Which woman has the most Oscar wins?

The Oscars are on their merry approach, with the ninety fifth Academy Awards happening on Sunday 12 March.

It’s no sizzling take to say that the movie business is a male-dominated one, and the variety of feminine winners remains to be removed from the variety of awards gained by their male colleagues.

On Worldwide Ladies's Day, let’s reply one query, which can make you shine on quiz nights: Which girl has gained probably the most Oscars?

Many might imagine that the lady with probably the most Golden Baldies is a performer.

It’s definitely not a director, as solely 3 ladies have ever gained Greatest Director within the Academy’s 94-year historical past: Kathryn Bigelow for The Harm Locker in 2010, Chloé Zhao for Nomadland in 2021 and Jane Campion for The Energy of the Canine in 2022. And till right this moment, solely seven ladies in complete have been nominated within the Greatest Director class within the historical past of the Academy Awards: Lina Wertmüller along with her movie Seven Beauties in 1977; Jane Campion with The Piano in 1994; Sofia Coppola in 2004 for Misplaced In Translation; Greta Gerwig for Girl Chicken in 2018; Chloé Zhao and Emerald Fennell (Promising Younger Lady) each in 2021; and Campion once more final 12 months.

Performing sensible, Katharine Hepburn nonetheless holds the report title of probably the most wins for a feminine actor in Oscar historical past (4 Oscars and a complete of 12 nominations), with Ingrid Bergman, Elizabeth Taylor, Frances McDormand and Meryl Streep all not far behind with 3 Oscars to their names. Cate Blanchett might quickly be including her title to this illustrious group if she wins Greatest Actress on Sunday night for her towering efficiency in Tár.

However none of them come near the highest spot.

Let’s finish the suspense.

The girl who holds the data for probably the most wins is a fancy dress designer: Edith Head.

Everett Collection Historical / Alamy Stock Photo
Edith HeadEverett Assortment Historic / Alamy Inventory Picture
Getty - Heritage Auctions - AP - Instagram
Edith HeadGetty - Heritage Auctions - AP - Instagram

In a profession that spanned over 5 many years and 400 movie credit, Edith Head (1897 – 1981) garnered an unimaginable 35 Oscar nominations and eight wins for Greatest Costume Design, probably the most for any girl in historical past.

And greater than anybody in historical past, for that matter, other than a sure Walter Disney.

Head was born in San Bernardino, California in 1897. She graduated with a BA in French from the College of California, Berkeley in 1919, and adopted that up with a Masters of Arts in romance languages from Stanford College in 1920.

After her research, Head was employed as a fancy dress sketch artist at Paramount Footage in 1923. She would go on to work for Paramount for 44 years earlier than transferring to Common Footage in 1967.

She gained popularity of her design of Dorothy Lamour’s sarong within the 1936 movie The Jungle Princess, and shortly grew to become a family title after the Academy Award for Greatest Costume Design was created in 1948.

Her iconic designs made garments converse volumes and helped to develop characters. Her costumes embody Audrey Hepburn’s reverse makeover for Roman Vacation (going from the excessive style to 'common gal' circle skirts) and the timeless costumes worn by Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's, Gloria Swanson’s costly attire and eccentric robes in Sundown Blvd, Ingrid Bergman’s excellent attire in Alfred Hitchcock’s Infamous, Grace Kelly and her attractive frocks in Rear Window ,and the pin-striped fits worn by Robert Redford and Paul Newman in The Sting.

Public Domain - Universal Pictures
Design for Grace Kelly in Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window (1954)Public Area - Common Footage

She maintained shut working relationships along with her topics, with whom she consulted extensively. Head designed for the likes of Mae West, Veronica Lake, Ginger Rogers, Bette Davis, Hedy Lamarr, Angela Lansbury, Elizabeth Taylor, Grace Kelly, Lauren Bacall, Jane Fonda and Katharine Hepburn, amongst numerous others.

Her first win was for the 1949 movie adaptation of The Heiress, for which she designed voluminous Victorian robes. Her second Oscar win was the next 12 months for Cecil B. DeMille’s biblical epic Samson and Delilah.

The six different movies she gained for had been All About Eve, A Place within the Solar, Roman Vacation, Sabrina, The Details of Life and The Sting – her final Oscar in 1973.

Paramount
Designs for Audrey Hepburn for Breakfast At Tiffany's by Edith HeadParamount
Paramount
Designs for Audrey Hepburn for 'Sabrina' by Edith HeadParamount
Paramount
Costume designed by Edith Head for Bette Davis in All About EveParamount

Edith Head acquired a star on the Hollywood Stroll of Fame in 1974, and since her dying, many tributes have been paid to Head and her unparalleled skill to tailor her versatile craft to any period and magnificence. 

She was honoured as a part of a collection of stamps issued by the US Postal Service in February 2003, who had been commemorating the behind-the-camera personnel who make films occur. 

Additionally it is broadly acknowledged that the look of Edna “E” Mode, the costume designer in Pixar's The Incredibles and Incredibles 2, was impressed by Head as a tribute to the designer's affect on Hollywood, movie and magnificence.

Pixar - Public Domain
Pixar's Edna “E” Mode vs Edith HeadPixar - Public Area

Edith Head was not solely the main and most influential costume designer of her period, however of all time. She paved the best way for the likes of four-time Oscar winners Colleen Atwood and Milena Canonero, and four-time nominee and Oscar winner Ruth E. Carter.

Though actors and administrators get probably the most credit score and recognition for his or her work, a determine like Edith Head exhibits that movies have at all times been and at all times might be a collaborative effort. Past the crimson carpets and the sunshine of the projectors, movies wouldn't exist or succeed with out numerous different departments. They need to be acknowledged and celebrated for his or her achievements, particularly when ladies are concerned, as male-dominated movie business signifies that ladies struggle more durable to earn a place. With the instance of Head in thoughts, viewers would do effectively to additional dwell on how costume designers and departments are usually not solely an integral a part of filmmaking, however can actually elevate a movie to greatness.

So the subsequent time you’re watching the Oscars and wishing the time away till the ultimate act when the performing and directing awards drop earlier than Greatest Movie, take the time to cheer on the individuals who be certain that the performers, the temper and the look of the movies are stellar sufficient to be nominated within the first place.

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