Special Report

Actors Who Won An Oscar Before 30

Jason Merritt/TERM / Getty Images Entertainment via Getty Images

What do Audrey Hepburn, Vivian Leigh, Jennifer Lawrence, and Sophia Loren have in common? All won an Academy Award before they turned 30. They are not alone in that regard. Using IMDb, an online movie database owned by Amazon, and other online sources, 24/7 Tempo has compiled a list of actors and actresses who won Academy Awards for their performances when they were under the age of 30 – making them the youngest Oscar-winners in history. (How did the awards end up with a man’s name? Learn why “the Oscars” and other little-known facts about the Academy Awards.)

Besides taking home the golden statuette at an early age, some of these Oscar recipients have other distinctions. Six of the performers on this list won the Academy Award in their first theatrical film: Marlee Matlin (“Children of a Lesser God”), Timothy Hutton (“Ordinary People”), Tatum O’Neal (“Paper Moon”), Jennifer Hudson (“Dreamgirls”), Anna Paquin (“The Piano”), and Barbra Streisand (“Funny Girl”).

Matlin, who at 21 was the youngest actress to win for Best Actress, was also the first hearing-impaired person to win an acting Oscar. Hutton was the youngest man to earn an acting Oscar, when he won for best actor in a supporting role at 20. At 25, Hudson was the youngest African-American to win the honor. (Besides her acting abilities, Hudson is known for her powerful singing voice. Here are some actors you didn’t know are also musicians.)

Janet Gaynor, a major star in the 1930s, was the first performer of any age to win the Best Actress Oscar, and the only one who won for multiple film roles – in “7th Heaven” and “Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans” (both 1927), and “Street Angel” (1928). She was 22 at the time.

Click here to see actors who won an Oscar before 30

Besides their work in motion pictures, four women who won acting Oscars before they turned 30 – Shirley Jones, Goldie Hawn, Patty Duke, and Miyoshi Umeki – would go on to have noteworthy careers in television. Speaking of Umeki, she was the first Asian-American woman to win an acting Oscar.

Mark Davis / Getty Images Entertainment via Getty Images

Cuba Gooding Jr.
> Award: Best Actor in a Supporting Role
> Age: 29
> Movie: Jerry Maguire (1996)

[in-text-ad]

Jason Merritt/TERM / Getty Images Entertainment via Getty Images

Adrien Brody
> Award: Best Actor in a Leading Role
> Age: 29
> Movie: The Pianist (2002)

Frazer Harrison / Getty Images Entertainment via Getty Images

Heath Ledger
> Award: Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
> Age: 29
> Movie: The Dark Knight (2008)

Michael Ochs Archives / Moviepix via Getty Images

Miyoshi Umeki
> Award: Best Actress in a Supporting Role
> Age: 28
> Movie: Sayonara (1957

[in-text-ad-2]

Joe Scarnici / Getty Images Entertainment via Getty Images

Mary Steenburgen
> Award: Best Actress in a Supporting Role
> Age: 28
> Movie: Melvin and Howard (1980)

Keystone / Hulton Archive via Getty Images

Sophia Loren
> Award: Best Actress in a Leading Role
> Age: 28
> Movie: La ciociara (1960)

[in-text-ad]

Pictorial Parade / Archive Photos via Getty Images

Joanne Woodward
> Award: Best Actress in a Leading Role
> Age: 28
> Movie: The Three Faces of Eve (1957)

library_of_congress / Flickr

Norma Shearer
> Award: Best Actress in a Leading Role
> Age: 28
> Movie: The Divorcee (1930)

Emma McIntyre / Getty Images Entertainment via Getty Images

Emma Stone
> Award: Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
> Age: 28
> Movie: La La Land (2016)

[in-text-ad-2]

Frank Micelotta / Getty Images Entertainment via Getty Images

Charlize Theron
> Award: Best Actress in a Leading Role
> Age: 28
> Movie: Monster (2003)

Michael Ochs Archives / Moviepix via Getty Images

Shirley Jones
> Award: Best Actress in a Supporting Role
> Age: 27
> Movie: Elmer Gantry (1960)

[in-text-ad]

Graphic House / Archive Photos via Getty Images

George Chakiris
> Award: Best Actor in a Supporting Role
> Age: 27
> Movie: West Side Story (1961)

Christopher Polk / Getty Images Entertainment via Getty Images

Alicia Vikander
> Award: Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
> Age: 27
> Movie: The Danish Girl (2015)

Hulton Archive / Moviepix via Getty Images

Bette Davis
> Award: Best Actress in a Leading Role
> Age: 27
> Movie: Dangerous (1935)

[in-text-ad-2]

Archive Photos / Archive Photos via Getty Images

Luise Rainer
> Award: Best Actress in a Leading Role
> Age: 27
> Movie: The Great Ziegfeld (1936)

Central Press / Getty Images

Vivien Leigh
> Award: Best Actress in a Leading Role
> Age: 26
> Movie: Gone with the Wind (1939)

[in-text-ad]

Harry Benson / Hulton Archive via Getty Images

Julie Christie
> Award: Best Actress in a Leading Role
> Age: 26
> Movie: Darling (1965)

Pascal Le Segretain / Getty Images Entertainment via Getty Images

Jodie Foster
> Award: Best Actress in a Leading Role
> Age: 26
> Movie: The Accused (1988)

Mark Mainz / Getty Images Entertainment via Getty Images

Gwyneth Paltrow
> Award: Best Actress in a Leading Role
> Age: 26
> Movie: Shakespeare in Love (1998)

[in-text-ad-2]

Christopher Polk / Getty Images Entertainment via Getty Images

Brie Larson
> Award: Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
> Age: 26
> Movie: Room (2015)

Ernest Bachrach / Getty Images

Katharine Hepburn
> Award: Best Actress in a Leading Role
> Age: 26
> Movie: Morning Glory (1933)

[in-text-ad]

Kevin Winter / Getty Images

Barbra Streisand
> Award: Best Actress in a Leading Role
> Age: 26
> Movie: Funny Girl (1968)

Michael Ochs Archives / Michael Ochs Archives via Getty Images

Liza Minnelli
> Award: Best Actress in a Leading Role
> Age: 26
> Movie: Cabaret (1972)

Archive Photos / Archive Photos via Getty Images

Jennifer Jones
> Award: Best Actress in a Leading Role
> Age: 25
> Movie: The Song of Bernadette (1943)

[in-text-ad-2]

Michael Ochs Archives / Michael Ochs Archives via Getty Images

Grace Kelly
> Award: Best Actress in a Leading Role
> Age: 25
> Movie: The Country Girl (1954)

Dimitrios Kambouris / Getty Images Entertainment via Getty Images

Hilary Swank
> Award: Best Actress in a Leading Role
> Age: 25
> Movie: Boys Don’t Cry (1999)

[in-text-ad]

Frazer Harrison / Getty Images Entertainment via Getty Images

Jennifer Hudson
> Award: Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
> Age: 25
> Movie: Dreamgirls (2006)

Jack Albin / Getty Images

Joan Fontaine
> Award: Best Actress in a Leading Role
> Age: 24
> Movie: Suspicion (1941)

Michael Ochs Archives / Getty Images

Teresa Wright
> Award: Best Actress in a Supporting Role
> Age: 24
> Movie: Mrs. Miniver (1942)

[in-text-ad-2]

Archive Photos / Archive Photos via Getty Images

Audrey Hepburn
> Award: Best Actress in a Leading Role
> Age: 24
> Movie: Roman Holiday (1953)

Christopher Polk / Getty Images Entertainment via Getty Images

Goldie Hawn
> Award: Best Actress in a Supporting Role
> Age: 24
> Movie: Cactus Flower (1969)

[in-text-ad]

Christopher Polk / Getty Images Entertainment via Getty Images

Angelina Jolie
> Award: Best Actress in a Supporting Role
> Age: 24
> Movie: Girl, Interrupted (1999)

Archive Photos / Archive Photos via Getty Images

Anne Baxter
> Award: Best Actress in a Supporting Role
> Age: 23
> Movie: The Razor’s Edge (1946)

Hulton Archive / Stringer / Getty Images

Janet Gaynor
> Award: Best Actress in a Leading Role
> Age: 22
> Movie: 7th Heaven (1927), Street Angel (1928), and Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927)

[in-text-ad-2]

Jason Merritt/TERM / Getty Images Entertainment via Getty Images

Jennifer Lawrence
> Award: Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
> Age: 22
> Movie: Silver Linings Playbook (2012)

Pool / Getty Images Entertainment via Getty Images

Marlee Matlin
> Award: Best Actress in a Leading Role
> Age: 21
> Movie: Children of a Lesser God (1986)

[in-text-ad]

Archive Photos / Archive Photos via Getty Images

Timothy Hutton
> Award: Best Actor in a Supporting Role
> Age: 20
> Movie: Ordinary People (1980)

Jack Albin / Archive Photos via Getty Images

Patty Duke
> Award: Best Actress in a Supporting Role
> Age: 16
> Movie: The Miracle Worker (1962)

Rich Polk / Getty Images Entertainment via Getty Images

Anna Paquin
> Award: Best Actress in a Supporting Role
> Age: 11
> Movie: The Piano (1993)

[in-text-ad-2]

Michael Ochs Archives / Getty Images

Tatum O’Neal
> Award: Best Actress in a Supporting Role
> Age: 10
> Movie: Paper Moon (1973)

Hulton Deutsch / Corbis Historical via Getty Images

Shirley Temple
> Award: An honorary Juvenile Academy Award
> Age: 6
> Movie: Various

Want to Retire Early? Start Here (Sponsor)

Want retirement to come a few years earlier than you’d planned? Or are you ready to retire now, but want an extra set of eyes on your finances?

Now you can speak with up to 3 financial experts in your area for FREE. By simply clicking here you can begin to match with financial professionals who can help you build your plan to retire early. And the best part? The first conversation with them is free.

Click here to match with up to 3 financial pros who would be excited to help you make financial decisions.

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.