Oscars: 45 First-Gig Acting Nominees

01 of 45

Lupita Nyong'o

Nominated for: Best Supporting Actress for 12 Years a Slave in 2014
What got Oscar's attention? Nyong'o, who appeared in a few TV projects before her big-screen debut, is enjoying ''a star is born'' talk for her debut work in the chilling Steve McQueen drama as viewers haven't been able to shake her portrayal of long-suffering slave Patsey.
Did she win? Yes
What happened next? Nyong'o glided through a small part in 2014's Non-Stop, an action thriller starring Liam Neeson and Julianne Moore. —Erin Strecker

02 of 45

Barkhad Abdi

Nominated for: Best Supporting Actor for Captain Philliips in 2014
What got Oscar's attention? As the leader of the Somali pirates, Abdi brought the chilling character to life speaking in both English and Somali. By showing the heart behind the terror he was inflicting, Abdi managed to show a fully realized person as opposed to a caricature villain.
Did he win? No
What happened next? After recovering from the Golden Globes after party with Tina Fey, Abdi booked the Judd Apatow-directed comedy Trainwreck, headlined by comedian Amy Schumer. —Erin Strecker

03 of 45

Quvenzhané Wallis

Nominated for: Best Actress for Beasts of the Southern Wild in 2013
What got Oscar's attention? Her fiercely naturalistic debut, in which the then 6-year-old romped through a fading New Orleans bayou community in a tank top and rain boots, was as organic as it was authentic.
Did she win? No (unless you consider sitting between Jamie Foxx and Denzel Washington during a commercial break a big win)
What happened next? By the time of the Oscars ceremony, Wallis had already signed on to play the titular star of an Annie reboot along Foxx and Cameron Diaz. —Karen Valby

04 of 45

Hailee Steinfeld

Nominated for: Best Supporting Actress for True Grit in 2011
What got Oscar's attention? As Mattie Ross in the Coen brothers' True Grit, a role in which she beat out 15,000 girls, Steinfeld was the film's steady, steely moral compass, holding her own alongside Jeff Bridges' taciturn Deputy Marshal.
Did she win? No
What happened next? She's since gone on to star in adaptations of Romeo and Juliet and Ender's Game. —Karen Valby

05 of 45

Gabourey Sidibe

Nominated for: Best Actress for Precious in 2010
What got Oscar's attention? Sidibe's portrayal of a young abused woman was powerful and raw and could not be more different than the actress herself.
Did she win? No
What happened next? Sidibe hasn't made a big movie since Precious, but has had an impact on the small screen with roles in both The Big C and American Horror Story: Coven. —Jake Perlman

06 of 45

Jennifer Hudson

Nominated for: Best Supporting Actress for Dreamgirls in 2007
What got Oscar's attention? Hudson proved that pure talent is a much bigger prize than any reality-TV competition victory. Her roof-raising performance of the famous ''You're gonna love me'' refrain from ''And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going'' turned out to be prophetic indeed.
Did she win? Yes
What happened next? Hudson has remained in the spotlight since her Oscar win, both on screen and in the recording studio. She snagged a coveted role in 2008's Sex and the City movie, won a Grammy that same year, and brought her bigger-than-life voice back to the big screen in 2013's Black Nativity. —Jake Perlman

07 of 45

Catalina Sandino Moreno

Nominated for: Best Actress for Maria Full of Grace in 2005
What got Oscar's attention? Her unwavering performance as a desperate but dignified 17-year-old Colombian drug mule was marked by great instincts — including not wanting to rehearse swallowing the digestible props that stood in for the latex-covered heroin pellets Maria ingests.
Did she win? No
What happened next? While she's worked with well-known directors including Richard Linklater (2006's Fast Food Nation) and Steven Soderbergh (2008's Che), odds are you're more likely to have seen her recently on the small screen (in FX's The Bridge). —Mandi Bierly

08 of 45

Keisha Castle-Hughes

Nominated for: Best Actress for Whale Rider in 2003
What got Oscar's attention? Just 13 years old at the time of her nomination, the New Zealander's brave, bold performance as a Maori girl trying to break her tribe's glass ceiling and become chief.
Did she win? No
What happened next? Castle-Hughes continued to play strong female characters, both franchise fare (she played Queen Apailana of Naboo in 2005's Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith) and age-old tales (Catherine Hardwicke cast her as Mary, the mother of Jesus, for 2006's The Nativity Story). After giving birth to a daughter in 2007, she maintained an active career in her native New Zealand and recently moved to Los Angeles to pursue acting in the thick of things. —Lanford Beard

09 of 45

Edward Norton

Nominated for: Best Supporting Actor for Primal Fear in 1997
What got Oscar's attention? In the vein of vet Kevin Spacey's Oscar-winning performance in The Usual Suspects, Norton was gripping as seemingly innocent, mentally disturbed altar boy Aaron Stampler, who turned on a dime to reveal himself as a conniving, calculating killer.
Did he win? No
What happened next? Norton returned to the big party two years later when he received a Best Actor nod for American History X. While continuing a career as a distinguished actor (though an avowed non-celebrity), he's also branched out into directing (Keeping the Faith), producing (Thanks for Sharing, By the People: The Election of Barack Obama), and activism for environmental causes and affordable housing. —Lanford Beard

10 of 45

Emily Watson

Nominated for: Best Actress for Breaking The Waves in 1997
What got Oscar's attention? Virtually unknown and cast at the last minute, Watson handed in a powerful performance as a woman struggling with the aftershock of her husband's accidental paralysis.
Did she win? No
What happened next? Watson earned another Oscar nod in 1999 for Hilary and Jackie and has continued to book roles in high-profile projects, including Tim Burton's Corpse Bride in 2005, Steven Spielberg's War Horse in 2011, and the critically acclaimed adaptation of The Book Thief in 2013. —Andrea Towers

11 of 45

Anna Paquin

Nominated for: Best Supporting Actress for The Piano in 1994
What got Oscar's attention? At age 11, Paquin adopted a Scottish accent and learned sign language to play the daughter of a mute woman (played by Holly Hunter).
Did she win? Yes
What happened next? Paquin didn't plan to continue acting, even after becoming the second-youngest Oscar winner in history. Still, she kept getting offers for roles and took parts in films such as She's All That, Almost Famous, Fly Away Home, and HurlyBurly. But it was her involvement in the X-Men franchise and HBO's True Blood that really catapulted her to fame as an adult. —Andrea Towers

12 of 45

Jaye Davidson

The Crying Game | Come on. You know that unless you got a spoiler before watching this thriller, you had no idea.— AW

Nominated for: Best Actor in a Supporting Role for The Crying Game in 1993
What got Oscar's attention? Davidson's extremely convincing portrayal of an IRA member's girlfriend who — to the great surprise of viewers and, one assumes, Academy voters — ultimately reveals herself to be not all woman (at least, biologically-speaking).
Did he win? No
What happened next? Starred as the villain Ra in 1994's sci-fi film Stargate. Subsequently retired from acting. Current whereabouts unknown. —Clark Collis

13 of 45

Marlee Matlin

Nominated for: Best Actress for Children of a Lesser God in 1987
What got Oscar's attention? Nine years after Henry ''The Fonz'' Winkler discovered a 12-year-old Matlin, who'd been acting on stage since the age of 7, the deaf actress blew away viewers with her poignant, emotionally rich sign-language portrayal of a deaf janitor who's resistant to learning to speak.
Did she win? Yes
What happened next? While consistently landing roles in both film and television, Matlin appeared as a fan favorite on the sixth season of Dancing With the Stars and finished second on season 4 of The Celebrity Apprentice. She has also been an esteemed activist for deaf causes, special-need charities, AIDS organizations, and Jewish federations. Close to her heart, Matlin currently stars in the Peabody Award-winning drama Switched at Birth, which features multiple deaf and hard-of-hearing actors. —Lanford Beard

14 of 45

Oprah Winfrey

Nominated for: Best Supporting Actress for The Color Purple in 1986
What got Oscar's attention? As Sofia, she brought everything. The strength and undeniable pride of her early character, a great plunge into despair, and then a hard-won return to fighting form. ''Oh...Sofia home, now,'' Winfrey laughs at the dinner table. ''Sofia home. Things is gonna be changin' around here.''
Did she win? No
What happened next? Winfrey the Actress drifted into obscurity (you know, just conquering the world on celebrity interview and TV network at a time...) until she returned to the big screen in 2013 for another stunning supporting role in Lee Daniels' The Butler. —Karen Valby

15 of 45

Haing S. Ngor

Nominated for: Best Supporting Actor for The Killing Fields in 1985
What got Oscar's attention? The perseverance of Ngor's character, Pran, was the heart of a chilling film. The fact that Ngor — only the second non-professional actor in Oscar history to take home gold — was himself a survivor of the Khmer Rouge regime and spent years in the infamous labor camps only added to the human-interest angle.
Did he win? Yes
What happened next? He appeared in Oliver Stone's Heaven & Earth and the Vanishing Son miniseries, among other small projects. He wrote his memoir in 1988, Haing Ngor: A Cambodian Odyssey, and passed away in 1996. —Erin Strecker

16 of 45

John Malkovich

Nominated for: Best Supporting Actor for Places in the Heart in 1984
What got Oscar's attention? As Mr. Will, a blind veteran, Malkovich stood out to viewers for his work as part of the inspiring, makeshift family in small-town Texas during the end of the Great Depression.
Did he win? No
What happened next? Malkovich has had a long and accomplished career, most notably appearing in Dangerous Liaisons, Of Mice and Men, and Being John Malkovich. Heck, he even became a sequel-spawning, if unexpected, action star in 2010's Red. —Erin Strecker

17 of 45

Julie Walters

Nominated for: Best Actress for Educating Rita in 1984
What got Oscar's attention? Walters' winning, hilarious, and touching portrayal of a working class woman determined to better herself by studying literature — a role the actress had honed in the West End stage production of Willy Russell's original play.
Did she win? No
What happened next? Cemented her status as national treasure in the actress's native U.K with a string of big and small screen projects including 2001's Billy Elliot — for which she was also Oscar nominated — and the Harry Potter films. Next up, playing alongside Nicole Kidman and a certain marmalade sandwich-loving bear in the 2014 family movie Paddington. —Clark Collis

18 of 45

Glenn Close

Nominated for: Best Supporting Actress for The World According to Garp in 1983
What got Oscar's attention? Just 35 when the film came out, Close originally auditioned to play the wife of Garp (Robin Williams) but director George Roy Hill gifted her with the meaty role of his fiercely complicated mother, Jenny, instead.
Did she win? No
What happened next? Close nabbed her second of six lifetime Oscar noms the next year for The Big Chill. Though she's never won, the actress was nominated for The Natural in 1985, Fatal Attraction (1988), Dangerous Liaisons (1989), and Albert Nobbs (2012). —Bill Keith

19 of 45

Timothy Hutton

Nominated for: Best Supporting Actor for Ordinary People in 1981
What got Oscar's attention? Opposite Hollywood heavy-hitters Mary Tyler Moore, Judd Hirsch, and Donald Sutherland, 19-year-old Hutton's quietly stirring performance as a suicidal teen was the film's standout.
Did he win? Yes
What happened next? Hutton made 10 more movies in the '80s, most notably Taps and The Falcon and the Snowman. He's also done well on the small screen, most recently headlining how'd-they-do-it? TNT tech crook show Leverage. —Bill Keith

20 of 45

Justin Henry

Nominated for: Best Supporting Actor for Kramer vs. Kramer in 1980
What got Oscar's attention? Henry showed remarkable maturity as a little guy dealing with big-boy problems when his parents embark on a rancorous divorce and custody battle. What other 8-year-old can hold his own between Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep?
Did he win? No
What happened next? Like a lot of child actors, Henry mostly aged out of the biz after he transitioned from Kramer's adorable moppet to a surly younger bro (1984 Sixteen Candles) to a sullen teen (1988's Sweethearts Dance). After a few years doing TV gigs, most notably a two-episode stint on ER in 1997, he co-founded the Sundance counter-programming fest Slamdunk, which ran in Park City for five years. More recently, he's taken his business acumen to a spotlight-free zone. —Lanford Beard

21 of 45

Mikhail Baryshnikov

Nominated for: Best Supporting Actor for The Turning Point in 1978
What got Oscar's attention? Baryshnikov is arguably one of the greatest ballet dancers of all time. Playing a Russian ballet dancer allowed him to show off his talent in a new genre.
Did he win? No
What happened next? Beyond his continuing dance career, Baryshnikov appeared in a couple more dance-related films, including White Nights and Dancers, but now many people know him as Aleksandr Petrovsky from Sex and the City. —Jake Perlman

22 of 45

Lily Tomlin

Nominated for: Best Supporting Actress for Nashville in 1976
What got Oscar's attention? It's difficult to stand out in a sprawling Robert Altman cast, but Tomlin did that (alongside costar Ronee Blakley) as a gospel singer who succumbs to the pressures of her life, compromises her morals, and loses her dignity.
Did she win? No
What happened next? Tomlin is a living legend who is just one little bald, gold man away from EGOT-ing. Three out of four ain't bad. —Lanford Beard

23 of 45

Tatum O'Neal

Nominated for: Best Supporting Actress for Paper Moon in 1974
What got Oscar's attention? O'Neal was just 8 years old when she was cast as pint-sized apprentice con artist Addie Loggins opposite her father, Ryan O'Neal — but onscreen, she showed striking poise and confidence beyond her years.
Did she win? Yes (and she's still the youngest person to win a competitive Oscar)
What happened next? O'Neal found continued success as a child actress, starring in hits like The Bad News Bears — but found the transition to adult stardom more difficult, especially after she began to struggle with drug addiction. After unsuccessfully attempting to reconcile with her estranged father via the OWN reality series Ryan and Tatum: The O'Neals, she's largely stayed out of the spotlight in recent years. —Hillary Busis

24 of 45

Diana Ross

Nominated for: Best Actress for Lady Sings the Blues in 1973
What got Oscar's attention? Some may have scoffed at the idea of a Motown diva playing one of music's most celebrated jazz singers, but Ross proved them wrong with a meticulously researched performance that captured the essence of Lady Day.
Did she win? No
What happened next? After Ross's follow-up films Mahogany and The Wiz failed to strike a chord with critics, Diana returned to what she does best: making music. —Hillary Busis

25 of 45

Barbra Streisand

Nominated for: Best Actress for Funny Girl in 1969
What got Oscar's attention? Streisand was a standout when she originated the role of Fanny Brice on Broadway, so it was little surprise when her signature character shone on celluloid.
Did she win? Yes (tied with Katharine Hepburn)
What happened next? Where do we begin? The film launched Streisand into megastardom, leading to an EGOT (including a second Oscar for Best Song in 1977, aptly for A Star Is Born). In fact, Streisand is the only performer to have won an Oscar for both acting and music. —Jake Perlman

26 of 45

Dustin Hoffman

Nominated for: Best Actor for The Graduate in 1968
What got Oscar's attention? Hoffman's talent made the role of complex, drifting mother-in-law seducer Benjamin Braddock likable.
Did he win? No
What happened next? Six Best Actor noms and two wins (for 1979's Kramer vs. Kramer and 1988's Rain Man) later, we'd say Hoffman's doing all right. In the meanwhile, Hoffman made a trip to the Emmy podium in 1986 for his turn as Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman (for which he also scored a producing nod) and has also paid a visit to the Great White Way, earning Tony nominations as an actor and producer of 1989's The Merchant of Venice. —Andrea Towers

27 of 45

Julie Andrews

Nominated for: Best Actress for Mary Poppins in 1965
What got Oscar's attention? Andrews' depiction of everyone's favorite nanny was practically perfect in every way. Actually, scratch the ''practically'' part.
Did she win? Yes
What happened next? Andrews was nominated for an Oscar again the following year for The Sound of Music and again in 1982 for Victor/Victoria, a part she later re-created on stage. In addition to a huge career on stage and in song, Andrews has appeared in beloved films such as The Princess Diaries and provided her voice to animated blockbusters including the Shrek series and Despicable Me. —Jake Perlman

28 of 45

Mary Badham

Nominated for: Best Actress for To Kill a Mockingbird in 1963
What got Oscar's attention? As Scout, the precocious heroine of Harper Lee's classic story, Badham showed grace — and a whole lot of spunk — beyond her years.
Did she win? No
What happened next? Though she starred in the final episode of The Twilight Zone and had a few film roles in 1966, Badham has rarely acted, save one on-command performance in 2005's Our Very Own, since her Oscar-nominated debut. —Lanford Beard

29 of 45

Jo Van Fleet

Nominated for: Best Supporting Actress for East of Eden in 1956
What got Oscar's attention? An accomplished stage actress, Van Fleet had already won a Tony by the time Elia Kazan drafted her to play a mysterious figure from James Dean's past in this Steinbeck adaptation. Onscreen, she proved to be as good in close-up as she was on Broadway.
Did she win? Yes
What happened next? Van Fleet found consistent film and television work through the '70s, playing notable roles including the wicked stepmother in the 1965 remake of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella; unfortunately, she was never nominated for another big movie award. —Hillary Busis

30 of 45

Eva Marie Saint

On the Waterfront | Nominated for: Best Supporting Actress for On the Waterfront in 1955 What got Oscar's attention? The Elia Kazan classic was a juggernaut at the 1955 — Everett Collection

Nominated for: Best Supporting Actress for On the Waterfront in 1955
What got Oscar's attention? The Elia Kazan classic was a juggernaut at the 1955 Oscars, winning eight of its 12 nominations (three of which were in the Best Supporting Actor category alone). Able to hold her own against Method man Marlon Brando, Saint played a scrappy working class woman fighting to avenge her murdered brother before starting a new life away from mob corruption.
Did she win? Yes
What happened next? Ever heard of a little movie called North by Northwest? It's just one of Saint's many accomplishments, a Golden Globe Best Actress nomination for 1958's A Hatful of Rain and four Emmy nods (and a win for the 1990 miniseries People Like Us. More recently, she played Clark Kent's adoptive mom Martha in 2006 reboot Superman Returns and is in the 2014 supernatural drama Winter's Tale, starring Colin Farrell and Russell Crowe. —Lanford Beard

31 of 45

Vincent Winter

Nominated for: Academy Juvenile Award for The Little Kidnappers in 1955
What got Oscar's attention? The six-year-old Scot's naturalistic performance was charming without being cutesy, the sort of thing Academy members love to see from child actors.
Did he win? Winter and his costar Jon Whiteley (a veteran actor with one whole movie under his belt) were both given honorary Oscars for the film
What happened next? Though Winter continued to act throughout his childhood, he eventually elected to move behind the camera instead, serving as assistant director on the original Superman and production manager for its first two sequels. —Hillary Busis

32 of 45

Shirley Booth

Nominated for: Best Actress for Come Back, Little Sheba in 1953
What got Oscar's attention? Booth had practically mastered playing tortured wife, Lola Delaney, already having won a Tony for her stage rendition of the role in 1950.
Did she win? Yes
What happened next? Booth was the first actress ever to receive both a Tony and an Oscar for the same role. After conquering both stage and silver screen, the actress moved on to television where she won two Emmys for her portrayal of the titular lead character in Hazel. —Jodi Walker

33 of 45

Mercedes McCambridge

Nominated for: Best Supporting Actress for All the King's Men in 1950
What got Oscar's attention? Once called ''the world's greatest living radio actress'' by Orson Welles, the stage stalwart's onscreen debut as a strong-willed political aide proved she was more than capable of transitioning to film.
Did she win? Yes
What happened next? Though she received an Oscar nomination in 1956 for Giant, McCambridge became most famous for voicing the Demon in 1973's The Exorcist. —Bill Keith

34 of 45

Montgomery Clift

Nominated for: Best Actor for The Search in 1949
What got Oscar's attention? The handsome Clift was effortlessly empathetic as an American GI who helps reunite a young Auschwitz survivor with his mother.
Did he win? No
What happened next? Clift was nominated three more times before his death in 1966 — two additional Best Actor nods for 1952's A Place in the Sun and 1954's From Here to Eternity and a Supporting Actor nom for 1962's Judgment at Nuremberg. —Mandi Bierly

35 of 45

Harold Russell

Nominated for: Best Supporting Actor for The Best Years of Our Lives in 1947
What got Oscar's attention? The role of Homer Parrish echoed Russell's own experience as an Army man in World War II, and the hooks in place of his hands were completely authentic after he lost them in an accident making a training video. As a non-professional actor, he touched Academy members, who also awarded him with an honorary Oscar ''for bringing hope and courage to his fellow veterans'' through the film. He is, to this day, the only performer to win two Oscars for the same role.
Did he win? Yes
What happened next? At the urging of his director William Wyler, Russell mostly retired from entertainment after The Best Years of Our Lives, completing college and starting a public relations business while becoming a prominent voice for the disabled (three presidents appointed him to the Presidential Committee on Employment of Disabled People). Despite caused a stir after selling his Best Supporting Actor statuette in 1960 to pay for his wife's medical expenses, he returned to acting with a few roles in film and TV in the '80s and '90s before passing away in 2002. —Lanford Beard

36 of 45

Claude Jarman, Jr.

The Yearling | Nominated for: Academy Juvenile Award for The Yearling in 1947 What got Oscar's attention? Discovered in a nationwide MGM talent search, Jarman made a huge — Everett Collection

Nominated for: Academy Juvenile Award for The Yearling in 1947
What got Oscar's attention? Discovered in a nationwide MGM talent search, Jarman made a huge splash playing opposite Gregory Peck at just 12 years old.
Did he win? Yes (Jarman was one of a dozen youngsters to be presented the miniature statuette between 1934 and 1960)
What happened next? After a few more less acclaimed films, Jarman returned to Tennessee to finish high school and spent three years in the U.S. Navy. —Jodi Walker

37 of 45

Angela Lansbury

Nominated for: Best Supporting Actress for Gaslight in 1945
What got Oscar's attention? At just 17, Lansbury established a career-defining knack for playing women older than herself, this time as a seductive maid opposite Charles Boyer and Ingrid Bergman.
Did she win? No
What happened next? Her appearance in The Picture of Dorian Gray the following year earned Lansbury another Oscar nomination. After spending much of the 1950s working in television, 1962's The Manchurian Candidate provided the future Jessica Fletcher with her most iconic film role, Mrs. Eleanor Iselin — not to mention her third Oscar nod. —Bill Keith

38 of 45

Katina Paxinou

For Whom the Bell Tolls | Nominated for: Best Supporting Actress for For Whom the Bell Tolls in 1944 What got Oscar's attention? The Greek stage actress stood out next to — Everett Collection

Nominated for: Best Supporting Actress for For Whom the Bell Tolls in 1944
What got Oscar's attention? The Greek stage actress stood out next to all-stars like Gary Cooper and Ingrid Bergman as Pilar, the fiery peasant woman.
Did she win? Yes
What happened next? Paxinou had a few scattered Hollywood roles but mostly spent her career onstage in Athens and occasionally on Broadway. —Darren Franich

39 of 45

Orson Welles

Nominated for: Best Actor for Citizen Kane in 1942
What got Oscar's attention? The actor's decades-spanning onscreen transformation from young newspaper magnate to aged recluse.
Did he win? No
What happened next? The great man's own decades-spanning onscreen transformation from seemingly unstoppable boy wonder to Paul Masson wine huckster. —Clark Collis

40 of 45

Sydney Greenstreet

Nominated for: Best Supporting Actor for The Maltese Falcon in 1942
What got Oscar's attention? The seasoned stage actor was no amateur — he'd been working in theater for nearly 40 years before finally accepting a film role. His time on the boards and versatility as a character actor struck viewers over the head, particularly in his rapport with fellow stage vet Peter Lorre.
Did he win? No
What happened next? Greenstreet made an astounding 24 more films in before retiring from filmmaking in 1949, including Casablanca, Christmas in Connecticut, and Malaya (which debuted Stateside on his 70th birthday). He played the title character of NBC's radio show The New Adventures of Nero Wolfe from 1950-51, eventually succumbing to diabetes in 1954. —Lanford Beard

41 of 45

Martha Scott

Nominated for: Best Actress for Our Town in 1941
What got Oscar's attention? A young woman who dies in childbirth? The role had Oscar all over it. (Helped that Scott had already played the character on Broadway.)
Did she win? No
What happened next? Scott was a familiar face in big movies like The Ten Commandments and Airport 1975, although she was probably better known for guest starring on basically every TV show in the '70s and '80s. —Darren Franich

42 of 45

Greer Garson

Nominated for: Best Actress for Goodbye, Mr. Chips in 1940
What got Oscar's attention? As the energetic young English gal who woos the titular teacher, Garson got to play young-and-in-love while dancing to ''The Blue Danube'' waltz. (Spoiler alert: More death in childbirth!)
Did she win? No
What happened next? She received six more Oscar nominations, winning Best Actress for 1942's Mrs. Miniver. —Darren Franich

43 of 45

Gale Sondergaard

Nominated for: Best Supporting Actress for Anthony Adverse in 1937
What got Oscar's attention? The Academy always loves a good maid role. Especially when said maid has a Cheshire-Cat grin and evil in her eyes.
Did she win? No
What happened next? Nominated for another Supporting Oscar for 1946's Anna and the King of Siam. —Darren Franich

44 of 45

Paul Muni

Nominated for: Best Actor for The Valiant in 1930
What got Oscar's attention? A self-sacrificing murderer who preaches about the folly of his crimes to save young people from making the same mistakes? With Muni's quiet power, Oscar couldn't resist.
Did he win? No
What happened next? Muni became a major Hollywood star after 1932's Scarface, nominated five more times for an Oscar and winning for The Story of Louis Pasteur. —Darren Franich

45 of 45

Lawrence Tibbett

Nominated for: Best Actor for The Rogue Song in 1930
What got Oscar's attention? Tibbett played a rakish bandit leader who falls in love with a princess. Also, it was a musical.
Did he win? No
What happened next? Tibbett was an opera star and had a radio program in the '30s. —Darren Franich

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