Movie-Musical actresses at the Oscars

Thirty-one actress have been nominated for either Best Actress or Best Supporting Actress at the Oscars for their work in movie musicals. Of those 31 actresses eight have gone on to win their categories. Please take a look above at our slideshow of winners and nominees.

The most recent musical actress to be nominated was Meryl Streep, who repeated her 19th career bid for “Into the Woods,” adapted from the Broadway musical composed by Stephen Sondheim. She was the lastest in a string of women in the 21st century who received nominations, also including nominees like Nicole Kidman (“Moulin Rouge”) and Renee Zellweger (“Chicago”) and winners like Jennifer Hudson (“Dreamgirls”) and Anne Hathaway (“Les Miserables”).

But before that it had been almost two decades since an actress was nominated for a performance in a musical film: Amy Irving in “Yentl” (1983). However, the golden age of musical actresses at the Oscars came in the 1950s and 1960s; 16 women were nominated during those two decades alone – that’s more than half of the women who have ever been nominated.

On the list above you’ll find some of the most famous musical performances of all time. Which is your favorite performance ever?

– By Amanda Spears

Meryl Streep, ‘Into the Woods’ (2014)

Nominated for Best Supporting Actress (lost to: Patricia Arquette, “Boyhood”)

Streep plays the Witch that sends out the Baker (James Corden) and his wife (Emily Blunt) on a quest with the promise that she will lift the curse against the childless couple. This was Streep’s 19th Oscar nomination.

Also Nominated: Laura Dern (“Wild”) Keira Knightley (“The Imitation Game”) and Emma Stone (“Birdman”)

Anne Hathaway, ‘Les Misérables’ (2012)

Won Best Supporting Actress

Hathaway embodied the classic role of Fantine and took home the Oscar largely on the strength of her performance of the classic song “I Dreamed a Dream.”

Also Nominated: Amy Adams (“The Master”) Sally Field (“Lincoln”) Helen Hunt (“The Sessions”) and Jacki Weaver (“Silver Linings Playbook”)

Penélope Cruz, ‘Nine’ (2009)

Nominated for Best Supporting Actress (lost to: Mo’Nique, “Precious”)

Cruz couldn’t hold on to her title from the prior year, when she won Best Supporting Actress for “Vicky Cristina Barcelona.” Her role in “Nine” as the temptress Maria Elena is best known for the song “A Call from the Vatican.”

Also Nominated: Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick (“Up in the Air”) and Maggie Gyllenhaal (“Crazy Heart”)

Jennifer Hudson, ‘Dreamgirls’ (2006)

Won Best Supporting Actress

A former reality show contestant (“American Idol”) with no prior acting experience inhabited the role of Effie White so well she gave chills to audiences with the classic number “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going.”

Also Nominated: Adriana Barraza and Rinko Kitkuchi (“Babel”), Cate Blanchett (“Notes on a Scandal”) and Abigail Breslin (“Little Miss Sunshine”)

Renée Zellweger, ‘Chicago’ (2002)

Nominated for Best Actress (lost to: Nicole Kidman, “The Hours”)

“By a nose” was how Denzel Washington announced Kidman’s win over Zellweger in one of the closest Best Actress races in recent years. Her performance as wannabe star Roxie Hart was highlighted by the number “Roxie.”

Also Nominated: Salma Hayek (“Frida”), Diane Lane (“Unfaithful”) and Julianne Moore (“Far From Heaven”)

Catherine Zeta-Jones, ‘Chicago’ (2002)

Won Best Supporting Actress

Zeta-Jones gave a scene-stealing performance and nowhere was that more evident than in her rendition of the opening number, “All That Jazz.”

Also Nominated: Kathy Bates (“About Schmidt”), Julianne Moore (“The Hours”), Queen Latifah (“Chicago”) and Meryl Streep (“Adaptation”)

Queen Latifah, ‘Chicago’ (2002)

Nominated for Best Supporting Actress (lost to: Catherine Zeta-Jones, ‘Chicago’)

Rapper Queen Latifah shocked many with her pipes during her showcase number “When You’re Good to Mama.”

Also Nominated: Kathy Bates (“About Schmidt”), Julianne Moore (“The Hours”) and Meryl Streep (“Adaptation”)

Nicole Kidman, ‘Moulin Rouge’ (2001)

Nominated for Best Actress (lost to: Halle Berry, “Monster’s Ball”)

Kidman played the tragic Satine in Baz Luhrmann’s musical romance set at the famous Parisian hot spot and re-imagining modern popular songs.

Also Nominated: Judy Dench (“Iris”), Sissy Spacek (“In the Bedroom”) and Renée Zellweger (“Bridget Jones’s Diary”)

Amy Irving, ‘Yentl’ (1983)

Nominated for Best Supporting Actress (lost to: Linda Hunt, “The Year of Living Dangerously”)

“Yentl” was a musical, but Irving did not sing as part of her performance as Hadass Vishkower.

Also Nominated: Cher (“Silkwood”), Glenn Close (“The Big Chill”) and Alfre Woodard (“Cross Creek”)

Julie Andrews, ‘Victor/Victoria’ (1982)

Nominated for Best Actress (lost to: Meryl Streep, “Sophie’s Choice”)

Andrews gave us the title character Victoria, who could only find work by pretending to be a man pretending to be a woman; her most famous number was “Le Jazz Hot.” Andrews is the only songstress to have three nominations for Best Actress for her work in movie musicals.

Also Nominated: Jessica Lange (“Frances”), Sissy Spacek (“Missing”) and Debra Winger (“An Officer and a Gentleman”)

Lesley Ann Warren, ‘Victor/Victoria’ (1982)

Nominated for Best Supporting Actress (lost to: Jessica Lange, “Tootsie”)

Warren played ditzy moll Norma Cassady, who eventually learns — ahem — Victoria’s secret.

Also Nominated: Glenn Close (“The World According to Garp”), Teri Garr (“Tootsie”) and Kim Stanley (“Frances”)

Liza Minnelli, ‘Cabaret’ (1972)

Won Best Actress

Minnelli was a showstopper as Sally Bowles with numbers like “Maybe this Time” and the title song “Cabaret.” Minnelli and her mother Judy Garland were the first mother-daughter to be nominated for Oscars. Minnelli is also the only Oscar winner to have two Oscar-winning parents: her father Vincente Minnelli won Best Director for “Gigi” (1958) and Garland was awarded a juvenile Oscar for “The Wizard of Oz” (1939).

Also Nominated: Diana Ross (“Lady Sings the Blues”), Maggie Smith (“Travels with My Aunt”), Cicely Tyson (“Sounder”) and Liv Ullmann (“The Emigrants”)

Barbara Streisand, ‘Funny Girl’ (1968)

Won Best Actress, tied with Katharine Hepburn (“The Lion in Winter”)

Streisand brought her Tony nominated role to the big screen, including memorable musical numbers “People,” “Don’t Rain on My Parade” and “My Man.” Streisand and Hepburn tied for the award, the only tie in Best Actress history.

Also Nominated: Patricia Neal (“The Subject Was Roses”), Vanessa Redgrave (“Isadora”) and Joanne Woodward (“Rachel, Rachel”)

Kay Medford, ‘Funny Girl’ (1968)

Nominated for Best Supporting Actress (lost to: Ruth Gordon, “Rosemary’s Baby”)

Medford revived her Tony nominated performance as Rose Brice (Fanny’s mother). Only Medford and Barbara Streirsand reprised their stage roles for the film.

Also Nominated: Lynn Carlin (“Faces”), Sandra Locke (“The Heart is a Lonely Hunter”) and Estelle Parsons (“Rachel, Rachel”)

Carol Channing, ‘Thoroughly Modern Millie’ (1967)

Nominated for Best Supporting Actress (lost to: Estelle Parsons, “Bonnie and Clyde”)

Channing played eccentric widow Muzzy Van Hossmere. This was the legendary Channing’s only Oscar nomination.

Also Nominated: Mildred Natwick (“Barefoot in the Park”), Beah Richards (“Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner”) and Katharine Ross (“The Graduate”)

Julie Andrews, ‘The Sound of Music’ (1965)

Nominated for Best Actress (lost to: Julie Christie, “Darling”)

Andrews made history as the only actress or actor to score back to back nominations for musicals. As the nun Maria, she burst onto the screen giving an energetic performance in numbers like “The Sound of Music,” “I Have Confidence” and “Do-Re-Mi.”

Also Nominated: Samantha Eggar (“The Collector”), Elizabeth Hartman (“A Patch of Blue”) and Simone Signoret (“Ship of Fools”)

Peggy Wood, ‘The Sound of Music’ (1965)

Nominated for Best Supporting Actress (lost to: Shelley Winters, “A Patch of Blue”)

Wood (pictured above with Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer and Richard Haydn) is best known for her role as Mother Abbess and her performance of the song “Climb Ev’ry Mountain.”

Also Nominated: Ruth Godon (“Inside Daisy Clover”) and Joyce Redman and Maggie Smith (“Othello”)

Julie Andrews, ‘Mary Poppins’ (1964)

Won Best Actress

After Andrews originated the role of Eliza Doolittle in “My Fair Lady” on Broadway two of her co-stars, Rex Harrison and Stanley Holloway, were cast in the 1964 film version, but Andrews was replaced by Audrey Hepburn. Andrews got the last laugh, however. After Hepburn was snubbed at the Oscars, Andrews walked away the winner for “Mary Poppins,” giving new meaning to the phrase “A Spoonful of Sugar.”

Also Nominated: Anne Bancroft (“The Pumpkin Eater”), Sophia Loren (“Marriage Italian Style”), Debbie Reynolds (“The Unsinkable Molly Brown”) and Kim Stanley (“Séance on a Wet Afternoon”)

Debbie Reynolds, ‘The Unsinkable Molly Brown’ (1964)

Nominated for Best Actress (lost to: Julie Andrews, “Mary Poppins”)

Reynolds played the title character, who was a self-made woman and survived the sinking of the Titanic. This was Reynolds’s only Oscar nomination.

Also Nominated: Anne Bancroft (“The Pumpkin Eater”), Sophia Loren (“Marriage Italian Style”) and Kim Stanley (“Séance on a Wet Afternoon”)

Gladys Cooper, ‘My Fair Lady’ (1964)

Nominated for Best Supporting Actress (lost to: Lila Kedrova, “Zorba the Greek”)

For her work as Henry Higgins’s mother, Cooper (pictured above in green) received her third Oscar nomination.

Also Nominated: Edith Evans (“The Chalk Garden”), Grayson Hall (“The Night of the Iguana”) and Agnes Moorehead (“Hush… Hush, Sweet Charlotte”)

Rita Moreno, ‘West Side Story’ (1961)

Won Best Supporting Actress

For her work as Anita in this modern take on “Romeo and Juliet,” Moreno became the first Hispanic actress to win an Oscar.

Also Nominated: Fay Bainter (“The Children’s Hour”), Judy Garland (“Judgement at Nuremberg”), Lotte Lenya (“The Roman Springs of Mrs. Stone”) and Una Merkel (“Summer and Smoke”)

Deborah Kerr, ‘The King and I’ (1956)

Nominated for Best Actress (lost to: Ingrid Bergman, “Anastasia”)

She landed the role when Yul Brynner recommended her for the lead character of governess Anna. Kerr holds the record, along with Thelma Ritter and Glenn Close, for the most Oscar nominations for an actress without a win (six).

Also Nominated: Carroll Baker (“Baby Doll”), Katharine Hepburn (“The Rainmaker”) and Nancy Kelly (“The Bad Seed”)

Dorothy Dandridge, ‘Carmen Jones’ (1954)

Nominated for Best Actress (lost to: Grace Kelly, “The Country Girl”)

The first African American actress nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress, Dandridge plays the title role in this adaptation of Bizet’s opera “Carmen.”

Also Nominated: Judy Garland (“A Star is Born”), Audrey Hepburn (“Sabrina”) and Jane Wyman (“Magnificent Obsession”)

Judy Garland, ‘A Star is Born’ (1954)

Nominated for Best Actress (lost to: Grace Kelly, “The Country Girl”)

In the second telling of “A Star is Born” Garland gave us not only the classic tale but the now classic song “The Man That Got Away.” Garland had just given birth at the time of the Oscar ceremony, so cameras were set up in her hospital room in anticipation of her win, but Grace Kelly won instead.

Also Nominated: Dorothy Dandridge (“Carmen Jones”), Audrey Hepburn (“Sabrina”) and Jane Wyman (“Magnificent Obsession”)

Leslie Caron, ‘Lili’ (1953)

Nominated for Best Actress (lost to: Audrey Hepburn, “Roman Holiday”)

Caron, plays the title character, an orphaned young woman who becomes part of a puppet show. She sang a hit song in the musical, “Hi-Lii, Hi-Lo.”

Also Nominated: Ava Gardner (“Mogambo”) Deborah Kerr (“From Here to Eternity”) and Maggie McNamara (“The Moon is Blue”)

Susan Hayward, ‘With a Song in My Heart’ (1952)

Nominated for Best Actress (lost to: Shirley Booth, “Come Back, Little Sheba”)

Hayward was cast because she bore a better resemblance to the real-life protagonist Jane Froman, a singer who entertained the troops during World War II despite being injured in a plane crash in 1943.

Also Nominated: Joan Crawford (“Sudden Fear”), Bette Davis (“The Star”) and Julie Harris (“The Member of the Wedding”)

Thelma Ritter, ‘With a Song in My Heart’ (1952)

Nominated for Best Supporting Actress (lost to: Gloria Grahame, “The Bad and the Beautiful”)

Ritter’s third out of four consecutive Oscar nominations. She would ultimately be nominated six times, and she holds the record for most Oscar nominations for an actress without a win, shared with Deborah Kerr and Glenn Close.

Also Nominated: Colette Marchand (“Moulin Rouge”), Terry Moore (“Come Back, Little Sheba”) and Jean Hagen (“Singin’ in the Rain”)

Jean Hagen, ‘Singin’ in the Rain’ (1952)

Nominated for Best Supporting Actress (lost to: Gloria Grahame, “The Bad and the Beautiful”)

Hagen’s nomination is best known for being the only major recognition “Singin’ in the Rain” received at the time as fellow cast members Gene Kelly and Debbie Reynolds were both snubbed for the landmark musical.

Also Nominated: Colette Marchand (“Moulin Rouge”), Terry Moore (“Come Back, Little Sheba”) and Thelma Ritter (“With a Song in My Heart”)

Luise Rainer, ‘The Great Ziegfeld’ (1936)

Won Best Actress

Rainer played Ziegfeld’s first wife, Anna Held, a popular singer and stage performer.

Also Nominated: Irene Dunne (“Theodora Goes Wild”), Gladys George (“Valiant is the Word for Carrie”), Carole Lombard (“My Man Godfrey”) and Norma Shearer (“Romeo and Juliet”)

Grace Moore, ‘One Night of Love’ (1934)

Nominated for Best Actress (lost to: Claudette Colbert, “It Happened One Night”)

Moore plays Mary Barrett, an aspiring opera singer who sets out to study in Milan.

Also Nominated: Bette Davis (“Of Human Bandage,” write-in candidate) and Norma Shearer (“The Barretts of Wimpole Street”)

Bessie Love, ‘The Broadway Melody of 1929’ (1929)

Nominated for Best Actress (lost to: Mary Pickford, “Coquette”)

Love was one of few who successfully transferred from silent films thanks in part to her performance as Harriet “Hank” Mahoney in “The Broadway Melody.”

Also Nominated: Ruth Chatterton (“Madame X”), Betty Compson (“The Barker”), Jeanne Eagels (“The Letter”) and Corinne Griffith (“The Divine Lady”)