Oscars 2026: 27 Surprising Stars Who've Still Never Won An Academy Award

Every year, the Oscars ceremony features some of our favourite film stars, directors, writers and even musicians accepting one of the most prestigious cinema awards there is in front of their peers.

The 2025 Academy Awards gave us first-time victories for stars like Kieran Culkin, Zoe Saldaña, Mikey Madison and filmmaker Sean Baker – but sadly, there’s only space for one winner per category each year, meaning there are still many deserving actors who’ve missed out, time and time again.

Here are 25 of the Hollywood stars still working today who, somehow, still have an Oscar-shaped space on their mantelpiece…

Amy Adams

Considered by many to be “the new Leonardo DiCaprio” when it comes to the Oscars, Amy Adams has been nominated for six Academy Awards, most recently in 2019, only to leave empty-handed every year.

The good news for Amy is that Leo got his win on his sixth nomination, so if she really is following in his footsteps, she shouldn’t have to wait too much longer.

Glenn Close

Glenn Close holds the dubious distinction of being the living actor who has the most Oscar nominations without a win.

As of 2026, the esteemed performer has been nominated for an Academy Award a whopping eight times, but has never come out on top.

Her most recent nomination came in 2021, with a nod in the Best Supporting Actress category for her performance in the divisive Netflix offering Hillbilly Elegy – a role that also landed the Fatal Attraction star a Razzie nomination for Worst Supporting Actress.

Samuel L Jackson

Despite more than 50 years (!!!) in the entertainment industry, Samuel L Jackson has landed just one Oscar nomination in his career. 

Back in 1994, he was on the Best Supporting Actor shortlist for playing Jules Winnfield in Pulp Fiction. He lost out to Martin Landau on the night, and hasn’t been nominated again since.

However, it’s worth pointing out that he did win an Honorary Academy Award in 2021, after being recognised as a “cultural icon whose dynamic work has resonated across genres and generations and audiences worldwide”.

Bradley Cooper

Between acting, directing, producing and screenwriting, Bradley Cooper has scored a whopping 12 Oscar nominations – including two as recently as 2024 for his work on the film Maestro.

When it comes to just his on-screen performances, he’s been recognised for his roles in American Hustle, American Sniper, A Star Is Born and the aforementioned Leonard Bernstein biopic.

Scarlett Johansson

Lost In Translation star Scarlett Johansson is similarly yet to be awarded by the Motion Picture Academy, although she does have two Oscar nominations to her name – both of which came in the same year.

In 2020, Scarlett was nominated in both the Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress categories for her roles in Marriage Story and Jojo Rabbit.

She was pipped to the win by Renée Zellweger and Laura Dern, respectively.

Angela Bassett

As if the fact Angela Bassett has never won an Oscar isn’t galling enough – she’d actually only been nominated once until 2023.

Her first nomination came in 1993, following her portrayal of Tina Turner in the biopic What’s Love Got To Do With It?.

Three decades later, she made history when she became the first star to receive an Oscar nomination for a performance in a Marvel film.

Sadly, though, this resulted in a second loss, although she did pick up an honorary Oscar in 2025.

Timothée Chalamet

Timothée Chalamet has made no secret of his hopes to one day win an Oscar – or his disappointment at the award having eluded him so far in his career.

Over the last decade, he’s scored three acting nods, first for Call Me By Your Name and later for the Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown.

It looks like this year could be his, though, following wins at the Golden Globes and Critics’ Choice Awards for his work in Marty Supreme. 

Jake Gyllenhaal

Jake Gyllenhaal is another A-list actor you might be surprised to hear has been given only a small amount of love by the Oscars.

In fact, it’s been over 20 years since Jake last bagged an Academy Award nomination, earning his first and only nod for his supporting role in Brokeback Mountain.

David Oyelowo

The Oscars’ lack of recognition for David Oyelowo’s performance as Martin Luther King Jr Selma is one of the biggest snubs in recent history, sparking a major backlash at the time.

Despite a number of critically-acclaimed performances to his name, the British star is yet to be nominated for an Academy Award. Seriously, Oscars. Sort. It. Out.

Toni Collette

Off the top of our head, we can probably come up with six or seven Toni Collette performances that would have been deserving an Oscar win – and yet, the Australian star has just one nomination under her belt (for The Sixth Sense, if you’re wondering).

As one of the most versatile actors in the game, we’re confident that Toni’s time is coming... and when it does, it will be long overdue.

Will we ever be over her not even being nominated for Hereditary? Probs not, no.

Sir Ian McKellen

He might have Oliviers coming out of his ears (seven in total, at the time of writing), but Sir Ian McKellen is yet to be awarded the biggest honour in the film industry.

The British acting legend does have two Oscar nominations, but neither of them translated to a win. He hasn’t fared any better on his home soil, either, with neither of his four previous Bafta nominations resulting in him taking home an award.

Beyoncé

Roles in acclaimed films like Dreamgirls and Cadillac Records led many fans to think that Beyoncé was setting her sights on Oscars glory.

Although neither ended in so much as a nomination, when she signed up to voice Nala in The Lion King (contributing a new song to the beloved soundtrack), it was thought she might get her win in the form of a Best Original Song victory. Sadly, this didn’t end up landing her a nomination, either, though she was later recognised in this category for her work on the film King Richard.

We reckon she probably doesn’t need to lose sleep about that, though, as she has since become the most-awarded person in Grammys history.

Dolly Parton

Like many musicians before her, Dolly Parton has made the transition into acting with roles in films like The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Steel Magnolias and, of course, 9 To 5.

While the Academy never recognised Dolly’s acting (even if the Golden Globes did!), she does have two Best Original Song nominations to her name.

In recent years, Dolly has continued contributing new music to films like Dumplin’ and the Netflix festive film Christmas On The Square, though, so a win could well be on the horizon if she keeps it up.

Michelle Williams

Since 2006, Michelle Williams has earned Oscar nominations for her performances in Brokeback Mountain, Blue Valentine, My Week With Marilyn, Manchester By The Sea and, more recently, The Fabelmans.

In 2019, she did win an Emmy on her first nomination for Fosse/Verdon, so we reckon it won’t be long until the Academy catches up.

Michelle Pfeiffer

In a career spanning more than three decades, Michelle Pfeiffer has been nominated for an Oscar on three different occasions, but so far, the Academy Award has always passed her by.

Sadly, none of these nominations were for Grease 2, which we can only describe as a huge oversight.

Tom Cruise

Tom Cruise has been nominated for four Oscars over the course of his career (although it has been more than two decades since his last acting nod), but he’s never come out on top in his category.

In 2023, he picked up his fourth nomination for his work producing the Top Gear sequel, though regrettably he failed to land any nods for his acting performance.

Sigourney Weaver

Sigourney Weaver has racked up three nominations over the years but sadly, the win has eluded her each time.

At the 1989 ceremony, she was up for both the Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress prizes, but lost out to Jodie Foster and Geena Davis, respectively.

Michael Keaton

“Is this the year Michael Keaton finally wins his Oscar?” Vanity Fair asked, hopefully, in 2016.

Sadly, it was not – and, in fact, he didn’t even score a nomination for the movie sparking the question, The Founder. 

His 2014 nomination, earned for his star turn in Birdman, remains Michael’s only Oscar-nominated role.

Annette Bening

Annette Bening’s performances in The Kids Are Alright, Being Julia, American Beauty and The Grifters have all made the Academy’s shortlist in the past – but she was pipped to the post each time.

Her work is still getting her a lot of recognition, though, with a nomination as recently as 2024 for her work in the film Nyad, so a future Oscar win is definitely not out of the question for Annette.

Helena Bonham Carter

The British star is known for her quirky and offbeat roles, but despite Helena Bonham Carter’s bold choices when it comes to acting, the Academy is yet to reward her efforts with a win.

She does have two nominations, though, for The Wings Of The Dove and The King’s Speech.

Hugh Jackman

Over the last few years, Hugh Jackman has been at the centre of Oscar buzz for films like The Front Runner, Bad Education and even The Greatest Showman, although none of them led to an actual nomination.

In 2026, his Song Sung Blue co-star Kate Hudson is in the running for Best Actress, marking the film’s only Academy Award nomination.

The Australian star did receive a nod back once, though, following his leading performance in Les Misérables in 2013.

Taraji P Henson

We’re, frankly, still raging about the complete snub that occurred in 2017, when Taraji P Henson was missing from the Best Actress category.

The Hidden Figures star does have one previous Oscar nomination under her belt, thanks to her role in The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button.

Diane Warren

For those not familiar with Diane Warren, she’s the songwriter behind hit movie soundtrack tunes like Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now, There You’ll Be and I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing.

Remarkably, she’s now been nominated for an Oscar 17 times without a win – and true to form, she’s in the running in 2026, too.

Diane did pick up an honorary Oscar in 2022, but we’re pretty confident she’ll be attaching herself to film soundtracks for years to come until she gets her hands on a competitive trophy.

Demi Moore

It was more than 40 years into Demi Moore’s on-screen career that she even landed her first Oscar, thanks to her performance in the body horror movie The Substance (a rare feat for a horror movie to be recognised by the Academy at all!).

Heading into the 2025 ceremony, it looked like it could have been Demi’s year, after she pretty much cleaned up at every preceding awards show. Though this proved not to be the case, she’s still credited with majorly opening the door when it came recognition for horror performances, which have traditionally been overlooked at the Oscars.

A year later, for example, Amy Madigan landed the second nomination of her career for her work as the iconic Aunt Gladys in Weapons.

John Travolta

HuffPost favourite John Travolta has become something of an Oscars staple in recent years, thanks to iconic moments like his “Adele Dazeem” gaffe, his after-party dance-off with Lady Gaga, his awkward red carpet posing with Scarlett Johansson and the fact he was the one to give Will Smith his award after the slap seen around the world.

John does have two Oscar nominations of his own, one for Saturday Night Fever and a second for Pulp Fiction, although neither ended up in a win for him.

But while he may not have any trophies to show for it, we’d still argue the Oscars are nothing without Mr Travolta...