Academy Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role
| Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress | |
|---|---|
| Awarded for | Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role |
| Country | United States |
| Presented by | Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) |
| First awarded | 1937 (for performance in films released during the 1936 film season) |
| Currently held by |
Viola Davis Fences (2016) |
| Official website | oscars |
The Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given in honor of an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance in a supporting role while working within the film industry.
At the 9th Academy Awards ceremony held in 1937, Gale Sondergaard was the first winner of this award for her role in Anthony Adverse. Initially, winners in both supporting acting categories were awarded plaques instead of statuettes. Beginning with the 16th ceremony held in 1944, however, winners received full-sized statuettes. Currently, nominees are determined by single transferable vote within the actors branch of AMPAS; winners are selected by a plurality vote from the entire eligible voting members of the Academy.
Since its inception, the award has been given to 78 actresses. Dianne Wiest and Shelley Winters have received the most awards in this category with two awards each. Despite winning no awards, Thelma Ritter was nominated on six occasions, more than any other actress. As of the 2017 ceremony, Viola Davis is the most recent winner in this category for her role as Rose Maxson in Fences.
In the following table, the years are listed as per Academy convention, and generally correspond to the year of film release in Los Angeles County; the ceremonies are always held the following year.
The following individuals received two Best Supporting Actress awards:
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