You’d think with all the modern blockbusters and the sheer volume of movies coming out every year, someone would have caught up by now. But no. Honestly, the record for the actress with most Oscars has been sitting untouched for over forty years. It belongs to Katharine Hepburn.
She won four. All of them were for Best Actress in a Leading Role.
It’s kinda wild when you look at the stats. Meryl Streep has been nominated 21 times—which is just an absurd level of consistency—but she "only" has three wins. Frances McDormand also has three acting Oscars. Ingrid Bergman? Three. But Hepburn is the only one sitting on that lonely throne of four.
She didn't even show up to the ceremonies to collect them. Imagine being that good at your job and just... staying home.
The Four Wins of Katharine Hepburn
The first one came early. In 1933, she won for Morning Glory. She was basically a kid in Hollywood terms, just 26 years old. But then things got weird. She had a massive slump where she was actually labeled "box office poison." Most people would’ve packed it in and moved back to Connecticut.
She didn't.
She waited 34 years for her second win. That’s a lifetime in show business. In 1967, she took home the gold for Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner. Then she did the impossible: she won again the very next year.
The 1968 win for The Lion in Winter is famous because it was a tie with Barbra Streisand. Can you imagine the drama if that happened today on social media? The internet would actually break.
Finally, in 1981, she grabbed her fourth for On Golden Pond. It was a swan song performance that cemented her as the GOAT (Greatest of All Time).
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Who is Chasing the Record in 2026?
Right now, the conversation usually shifts to Frances McDormand. She is the most recent person to join the "Three Wins Club" with her performance in Nomadland back in 2021. Technically, McDormand has four Oscars total if you count the one she got for producing Nomadland, but when we talk about the actress with most Oscars for acting, the count is still three.
Meryl Streep is always the wildcard.
She’s always one role away from a nomination. But it’s been since The Iron Lady in 2012 that she actually took the trophy home.
Current Leading Ladies with Multiple Wins
- Frances McDormand: 3 wins (Fargo, Three Billboards, Nomadland)
- Meryl Streep: 3 wins (Kramer vs. Kramer, Sophie’s Choice, The Iron Lady)
- Ingrid Bergman: 3 wins (Gaslight, Anastasia, Murder on the Orient Express)
- Emma Stone: 2 wins (La La Land, Poor Things)
- Cate Blanchett: 2 wins (The Aviator, Blue Jasmine)
Honestly, Emma Stone is the one to watch. She’s relatively young and already has two. If she keeps picking weird, high-art projects like Bugonia, she might actually be the one to finally give Hepburn a run for her money.
Why Winning Four is So Hard
The Academy is fickle. Sometimes they give an "overdue" Oscar to someone who should have won years ago (think Leonardo DiCaprio). Other times, they get "winner's fatigue." If someone wins two years in a row, the voters often look for any reason not to give them a third.
Hepburn’s wins were spread across five decades. That is the secret. You don't get to be the actress with most Oscars by being a flash in the pan. You do it by being undeniable for fifty years.
Voters' tastes change. In the 30s, they wanted melodrama. In the 60s, they wanted social commentary. Hepburn just... adapted.
The 2026 Oscar Race and Beyond
Looking at the current landscape for the 98th Academy Awards in 2026, the "Best Actress" race is heating up. We’re seeing names like Jessie Buckley for Hamnet and even Kate Hudson for Song Sung Blue getting serious buzz.
Will any of them eventually hit the four-win mark?
It seems unlikely in the short term. The competition is just too stiff. With the rise of international cinema and streamers like Netflix and Apple pouring money into campaigns, the "wealth" of Oscars is being spread thinner than it was in the Golden Age of Hollywood.
If you're looking to track who might be the next legend, pay attention to the "Triple Crown of Acting." This means winning an Oscar, an Emmy, and a Tony. Very few people have done it. Hepburn did it. McDormand did it.
Your "Oscars Watch" Checklist
- Watch the SAG Awards: They are usually the best predictor for who the actors themselves actually respect.
- Look for "Transformations": The Academy loves it when a beautiful actress "uglies up" or learns a difficult skill (like Kate Hudson singing her own stunts in 2026's Song Sung Blue).
- Longevity over Hype: Don't bet on the ingenue; bet on the veteran who hasn't won in a decade.
The record of the actress with most Oscars isn't just a trivia fact. It's a testament to a career that refused to die. Whether it’s Meryl, Frances, or someone we haven't even met yet, catching up to Katharine Hepburn will require more than just talent—it’ll require staying power that lasts half a century.
To get a better feel for why these records are so hard to break, try watching The Lion in Winter and Nomadland back-to-back. You'll see two completely different styles of "best" that both managed to capture the Academy's heart.