Best Picture

Of the 875 individual nominees for Best Picture, 18% were women.* The first woman was nominated and won in this category in 1974 (Julia Phillips, The Sting). A total of 16 women have won in this category, or 11% of all winners. There were 32 years when no women were nominated. However, at least one woman has been nominated in this category every year since 1994. Less than 1 percent of nominees in the category were women of color. Of the 7 women of color nominated, the first was in 2015 (Oprah Winfrey, Selma), with the first win in 2020 (Kwok Sin-ae, Parasite). 

Of the 145 women nominated in this category, there were 110 unique women whose work was recognized. Eighty percent received only one nomination, including all the women of color nominees. In comparison, 74% of men have been nominated only once. There were 5 women who were nominated 4 or more times: Kathleen Kennedy (8 nominations), Dede Garner (7 nominations), Kristie Macosko Krieger (5 nominations, including 2024) Donna Gigliotti (4 nominations), and Megan Ellison (4 nominations). Only 2 of these women have won. There are 24 men who were nominated 4 or more times.

Of the 875 nominees for Best Picture, 6% were from an underrepresented racial/ethnic group.* There was one underrepresented nominee for every 16 white nominees. Since 1951, there have been 48 years when no underrepresented nominees were included in this category. This is 65% of all years when the award was presented to people. The first underrepresented nominee in this category appeared in 1970 (Ahmed Rachedi, Z). The first underrepresented winner was in 2012 (Thomas Langmann, The Artist). Nine underrepresented individuals have won an Academy Award® for Best Picture. Only one of those winners has been Black/African American.

Only 7 underrepresented individuals have been nominated more than once in 96 years, compared to 144 white individuals. Overall, 84% of underrepresented nominees were nominated only once, compared to 74% of white nominees. Ismail Merchant and Alejandro G. Iñárritu had the most nominations of all underrepresented nominees (3 each) while Steven Spielberg (13 nominations), Scott Rudin (9 nominations), and Kathleen Kennedy (8 nominations) had the most among white nominees. Jordan Peele (2018, 2019) was the only underrepresented nominee born in the U.S. to receive more than one nomination for Best Picture.