Actors Who Won Oscars Before They Turned 30

staffActresses Vivian Leigh, Jennifer Lawrence, Audrey Hepburn, and Sophia Loren all have something in common – they won Academy Awards before they turned 30. They are part of a broader list compiled by 24/7 Tempo, using IMDb and other online sources, highlighting actors and actresses who became the youngest Oscar winners in history.

In addition to winning the coveted golden statuette at a young age, some Oscar winners in this category have additional distinctions. Six of the performers on this list won the Academy Award in their first theatrical film: Marlee Matlin (“Children of a Lesser God”), Timothy Hutton (“Ordinary People”), Tatum O’Neal (“Paper Moon”), Jennifer Hudson (“Dreamgirls”), Anna Paquin (“The Piano”), and Barbra Streisand (“Funny Girl”).

Marlee Matlin, at 21, was the youngest actress to win Best Actress, and was also the first hearing-impaired person to win an acting Oscar. Timothy Hutton was the youngest man to earn an acting Oscar, when he won for best actor in a supporting role at 20. Jennifer Hudson became the youngest African-American to win the honor when she was 25.

At 22 years old, Janet Gaynor, a major star in the 1930s, made history as the first performer of any age to win the Best Actress Oscar. She remains the only individual to win for multiple film roles, including “7th Heaven” and “Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans” (both 1927), and “Street Angel” (1928).

Four other women who won acting Oscars before they turned 30 – Shirley Jones, Goldie Hawn, Patty Duke, and Miyoshi Umeki – went on to have successful careers in television. Notably, Miyoshi Umeki was the first Asian-American woman to win an acting Oscar. (Here are 25 of the most egregious snubs in Oscars history.)

Here are the actors who won an Oscar before age 30:

Cuba Gooding Jr.

• Award: Best Actor in a Supporting Role
• Age: 29
• Movie: Jerry Maguire (1996)

Adrien Brody

• Award: Best Actor in a Leading Role
• Age: 29
• Movie: The Pianist (2002)

Miyoshi Umeki

• Award: Best Actress in a Supporting Role
• Age: 28
• Movie: Sayonara (1957)

Mary Steenburgen

• Award: Best Actress in a Supporting Role
• Age: 28
• Movie: Melvin and Howard (1980)

Sophia Loren

• Award: Best Actress in a Leading Role
• Age: 28
• Movie: La ciociara (1960)

Joanne Woodward

• Award: Best Actress in a Leading Role
• Age: 28
• Movie: The Three Faces of Eve (1957)

Norma Shearer

• Award: Best Actress in a Leading Role
• Age: 28
• Movie: The Divorcee (1930)

Emma Stone

• Award: Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
• Age: 28
• Movie: La La Land (2016)

Charlize Theron

• Award: Best Actress in a Leading Role
• Age: 28
• Movie: Monster (2003)

Shirley Jones

• Award: Best Actress in a Supporting Role
• Age: 27
• Movie: Elmer Gantry (1960)

George Chakiris

• Award: Best Actor in a Supporting Role
• Age: 27
• Movie: West Side Story (1961)

Alicia Vikander

• Award: Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
• Age: 27
• Movie: The Danish Girl (2015)

Bette Davis

• Award: Best Actress in a Leading Role
• Age: 27
• Movie: Dangerous (1935)

Luise Rainer

• Award: Best Actress in a Leading Role
• Age: 27
• Movie: The Great Ziegfeld (1936)

Vivien Leigh

• Award: Best Actress in a Leading Role
• Age: 26
• Movie: Gone with the Wind (1939)

Julie Christie

• Award: Best Actress in a Leading Role
• Age: 26
• Movie: Darling (1965)

Jodie Foster

• Award: Best Actress in a Leading Role
• Age: 26
• Movie: The Accused (1988)

Gwyneth Paltrow

• Award: Best Actress in a Leading Role
• Age: 26
• Movie: Shakespeare in Love (1998)

Brie Larson

• Award: Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
• Age: 26
• Movie: Room (2015)

Katharine Hepburn

• Award: Best Actress in a Leading Role
• Age: 26
• Movie: Morning Glory (1933)

Barbra Streisand

• Award: Best Actress in a Leading Role
• Age: 26
• Movie: Funny Girl (1968)

Liza Minnelli

• Award: Best Actress in a Leading Role
• Age: 26
• Movie: Cabaret (1972)

Jennifer Jones

• Award: Best Actress in a Leading Role
• Age: 25
• Movie: The Song of Bernadette (1943)

Grace Kelly

• Award: Best Actress in a Leading Role
• Age: 25
• Movie: The Country Girl (1954)

Hilary Swank

• Award: Best Actress in a Leading Role
• Age: 25
• Movie: Boys Don’t Cry (1999)

Jennifer Hudson

• Award: Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
• Age: 25
• Movie: Dreamgirls (2006)

Joan Fontaine

• Award: Best Actress in a Leading Role
• Age: 24
• Movie: Suspicion (1941)

Teresa Wright

• Award: Best Actress in a Supporting Role
• Age: 24
• Movie: Mrs. Miniver (1942)

Audrey Hepburn

• Award: Best Actress in a Leading Role
• Age: 24
• Movie: Roman Holiday (1953)

Goldie Hawn

• Award: Best Actress in a Supporting Role
• Age: 24
• Movie: Cactus Flower (1969)

Angelina Jolie

• Award: Best Actress in a Supporting Role
• Age: 24
• Movie: Girl, Interrupted (1999)

Anne Baxter

• Award: Best Actress in a Supporting Role
• Age: 23
• Movie: The Razor’s Edge (1946)

Janet Gaynor

• Award: Best Actress in a Leading Role
• Age: 22
• Movie: 7th Heaven (1927), Street Angel (1928), and Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927)

Jennifer Lawrence

• Award: Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
• Age: 22
• Movie: Silver Linings Playbook (2012)

Marlee Matlin

• Award: Best Actress in a Leading Role
• Age: 21
• Movie: Children of a Lesser God (1986)

Timothy Hutton

• Award: Best Actor in a Supporting Role
• Age: 20
• Movie: Ordinary People (1980)

Patty Duke

• Award: Best Actress in a Supporting Role
• Age: 16
• Movie: The Miracle Worker (1962)

Anna Paquin

• Award: Best Actress in a Supporting Role
• Age: 11
• Movie: The Piano (1993)

Tatum O’Neal

• Award: Best Actress in a Supporting Role
• Age: 10
• Movie: Paper Moon (1973)

Shirley Temple

• Award: An honorary Juvenile Academy Award
• Age: 6
• Movie: Various