The Academy Awards recently celebrated its 96th edition filled with glamour, talent, and, of course, the most iconic names in Hollywood history. With everyone in attendance fulfilling their duty as the entertainment world’s most coveted faces, it was only fitting for Mary Steenburgen to be on the roster.
For decades, we’ve seen Steenburgen portray a slew of characters on our screens. We’ve watched her as Clara Clayton in Back to the Future Part III, Belinda Conine in Philadelphia, Elaine Stein in The Help, and of course, in her history-making roles in Time After Time and Melvin and Howard. Since 1978, we’ve had the pleasure of seeing her time and time again on our screens, and we continue to do so.
Yesterday, she presented the award for Best Supporting Actress alongside Jamie Lee Curtis, Lupita Nyong’o, Rita Moreno, and Regina King, ultimately awarding Da’Vine Joy Randolph for her role in The Holdovers — a well-deserved win. With that said, we know that Mary Steenburgen has previously won an Oscar in the same category, but does she have many more?
How many Oscars does Mary Steenburgen have?
You’ll probably be surprised to discover that Mary Steenburgen has only received one Academy Award in the entirety of her career. The 71-year-old actress earned her first and only Oscar in 1981, for her portrayal of Lynda West Dummar in Jonathan Demme’s Melvin and Howard. That same year, she collected a total of seven accolades for her role, losing only one of the eight nominations for that movie.
Naturally, as you can expect, that’s not where her accolade history ends. Since 2004, the actress has remained woven into victories, winning every single award she’s been nominated for, including a SAG award for her role in The Help, and several awards for the best original song in Wild Rose.
Despite only having one Academy Award, in the grand scheme of things, Mary Steenburgen continues to be an absolute icon who will hopefully continue to woo us off our feet, walking hand in hand down the red carpet with Michael — oops, I mean, Ted Danson.