The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has given Academy Awards to actors and actresses for non-English performances in films, with the first award given in 1961. For an actor or actress to be eligible for any of the Academy Awards for Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, or Best Supporting Actress for a foreign language performance in a film produced outside the United States, the film must have been commercially released in Los Angeles County and have English subtitles with the theatrical release.
This list is current as of the 95th Academy Awards ceremony held on March 12, 2023.
In 1962, Sophia Loren became the first actor to win an Oscar for a non-English language performance. [1]
As of 2023 [update] , 52 actors and actresses have been nominated for Academy Awards for non-English language performances. [2] Sixteen of these actors and actresses have received Academy Awards for their performances:
Seven actors have had multiple Academy Award nominations for non-English language performances: Marcello Mastroianni (three Best Actor nominations for Italian-language performances), [4] Sophia Loren (one Academy Award for Best Actress for Two Women and another Best Actress nomination for Marriage Italian-Style , both for Italian-language performances), [5] Liv Ullmann (two Best Actress nominations for Swedish-language performances), [6] Isabelle Adjani (two Best Actress nominations for French-language performances), [7] Javier Bardem (two Best Actor nominations for Spanish-language performances), [8] Marion Cotillard (one Academy Award for Best Actress for La Vie en Rose and another Best Actress nomination for Two Days, One Night , both for French-language performances), [9] and Penélope Cruz (two Best Actress nominations for Spanish-language performances).
Sophia Loren and Marion Cotillard are the only actresses to win an Academy Award for Best Actress for non-English language performances, Italian and French, respectively. Cotillard is the only actor to receive two Oscar nominations for foreign films without having her films nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. [10] She is also the only actor to be nominated for a Belgian film (Two Days, One Night). [11]
Roberto Benigni is the only actor to win an Academy Award for Best Actor for a non-English language performance.
Twelve actors have been nominated for Sign Language performances: Jane Wyman for Johnny Belinda ; Patty Duke for The Miracle Worker ; Alan Arkin for The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter ; John Mills for Ryan's Daughter ; Marlee Matlin for Children of a Lesser God ; Holly Hunter for The Piano ; Samantha Morton for Sweet and Lowdown ; Rinko Kikuchi for Babel , Sally Hawkins for The Shape of Water ; Riz Ahmed and Paul Raci for Sound of Metal ; Troy Kotsur for CODA . All used American Sign Language except for Mills and Hunter, who used British Sign Language, and Kikuchi, who used Japanese Sign Language.
Rank | Language | BA | BSA | Total | Wins | Winning actor(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | French | 11 | 3 | 14 | 2 | Marion Cotillard (2007), Christoph Waltz (2009) |
2 | Italian | 10 | 1 | 11 | 4 | Anna Magnani (1956), Sophia Loren (1961), Robert De Niro (1974), Roberto Benigni (1998) |
3 | Spanish | 5 | 5 | 11 | 2 | Benicio del Toro (2000), Penélope Cruz (2008) |
4 | American Sign Language | 4 | 4 | 8 | 4 | Jane Wyman (1948), Patty Duke (1962), Marlee Matlin (1986), Troy Kotsur (2021) |
5 | Swedish | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — |
6 | German | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | Meryl Streep (1982), Christoph Waltz (2008) |
7 | British Sign Language | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | John Mills (1970), Holly Hunter (1993) |
Hindi | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | Ben Kingsley (1982) | |
Korean | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | Youn Yuh-jung (2020) | |
Mandarin Chinese | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | Ke Huy Quan, Michelle Yeoh (2022) | |
Yiddish | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | |
8 | Cantonese | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | Michelle Yeoh (2022) |
Sofia Costanza Brigida Villani Scicolone, known professionally as Sophia Loren, is an Italian actress. With a career spanning over 70 years, she was named by the American Film Institute as one of the greatest stars of classical Hollywood cinema and is one of the last surviving major stars from the era. Loren is also the only remaining living person to appear on AFI's list of the 50 greatest stars of American film history, positioned 21st.
The Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical is a Golden Globe Award that was first awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association as a separate category in 1951. Previously, there was a single award for "Best Actress in a Motion Picture", but the splitting allowed for recognition of it and the Best Actress – Drama.
The César Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role is one of the César Awards, presented annually by the Académie des Arts et Techniques du Cinéma to recognize the outstanding performance in a supporting role of an actress who has worked within the French film industry during the year preceding the ceremony. Nominees and winner are selected via a run-off voting by all the members of the Académie.
The César Award for Best Actress is one of the César Awards, presented annually by the Académie des Arts et Techniques du Cinéma to recognize the outstanding performance in a leading role of an actress who has worked within the French film industry during the year preceding the ceremony. Nominees and winner are selected via a run-off voting by all the members of the Académie.
Marion Cotillard is a French actress. Known for her roles in independent films and blockbusters in both European and Hollywood productions, she has received various accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Golden Globe Award, a European Film Award, a Lumières Award and two César Awards. She became a Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters in France in 2010, and was promoted to Officer in 2016, the same year she was named a Knight of the Legion of Honour. She has served as a spokeswoman for Greenpeace since 2001. She was the face of the Lady Dior handbag for nine years, and since 2020 she is the face of the fragrance Chanel No. 5.
Best Actress in a Leading Role is a British Academy Film Award presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding leading performance in a film.
Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow is a 1963 comedy anthology film by Italian director Vittorio De Sica. It stars Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni. The film consists of three short stories about couples in different parts of Italy. The film won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 37th Academy Awards.
The 34th Academy Awards, honoring the best in film for 1961, were held on April 9, 1962, hosted by Bob Hope at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in Santa Monica, California.
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The 80th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2007. The award ceremony took place on February 24, 2008, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles. During the ceremony, AMPAS presented Academy Awards in 24 categories. The ceremony was televised in the United States by ABC, and produced by Gil Cates and directed by Louis J. Horvitz. Comedian Jon Stewart hosted the show for the second time, having previously presided over the 78th ceremony held in 2006. On February 9, at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, the Academy Awards for Technical Achievement were presented by host Jessica Alba.
La Vie en Rose is a 2007 biographical musical film about the life of French singer Édith Piaf, co-written and directed by Olivier Dahan, and starring Marion Cotillard as Piaf. The UK and US title La Vie en Rose comes from Piaf's signature song. The film is an international co-production between France, Czech Republic, and the United Kingdom. It made its world premiere at the 2007 Berlin Film Festival in the main competition.
Nine is a 2009 romantic musical drama film directed and co-produced by Rob Marshall from a screenplay by Michael Tolkin and Anthony Minghella, based on the stage musical of the same name, which in turn is based on the 1963 film 8½. In addition to songs from the stage musical, all written by Maury Yeston, the film has three original songs, also written by Yeston. The ensemble cast consists of Daniel Day-Lewis, Marion Cotillard, Penélope Cruz, Judi Dench, Fergie, Kate Hudson, Nicole Kidman, and Sophia Loren.
Two Days, One Night is a 2014 drama film written and directed by the Dardenne brothers, starring Marion Cotillard and Fabrizio Rongione. It is an international co-production between Belgium, France and Italy. The film had its world premiere at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival where it competed for the Palme d'Or.
War in the Highlands is a 1998 war drama film written and directed by Francis Reusser and starring Marion Cotillard. The film is a co-production between Switzerland, France and Belgium and it is based on the 1915 novel La Guerre dans le Haut-Pays by Charles-Ferdinand Ramuz, concerning Switzerland in the Napoleonic era. The film was released theatrically in Switzerland on 7 October 1998, and in France on 5 May 1999. It was selected as the Swiss entry for the Best Foreign Language Film category at the 71st Academy Awards, but it was not nominated.
The Capri Hollywood International Film Festival is an annual international film festival held every late December or early January in Capri, Italy. Established in 1995, the competition section is open to international films, animation, documentaries and fiction.
Cotillard's nomination made her the first actor or actress in a Belgian film to compete for the Oscar.
Speaking largely in English, the language in which—as a compromise, or in search of common ground—they raised Daniel, she is a mother with no use for her mother tongue
Hüller speaks French and English in the film, but no German.
It will probably help that much of the movie, including most of its key scenes, are in English.