A 98-year historical analysis of gender and race/ethnicity of all Academy Award nominees and winners.
©2026 Dr. Stacy L. Smith & the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative. All Rights Reserved.
As one of the premiere awards for films and filmmakers, the Academy Awards® set an agenda for who and what is valued in entertainment. By looking at the nominees and winners across categories and by year, we can see whether the awards are responsive to how its audience is changing and whether the awards have become more inclusive in who they recognize over time. Our analysis begins with the first Academy Awards® in 1929 and continues throughout each year to include nominees in 2026. This 98-year analysis focuses on feature films and reveals what’s changed– and what still needs to change.
The site has been updated with the nominees and winners for the most recent awards. Additionally, the site now offers insights into how many people have received multiple nominations overall and by category. This provides a spotlight on how often the Academy Awards® recognize individuals and how the awards may promote career sustainability and notoriety for nominees. This year, we also added the Best Casting category in recognition of its inaugural year.
Of the 13,871 nominees at the Academy Awards® since 1929, 18% were women and 82% were men.
Of the 13,870 nominees since 1929, 6% were from underrepresented racial/ethnic groups.
A total of 450 nominees for Best Actor in a Supporting Role since 1937, 10% or 46 were men of color.
Of the 450 nominees for Best Actress in a Supporting Role since 1937, 13% or 58 were women of color.
A total of 486 men have been nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role, 10% or 49 were men of color.
Out of 489 nominations for Best Actress in a Leading Role, 6% or 30 have gone to women of color.
Of the 491 nominees in the category of Best Director, only 2% or 11 have been women.
Of the 691 nominees for Best Cinematography, less than 1% or 4 were women.
Of the 1,078 nominees for Best Original Screenplay, 4% were from an underrepresented group.
Out of 565 nominees for Best Adapted Screenplay, 12% were women.
Women comprised 14% of all 591 nominees for Best Film Editing.
Of the 942 individual nominees for Best Picture, 19% were women.
Twenty percent of the 242 nominees for Best Animated Feature Film were women.
Women received 29% of the 632 nominations for Best Documentary Feature.
Out of 1,588 nominees for Best Production Design, 13% were women.
More than half–59%–of the 546 nominees for Best Costume Design were women.
Of the 991 nominees for Best Original Score, 14 were women and 976 were men.
Women received 12% of the nominations for Best Original Song, while men received 88%.
Only 6 women have been nominated in the category of Best Visual Effects, including one in 2026.
Of the 328 nominees for Best Makeup and Hairstyling, 41% were women.
A total of 3% or 48 of the 1,466 nominees for Best Sound were women.
In its inaugural year, there were 4 women and 1 man nominated for Best Casting in 2026.
The aim of this website is more than just informational. While we desire that journalists, film executives, critics, students, and other industry professionals will utilize the findings on this site, we also want change. As a consumer of film, your voice matters.