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The Oscars definitely fall among the highest honors one can receive in the film industry. Many seasoned actors have gone their whole lives without winning one, and some have won only after they spent their time honing their skills and talent.
However, there are a handful of artists who have won an Oscar for their very first performance in a feature film. These stars, along with their stunning performances, have been immortalized in the pages of the Academy Awards.
From Barbra Streisand to Lupita Nyong'o - Ten actors who won an Oscar for their first film performance
1) Gale Sondergaard - Best Supporting Actress at the 9th Academy Awards
The Academy Award category for Best Supporting Actress did not originally exist and was only introduced at the 9th Academy Award Ceremony.
Gale Sondergaard became the first to receive this particular Oscar award in 1937 for her debut feature film, Anthony Adverse. She played the role of the villainous housekeeper, Faith Paleologus.
Originally a thespian, Sondergaard moved to film in the late 1930s and had a booming career till the 1940s. However, she went on a 20-year-long hiatus and resumed her acting career for a brief period in the late 1960s.
2) Harold Russell - Best Supporting Actor at the 19th Academy Awards
Harold Russell was a man of many talents.
He was a World War II veteran who was cast in the epic drama from RKO Radio Pictures, The Best Years of Our Lives. Russell became the first non-professional actor to have won the prestigious statuette. He also made Oscars history by receiving two awards for his performance, the Best Supporting Actor and the Academy Honorary Award.
Russell played the role of Homer Parrish, a central character in the film. His character is also that of a war veteran who is trying to rehabilitate back into civilian life after losing both of his hands in the war. The film itself won a total of seven Academy Awards and is considered a culturally and historically relevant film.
3) Shirley Booth - Best Actress at the 25th Academy Awards
Shirley Booth was an American actress with a career that spanned almost 50 years. She is also one of the few performers who have received all three major honors, the Oscar, the Emmy, and the Tony award. Booth started her career in theater and only moved to films in 1952, with her debut in Come Back, Little Sheba.
She won her Oscar for Best Actress for the same role. She had previously played the same character in the drama of the same name, and played the character of Lola Delaney, a housewife in a loveless marriage who grieves her early miscarriage and the recent loss of her dog, Sheba.
4) Julie Andrews - Best Supporting Actress at the 37th Academy Awards
Julie Andrews is a well-known British actress who has excelled in acting, singing as well as writing. With a career that has spanned over 75 years, she is one of the last remaining stars from Hollywood's Classical Age. She has also received numerous accolades throughout the duration of her career, including multiple Emmys, Grammys, Golden Globes, and an Oscar.
What's interesting is that Andrews won her one and only Academy Award in her debut film, back in 1964. She played the titular role of Mary Poppins in Walt Disney's musical fantasy offering, Mary Poppins. The film received 13 nominations at the 65th Academy Awards, winning in five categories.
5) Barbra Streisand - Best Actress at the 41st Academy Awards
Barbra Streisand is a versatile American artist who has dabbled in singing, acting, and directing. She has worked in the industry for over six decades and is among the few who have received all four American entertainment awards - Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony.
Barbra Streisand is an extremely talented artist and her arsenal of accolades goes to prove the same. For her debut album in 1963, The Barbra Streisand Album, she received the Grammy for Album of the Year. With a successful career in music, Streisand moved to the silver screen, where she once again proved her talent.
She won the Oscar for Best Actress in 1969 for her role in Funny Girl. Incidentally, it was also the only time that the Academy Awards were tied for a category. Barbra Streisand and Katharine Hepburn were the joint winners for the Best Actress category at the 41st Academy Awards.
6) Tatum O'Neal - Best Supporting Actress at the 46th Academy Awards
Tatum Beatrice O'Neal made history when she became the winner of the Oscar statuette at the age of 10. She made her debut in the 1973 comedy-drama from Paramount Pictures, Paper Moon.
She played the role of Addie Loggins, an orphaned kid who sets off on a journey with a swindler, played by her own father, Ryan O'Neal. Although Tatum did not have any real acting experience before this, she was born to two prominent actors.
Her debut performance was so spectacular that it won her the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress along with a Golden Globe for New Star of the Year - Actress.
7) Marlee Matlin - Best Actress at the 59th Academy Awards
Marlee Beth Matlin is an American actress who became the first deaf artist to win an Academy Award. She debuted in the 1986 romantic drama, Children of a Lesser God, in the central role of Sarah Norman.
The film was a commercial and critical success, and even won Matlin her Oscar and a Golden Globe for Best Actress. Along with being the first deaf actress to win an Oscar, she also became the youngest artist to win in the category at the age of 21.
8) Anna Paquin - Best Supporting Actress at the 66th Academy Awards
Anna Paquin is a New Zealand actress who also won her Oscar at a very young age, very much like Tatum O'Neal. Paquin made her debut in the 1993 erotic period drama, The Piano.
The New Zealand, France, and Australia co-production became a critical and commercial success. It grossed $140 million worldwide against a budget of $7 million.
The film won the Palm d'Or at the 1993 Cannes Film Festival, along with three Academy Awards, one of which was Paquin's Best Supporting Actress. She played the role of Flora McGrath, the young daughter of mute pianist Ada McGrath.
9) Jennifer Hudson - Best Supporting Actress at the 79th Academy Awards
Jennifer Hudson is a renowned American actor, singer-songwriter, and talk show host. She has made her name through her many accomplishments in various entertainment sectors. Hudson is, to date, the youngest woman to have won all four American entertainment honors, the Emmy, the Grammy, the Oscar, and the Tony.
Jennifer Hudson made her first appearance on the silver screen in the 2006 musical from Paramount Pictures, Dreamgirls. She played the role of Effie White, a character inspired by the Supremes member, Florence Ballard.
Her performance received widespread critical acclaim and also won her the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress at the 79th Academy Awards.
10) Lupita Nyong'o - Best Supporting Actress at the 86th Academy Awards
Lupita Nyong'o is a Kenyan-Mexican actress who rose to fame after her role as Nakia in the Marvel Studios film, Black Panther (2018). She started her career in short films and Kenyan television series in 2008, but made her feature film debut only in 2013, in Steve McQueen's 12 Years a Slave.
With extensive knowledge of acting from her time at Yale, Nyong'o delivered a stunning performance in 12 Years a Slave. She played the character of Patsey, a black slave who works as a cotton picker for Edwin Epps.
Her moving performance won her multiple prestigious honors, including an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress at the 86th Academy Awards.
With an Oscar win for their debut films, all of these artists have achieved something amazing. Be it in the 1940s, 1970s or even the 2010s, the Oscars hold a heavy significance in the entertainment industry.
Receiving such a prestigious honor on their very first try sounds nothing less than magical. However, their acting prowess is very real, and all of them have made a significant impact on the industry of today.
If you are a cinephile and like to keep up with the latest and best titles in the industry, be sure to catch the upcoming 95th Academy Awards. This year's ceremony will be held at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on March 12, 2023, and will be telecast live on ABC, starting at 6:30 pm ET.
