Who has won the most Oscars? The actors and movies that have cleaned up

The Post looks at past winners who have cleaned up at the Academy Awards.Getty Images

Ask any Oscar nominee how badly they want to win, and you’ll likely get the diplomatic response that “it’s an honor just to be nominated.”

Sure, sure.

But in truth, only a handful of Hollywood talents can claim to have received a nomination from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences more than once.

The Post looks at past winners and other record-breaking moments. For instance, 2022 was the first time three women — Wanda Sykes, Regina Hall and Amy Schumer — hosted the ceremony.

Walt Disney

Walt Disney (1901 – 1966) laughs while struggling to hold four Oscar statuettes simultaneously.Getty Images

The records for most Oscars ever for a single person are actually held not by actors but behind-the-scenes talents of various stripes. Animator and producer Walt Disney holds the all-time record with 22 Oscars.

Alfred Newman

Alfred Newman is the most-winning film composer, with nine Oscars (including, yes, “All About Eve”) and 45 nominations. But for the most nominations, no one holds a candle to “Star Wars” composer John Williams, with 52 nominations yielding five wins — and the most memorable film scores in the galaxy.

‘The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King’

Elijah Wood, who plays Frodo, in “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.”New Line Cinema

Three Best Picture winners have taken home a record 11 Academy Awards each. Of those — all of which won Best Picture — 2003’s “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” won every single category in which it was nominated. 1997’s “Titanic” took home 11 out of 14 nominations, and 1959’s “Ben-Hur,” 11 out of 15.

Edith Head

Legendary costume designer Edith Head, who died in 1981, won eight Oscars, including one for her work on “All About Eve,” which snared a record 14 nominations in 1950 (a record it shares with “Titanic” and 2016’s “La La Land”).

Katharine Hepburn

Douglas Fairbanks with Katharine Hepburn on the film set of “Morning Glory.”Corbis via Getty Images

Though a handful of actors and actresses have been nominated countless times (ahem, Meryl Streep), the record for wins is four, held by Katharine Hepburn, for 1934’s “Morning Glory,” 1968’s “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner,” 1969’s “The Lion in Winter,” and 1982’s “On Golden Pond.”

The actress never showed up for the awards on the years she won, though. She only attended the ceremony once, in 1974 — and that was to present an honorary award to her friend, producer Lawrence Weingarten.

Meryl Streep has been nominated 21 times for an Oscar and has won three times.Getty Images

Three-time winner Streep — for 1980’s “Kramer vs. Kramer,” 1983’s “Sophie’s Choice,” and 2012’s “The Iron Lady” — does hold the record for most nominations of any actor, at a staggering 21 times.

Viola Davis

Viola Davis with her Oscar for her supporting role in “Fences” in 2017.WireImage

Viola Davis is the most-nominated African American actress ever, with four nominations and one win for 2016’s “Fences.” Hattie McDaniel was the first black actress (and the first black performer of either gender) to win an award, for Best Supporting Actress in 1939’s “Gone with the Wind.” Sidney Poitier was the first African American actor to win one, for 1963’s “Lilies of the Field.” He was also awarded an Honorary Award from the Academy in 2001.

Ariana DeBose

In 2022, Ariana DeBose won for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Anita in “West Side Story” and became the first openly queer woman of color to win in this category. DeBose is also the first woman to win an Oscar for playing a role by a previously Oscar-winning actress (Rita Moreno won for the same role in the original 1961 film).

John Ford

Director John Ford on set in 1960.Getty Images

John Ford holds the record for most directing Oscars, with four. A handful of auteurs have won three times for writing, including Woody Allen, Francis Ford Coppola and Billy Wilder.

Jane Campion

Jane Campion is the third woman to win Best Director.Kirsty Griffin/NETFLIX

In 2022, Jane Campion took home Best Director for her film, “The Power of the Dog.” She is the third woman to win the award. Kathryn Bigelow won for “The Hurt Locker” in 2010 and in 2021, Chloe Zhao won for “Nomadland.”

Campion’s first Oscar win was for Best Original Screenplay for her 1993 film, “The Piano.” She was also nominated for Best Director in 1994 but lost to Steven Spielberg, who won for “Schindler’s List.”

Denzel Washington

Denzel Washington with his Oscar for his portrayal of Alonzo in “Training Day” in 2002.AFP via Getty Images

Denzel Washington is the most nominated African American actor in history, with 10 nominations and two wins.

Jack Nicholson

Jack Nicholson with his Oscar in 1998.Getty Images

Jack Nicholson is one of three actors to have won three times — for 1975’s “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” 1983’s “Terms of Endearment” and 1997’s “As Good as It Gets.”

Daniel Day-Lewis won for “My Left Foot” (1990), “There Will Be Blood” (2008) and “Lincoln” (2013). Earlier, Walter Brennan was the first to hit the trifecta, with three Best Supporting Actor wins for “Come and Get It” (1936), “Kentucky” (1938), and “The Westerner” (1940).

Cedric Gibbons

Art director Cedric Gibbons was nominated 39 times for Best Production Design, and won 11 Oscars — making him the runner-up to record holder Walt Disney. He also made an indelible mark on the Academy, as he’s the man who designed the statuette!