Most Oscar nominations for Best Picture (female actor)

Cate Blanchett (Australia) has starred in nine films that have been nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards: Elizabeth (1998), The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002), The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003 – winner), The Aviator (2004), Babel (2006), The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008), Don’t Look Up (2021) and Nightmare Alley (2021).

Until the nominations were announced for the 94th Academy Awards (2022), Olivia de Havilland (UK/USA/France, b. Japan, 1916-2020) held this record by starring in eight Best Picture-nominated films – the first two in 1935 (Captain Blood and A Midsummer Night’s Dream) and the last in 1949 (The Heiress). Meryl Streep’s role as US President Janie Orlean in Don’t Look Up (2021) took her tally up to eight.

The Aviator gave Blanchett the record for the first acting Oscar won for depicting an Oscar-winning actress (Katharine Hepburn), while Elizabeth and Elizabeth: The Golden Age (not nominated for Best Picture) made her the first actress to be nominated twice for playing the same character in different films. On both occasions, the Oscar nomination was for Best Actress.