"Oscar Trivia: Day 9"
"Oldest Acting Oscar Nominees And Winners"
by Tim Nasson
January 11, 2008
Very few women of age - not including Meryl Streep, who will be 60 next year, and arguably America's greatest living actress - are being called back for many big screen movie roles. Sally Field, 60, with the exception of her upcoming Steven Spielberg film, "Lincoln," has been a TV staple for the past 12 years, appearing and winning Emmy Awards for "ER" and "Brothers & Sisters" and pimping the osteoperosis med Boniva. Judi Dench is the greatest and oldest exception (nearly 75 years old) in the world that we can think of, especially with her upcoming umpteenth role as "M" in what will be an international box office smash; "Bond 22." So, if you're wondering who the oldest Oscar nominated actors and actresses and oldest Oscar winning actors and actresses are - here is the complete list. And if you're wondering why we chose "The Sound of Music" poster? It has nothing to do with Julie Andrews, even though she got a nomination for Best Actress Oscar nomination for her role in the film. (She lost, having won the year before for "My Fair Lady"). We learn something new every day. There was another nominee in "The Sound Of Music," for Best Supporting Actress, who, at the time was 74 years old. Find out who she was...
So, if you're wondering who the oldest Oscar nominated actors and oldest Oscar winning actors are - here is the complete list.
(Tomorrow, the Youngest Oscar Nominees & Winners!)
"Oscar Trivia" Main Page
The following statistics are based on the most reliable birthdate information available to us at the time of publishing. We welcome any information from primary sources that might indicate a different birthdate for an individual. Such sources might be birth or death certificates or databases based on such records, published interviews with the individual or published documents that cite their sources. This would NOT include the Internet Movie Database or other web sites that do not cite primary sources for their information. email.
BEST ACTOR [in a Leading Role]
(* indicates the Oscar win)
Oldest Nominees [from date of birth to date of nominations announcement]
79 years, 167 days. Richard Farnsworth, The Straight Story (1999)
76 years, 271 days. *Henry Fonda, On Golden Pond (1981)
74 years, 239 days. Clint Eastwood, Million Dollar Baby (2004)
74 years, 174 days. Peter O'Toole, Venus (2006)
71 years, 274 days. Laurence Olivier, The Boys from Brazil (1978)
70 years, 19 days. Paul Newman, Nobody's Fool (1994)
69 years, 334 days. Michael Caine, The Quiet American (2002)
69 years, 323 days. Melvyn Douglas, I Never Sang for My Father (1970)
68 years, 101 days. Burt Lancaster, Atlantic City (1981)
67 years, 320 days. Spencer Tracy, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967)
Oldest Winners [from date of birth to date of awards ceremony]
76 years, 317 days. *Henry Fonda, On Golden Pond (1981)
62 years, 316 days. *John Wayne, True Grit (1969)
62 years, 209 days. *George Arliss, Disraeli (1929/30)
62 years, 63 days. *Paul Newman, The Color of Money (1986)
60 years, 335 days. *Jack Nicholson, As Good As It Gets (1997)
60 years, 181 days. *Peter Finch, Network (1976) (Postumous Award)
57 years, 40 days. *Ronald Colman, A Double Life (1947)
57 years, 31 days. *Rex Harrison, My Fair Lady (1964)
56 years, 155 days. *Art Carney, Harry and Tonto (1974)
54 years, 90 days. *Anthony Hopkins, The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
BEST ACTOR in a Supporting Role
(* indicates the Oscar win)
Oldest Nominees [from date of birth to date of nominations announcement]
82 years, 49 days. Ralph Richardson, Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (1984)
80 years, 28 days. *George Burns, The Sunshine Boys (1975)
78 years, 326 days. *Melvyn Douglas, Being There (1979)
78 years, 16 days. Paul Newman, Road to Perdition (2002)
77 years, 303 days. *John Gielgud, Arthur (1981)
77 years, 250 days. *Don Ameche, Cocoon (1985)
75 years, 290 days. Fred Astaire, The Towering Inferno (1974)
75 years, 231 days. Edmund Gwenn, Mister 880 (1950)
74 years, 319 days. Alec Guinness, Little Dorrit (1988)
74 years, 180 days. Cecil Kellaway, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967)
Oldest Winners [from date of birth to date of awards ceremony]
80 years, 69 days. *George Burns, The Sunshine Boys (1975)
79 years, 9 days. *Melvyn Douglas, Being There (1979)
77 years, 349 days. *John Gielgud, Arthur (1981)
77 years, 297 days. *Don Ameche, Cocoon (1985)
73 years, 41 days. *Jack Palance, City Slickers (1991)
72 years, 336 days. *Alan Arkin, Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
72 years, 268 days. *Edmund Gwenn, Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
71 years, 192 days. *John Houseman, The Paper Chase (1973)
70 years, 202 days. *James Coburn, Affliction (1998)
69 years, 270 days. *Martin Landau, Ed Wood (1994)
BEST ACTRESS [in a Leading Role]
(* indicates the Oscar win)
Oldest Nominees [from date of birth to date of nominations announcement]
80 years, 252 days. *Jessica Tandy, Driving Miss Daisy (1989)
80 years, 11 days. Dame Edith Evans, The Whisperers (1967)
75 years, 313 days. May Robson, Lady for a Day (1932/33)
74 years, 275 days. *Katharine Hepburn, On Golden Pond (1981)
72 years, 45 days. Judi Dench, Notes on a Scandal (2006)
71 years, 53 days. Judi Dench, Mrs. Henderson Presents (2005)
69 years, 116 days. Fernanda Montenegro, Central Station (1998)
68 years, 68 days. Ellen Burstyn, Requiem for a Dream (2000)
67 years, 169 days. Ida Kaminska, The Shop on Main Street (1966)
67 years, 65 days. Judi Dench, Iris (2001)
Oldest Winners [from date of birth to date of awards ceremony]
80 years, 292 days. *Jessica Tandy, Driving Miss Daisy (1989)
74 years, 321 days. *Katharine Hepburn, On Golden Pond (1981)
63 years, 1 day. *Marie Dressler, Min and Bill (1930/31)
61 years, 337 days. *Katharine Hepburn, The Lion in Winter (1968)
61 years, 214 days. *Helen Mirren, The Queen (2006)
61 years, 122 days. *Geraldine Page, The Trip to Bountiful (1985)
60 years, 334 days. *Katharine Hepburn, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967)
54 years, 201 days. *Shirley Booth, Come Back, Little Sheba (1952)
49 years, 351 days. *Shirley MacLaine, Terms of Endearment (1983)
49 years, 173 days. *Susan Sarandon, Dead Man Walking (1995)
BEST ACTRESS in a Supporting Role
(* indicates the Oscar win)
Oldest Nominees [from date of birth to date of nominations announcement]
87 years, 221 days. Gloria Stuart, Titanic (1997)
82 years, 257 days. Jessica Tandy, Fried Green Tomatoes (1991)
82 years, 37 days. Eva Le Gallienne, Resurrection (1980)
79 years, 26 days. Ann Sothern, The Whales of August (1987)
77 years, 234 days. Dame May Whitty, Mrs. Miniver (1942)
77 years, 46 days. *Peggy Ashcroft, A Passage to India (1984)
77 years, 15 days. Dame Edith Evans, The Chalk Garden (1964)
76 years, 67 days. Gladys Cooper, My Fair Lady (1964)
76 years, 16 days. Dame Edith Evans, Tom Jones (1963)
74 years, 12 days. Peggy Wood, The Sound of Music (1965)
Oldest Winners [from date of birth to date of awards ceremony]
77 years, 93 days. *Peggy Ashcroft, A Passage to India (1984)
72 years, 166 days. *Ruth Gordon, Rosemary's Baby (1968)
71 years, 338 days. *Margaret Rutherford, The V.I.P.s (1963)
70 years, 187 days. *Helen Hayes, Airport (1970)
67 years, 85 days. *Josephine Hull, Harvey (1950)
65 years, 212 days. *Ethel Barrymore, None but the Lonely Heart (1944)
64 years, 102 days. *Judi Dench, Shakespeare in Love (1998)
62 years, 238 days. *Beatrice Straight, Network (1976)
61 years, 135 days. *Jane Darwell, The Grapes of Wrath (1940)
59 years, 222 days. *Ingrid Bergman, Murder on the Orient Express (1974)
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"2008 Oscar Ballot"
"2008 Oscar Nominees"
"2008 Oscar Winners"
