramer vs. Kramer."
The country that's taken home best international film the most is Italy, which has produced 14 winners from 33 nominations.OLLYWOOD, CA - MARCH 02: Director Paolo Sorrentino poses in the press room at the 86th annual Academy Awards at Dolby Theatre on March 2, 2014 in Hollywood, California.Jason LaVeris/WireImage/Getty Images
Most recently, Italy won for "The Great Beauty," or "La grande bellezza" in 2014, directed by Paolo Sorrentino. He was nominated again in 2022 for "The Hand of God," but lost to Japan's entry, "Drive My Car."
In 2025, Brazil won its first Oscar with "I'm Still Here."