Couples nominated for Oscars in the same year

1 of 14

Steve Granitz/WireImage; Dan MacMedan/WireImage

In 1932, Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne made history as the first couple to be nominated for an Oscar in the same year. While both lost, they started a prestigious tradition that very few couples have been able to achieve.

Click through the gallery to see which couples defied the odds and were nominated for Oscars in the same year.

2 of 14

1940: Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh

Bettmann Archive/Getty Images

Vivien Leigh won the Oscar for best actress for her portrayal of Scarlett O'Hara in Gone With the Wind while her soon-to-be-husband Laurence Olivier was nominated for best actor in Wuthering Heights.

3 of 14

1967: Richard Burton and Liz Taylor

Trevor Humphries/Central Press/Getty Images

Married couple Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton were both nominated for their roles in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Burton lost, but Taylor won.

Continued on next slide.

4 of 14

1968: Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn

Bettmann Archive/Getty Images

Katharine Hepburn won for her role in Guess Who's Coming to Dinner? But her co-star Spencer Tracy, who died 10 months earlier and with whom she had 25-year affair, was only nominated and did not win poshumously.

5 of 14

1969: Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward

Bettmann Archive/Getty Images

Married couple Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward were both nominated for their film Rachel, Rachel, in which she starred and he produced.

6 of 14

1975: John Cassavetes and Gena Rowlands

Max B. Miller/Fotos International/Getty Images

Married couple John Cassavetes and Gena Rowlands were nominated for their work on A Woman Under the Influence — him for best director and her for best actress.

Continued on next slide.

7 of 14

1982: Warren Beatty and Diane Keaton

Bettmann Archive/Getty Images

Warren Beatty won best director for his film Reds, while Diane Keaton was nominated for best actress in that same film. They were dating at the time of the Oscars but split up shortly after.

8 of 14

1986: Jack Nicholson and Anjelica Huston

Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images

Jack Nicholson and Anjelica Huston starred together in Prizzi's Honor, and were dating at the time they were both nominated for an Oscar. Huston won for Best Supporting Actress while Nicholson lost.

9 of 14

1996: Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon

Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images

Susan Sarandon won her first Oscar for her role in Dead Man Walking while her partner at the time, Tim Robbins, was nominated but lost for Best Director for the same film.

Continued on next slide.

10 of 14

1997: Joel Coen and Frances McDormand

Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images

The 1997 awards ceremony was a good night for this married couple, as Fargo earned both writer-director Joel Coen and actress Frances McDormand each their own Oscar.

11 of 14

2006: Heath Ledger and Michelle Williams

Steve Granitz/WireImage

Brokeback Mountain stars and real-life couple at the time (they broke up before his death) Heath Ledger and Michelle Williams were both nominated he for best actor, she for supporting actress — but neither won.

12 of 14

2009: Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie

Dan MacMedan/WireImage

Real-life couple at the time Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie were both nominated at the same awards ceremony — him for best actor for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, her for best actress for Changeling. Both of them lost.

Continued on next slide.

13 of 14

2016: Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander

Chris Pizzello/Invision/Shutterstock

Now-married couple Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander were dating at the time they were both nominated for Oscars. She won for her role in The Danish Girl while he lost for his role in Steve Jobs.

14 of 14

2020: Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach

Steve Granitz/WireImage

Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach are the latest golden couple heading to the Oscars, Baumbach earned a Best Original Screenplay nomination for Marriage Story and Gerwig was recognized with a Best Adapted Screenplay nomination for Little Women. While both were snubbed for Best Director nominations, their respective films are up for Best Picture.

Replay gallery

Account

All the couples nominated for Oscars in the same year

1 of 14

1 of 14

2 of 14

1940: Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh

2 of 14

3 of 14

1967: Richard Burton and Liz Taylor

3 of 14

4 of 14

1968: Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn

4 of 14

5 of 14

1969: Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward

5 of 14

6 of 14

1975: John Cassavetes and Gena Rowlands

6 of 14

7 of 14

1982: Warren Beatty and Diane Keaton

7 of 14

8 of 14

1986: Jack Nicholson and Anjelica Huston

8 of 14

9 of 14

1996: Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon

9 of 14

10 of 14

1997: Joel Coen and Frances McDormand

10 of 14

11 of 14

2006: Heath Ledger and Michelle Williams

11 of 14

12 of 14

2009: Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie

12 of 14

13 of 14

2016: Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander

13 of 14

14 of 14

2020: Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach

14 of 14

Share the Gallery

Up Next

Share the Gallery