--- title: 19 Classic Hollywood Actors and Actresses Who Never Won an Oscar description: From Steve McQueen to Natalie Wood, some of Hollywood’s most remembered stars are members of the Oscars snub club. canonical: https://time.com/3669851/oscar-snubs-2/ author: Eliza Berman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-01-15T21:57:35.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:06:11.497Z og:title: 19 Classic Hollywood Actors and Actresses Who Never Won an Oscar og:description: From Steve McQueen to Natalie Wood, some of Hollywood’s most remembered stars are members of the Oscars snub club. og:url: https://time.com/3669851/oscar-snubs-2/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt32679e5cf51c6229/69877a39428a9e0df5cc69c0/150115-oscar-snubs-15.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Marlene Dietrich, 1928 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 19 Classic Hollywood Actors and Actresses Who Never Won an Oscar twitter:description: From Steve McQueen to Natalie Wood, some of Hollywood’s most remembered stars are members of the Oscars snub club. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt32679e5cf51c6229/69877a39428a9e0df5cc69c0/150115-oscar-snubs-15.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 19 Huge Hollywood Stars Who Never Won an Oscar  by [Eliza Berman](https://time.com/author/eliza-berman/)  ## Eliza Berman Berman is a senior editor at TIME. Jan 15, 2015 9:57 PM UTC  Marlene Dietrich, who was nominated once. Pictured in evening dress and hat during Pierre Ball, 1928. Marlene Dietrich, who was nominated once. Pictured in evening dress and hat during Pierre Ball, 1928.Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  by [Eliza Berman](https://time.com/author/eliza-berman/)  ## Eliza Berman Berman is a senior editor at TIME. Jan 15, 2015 9:57 PM UTC When [Oscar nominations](http://time.com/3668006/oscars-2015-nominations/) are announced every January, the conversation turns quickly from who got nominated to who got snubbed. And people tend to react with more indignation over who’s missing than in celebration of who’s been recognized. For many, this year’s disappointments include the absence of _Selma_ director Ava DuVernay from the Best Director field and star David Oyelowo from the Best Actors group, as well as the lack of recognition for [_The Lego Movie_](http://time.com/3669065/oscars-2015-nominations-lego-movie/). The lack of racial diversity among the nominees has led, naturally, to a viral hashtag: [#OscarsSoWhite](http://time.com/3669143/oscars-2015-nominations-white/). It’s enough to make you think that perhaps an Oscar is more the result of a [manipulative multimillion dollar campaign](http://blogs.indiewire.com/criticwire/the-sobering-statistics-behind-oscar-campaigns-20150114) than merit alone. But the snub has been around since long before the age of Internet outrage, when gossip was relegated to soda fountains and opinions took days to make it from type-written notes to a Letters to the Editor page. And although we tend to associate Hollywood’s biggest stars with that bald, naked mini-man of gold, many of history’s most remembered actors and actresses never got their hands on a statuette. On the actresses’ side, Marlene Dietrich, Ava Gardner and Dorothy Dandridge had to settle for nominations alone. Perhaps Natalie Wood and Jayne Mansfield would have been recognized had their lives not been cut so tragically short. Some actresses gave up a great deal for the roles that would leave them empty-handed—Janet Leigh, who was nominated for _Psycho_ but didn’t win, spent the rest of her life [afraid of the shower](http://www.nytimes.com/1995/05/01/movies/psycho-in-janet-leigh-s-psyche.html). Among their male counterparts, things weren’t all bad. Richard Burton, nominated seven times for films including _Becket_ (1964) and _Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf_ (1966), could substitute Benjamins for toilet paper if he wanted, as one of the highest-paid actors in the world at his peak. Peter Sellers, born in England, could take comfort in his two wins at the BAFTAs, Oscar’s cousin across the pond. And Steve McQueen could wipe his tears of dejection on that clean white t-shirt, though many, to be sure, preferred him without one at all. Many repeated oversights were corrected, if not fully, with honorary Academy Awards doled out to stars in their golden years, although none of the actors and actresses pictured above even received one of those. For them, alas, money, fame, and a place in the annals of history would just have to suffice. _Liz Ronk, who edited this gallery, is the Photo Editor for LIFE.com. Follow her on Twitter at_ [_@LizabethRonk_](https://twitter.com/LizabethRonk)_._  Natalie Wood, who received three nominations. Pictured at the Cannes FIlm Festival, 1962. Paul Schutzer—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Steve McQueen, who was nominated once. Pictured here during motorcycle racing across the Mojave Desert, 1963. John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Rita Hayworth, who was never nominated. Pictured in 1945. Bob Landry—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Jayne Mansfield, who was never nominated, though she once played violin in an orchestra performance at the Oscars. Pictured here posing with shapely hot water bottle likenesses floating around her in her pool, 1957. Allan Grant—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Richard Burton, who was nominated seven times. Pictured relaxing with a book in Cantina while on location filming The Night of the Iguana, 1963. Gjon Mili—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Erroll Flynn, who was never nominated. Pictured aboard his yacht Sirocco, 1941. Peter Stackpole—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Lena Horne, who was never nominated, though she was honored with a tribute at the 2011 Academy Awards. Pictured In Paris, 1947. Yale Joel—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Kim Novak, who was never nominated, though she presented at the 2014 awards. Pictured performing the hoochie-coochie dance in the movie Jeanne Eagels, 1957. J. R. Eyerman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Tony Curtis, who was nominated once. Pictured with his Rolls Royce, 1961. Ralph Crane—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Montgomery Clift, who was nominated four times. Pictired in Red River, 1948. J. R. Eyerman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Lana Turner, who was nominated once. Pictured here with John Garfield on Laguna Beach in a scene from The Postman Always Rings Twice, 1945. Walter Sanders—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Dorothy Dandridge, who was nominated once, becoming the first African-American to be nominated for a leading role (1955). Pictured posing in costume for Tarzan's Peril, 1951. Ed Clark—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Douglas Fairbanks Jr., who was never nominated. Pictured in Sinbad, 1946. Peter Stackpole—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Peter Sellers, who was nominated three times. Pictured playing the piano at home with his wife, Britt Ekland, in Beverly Hills, 1964. Allan Grant—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images  Marlene Dietrich, who was nominated once. Pictured in evening dress and hat during Pierre Ball, 1928. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Ava Gardner, who was nominated once. Pictured in One Touch of Venus, 1948. J. R. Eyerman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Janet Leigh, who was nominated once. Pictured posing in costume for Jet Pilot, 1950. Ed Clark—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Robert Walker, who was never nominated. Pictured riding a tricycle with his two sons, 1943. John Florea—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Van Johnson, who was never nominated. Pictured duck hunting in a scene from the movie Early to Bed, 1945. 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