Who has won the most Oscars? Biggest Academy Award winners of all time

2 March 2025, 08:00

Meryl Streep, Walt Disney and the film Titanic are among the biggest Oscar winners. Picture: Getty

By Alice Dear

From film producer Walt Disney to art director Cedric Gibbons, and films such as Titanic, Ben-Hur and West Side Story, here are the records for the most Oscars won over the course of the Academy's history.

Loading audio...

Since the Oscars (The Academy Awards) first ceremony in May 16, 1929, there have been a total of 96 events where the biggest talents across the film industry are honoured for their performances, direction or production.

On March 2, 2025, the 97th Academy Awards will take place in Los Angeles, with movies such as Wicked, Conclave and The Brutalist being nominated across several categories. Meanwhile, actresses (such as Demi Moore, Cynthia Erivo, Fernanda Torres) and actors (like Adrian Brody, Ralph Fiennes and Sebastian Stan) are hoping to walk away with a gong for Best Actor / Actress.

With the Oscar buzz returning for another, many people start to look back at the most memorable moments from the Academy Awards - including which film stars have bagged the most amount of awards throughout their careers.

So, who has won the most Oscars? Here's a breakdown of the records set by the likes of Walt Disney and Cedric Gibbons.

The Oscars will return for the 97th Academy Awards in LA on March 2, 2025. Picture: Getty

Who has won the most Oscars?

Walt Disney holds the record for the most amount of Oscar Awards won by an individual person, having won 22 of 59 nominations across his career. As well as this, Disney has also won four honorary Academy Awards.

Disney won his first Oscar back in 1932 for Flowers and Trees, followed by The Three Little Pigs in 1933 and The Tortoise and the Hare in 1934.

Here's a full list of all the films Walt Disney won an Oscar Awards for:

1932 - Flowers and Trees
1933 - The Three Little Pigs
1934 - The Tortoise and the Hare
1935 - Three Orphan Kittens
1936 - The Country Cousin
1937 - The Old Mill
1938 - Ferdinand the Bull
1939 - The Ugly Duckling
1941 - Lend a Paw
1948 - Seal Island
1950 - In Beaver Valley
1951 - Nature's Half Acre
1952 - Water Birds
1953 - The Living Desert
1953 - The Alaskan Eskimo
1953 - Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom
1953 - Bear Country
1954 - The Vanishing Prairie
1955 - Men Against the Arctic
1958 - Grand Canyon
1968 - Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day

The second biggest Oscar winner of all time is Art Director Cedric Gibbons, who died in 1960 following a highly successful career.

Gibbons has won a total of 11 Oscar Awards, being nominated 39 times for the Academy Award for Best Production Design. He's also got a significant link to the award ceremony, believed to be in the original designer of the famous gong.

His wins include Best Production Design for The Bridge of San Luis Rey (1928), Pride and Prejudice (1934) and Blossoms in the Dust (1941).

Walt Disney won four Oscar Awards in 1954. Picture: Getty

Which actor / actress has won the most Oscars?

As far as actors and actresses go, Katharine Hepburn holds the most Oscar Awards for performance, winning for Morning Glory (1933), Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner? (1967), The Lion in Winter (1968) and On Golden Pond (1981).

Behind her, with three Academy Awards, is Daniel Day-Lewis who won for his performances in My Left Foot (1989), There Will Be Blood (2007), Lincoln (2012).

Fargo (1996) and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017) actress Frances McDormand has also won three Oscars, on par with Meryl Streep who bagged the gongs for Sophie’s Choice (1982), The Iron Lady (2011) and Best Supporting Actress in Kramer vs. Kramer (1979).

They share this top-spot with Jack Nicholson, who has won Best Actor twice and Best Supporting Actor once for One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975), As Good as It Gets (1997) and Terms of Endearment (1983).

Here's a full list of actors and actresses with the most Oscar Awards:

Katharine Hepburn - 4
Daniel Day-Lewis - 3
Frances McDormand - 3
Meryl Streep - 3
Jack Nicholson - 3

Katharine Hepburn holds the record for the most amount of Oscars won by an actor. Picture: Getty

What film has won the most Oscars?

Ben-Hur (1959), Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) and Titanic (1997) share the record for most Oscar Awards won by one film, with a total of 11 each.

The 1950s historical drama won Oscars in the following categories; best picture, actor, supporting actor, director, art direction, cinematography, costume design, film editing, music, sound and special effects.

Titanic, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet won the following awards; best picture, director, art direction, cinematography, costume design, film editing, music (original dramatic score), music (original song), sound, sound effects editing, and visual effects.

Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, meanwhile, won 11 Oscars in the categories: best picture, director, art direction, costume design, film editing, makeup, music (original score), music (original song), sound mixing, visual effects and writing (adapted screenplay).

Just behind these three epic films is West Side Story (1961) with a total of 10 Oscars; best picture, supporting actor, supporting actress, director, art direction, cinematography, costume design, film editing, music and sound.

Here's the full list of films with the most Oscars: