Leonardo DiCaprio has, over the years, become the "always a bridesmaid, never a bride" of the Oscars. Constantly delivering great performances, DiCaprio has been up for an Oscar four times — first for What's Eating Gilbert Grape in 1994, and then again for The Aviator (2004), Blood Diamond (2006) and The Wolf of Wall Street (2013). You might be thinking, are you sure he's only been nominated four times? It's a surprisingly low number given how much talk there is surrounding Leo's lack of an Academy Award. Perhaps this is because DiCaprio has given well over four Oscar-deserving performances in his career, or because he has earned 11 Golden Globe nominations (and won three). Whatever the reason, the phrase Oscar snub has become almost synonymous with his name, but has Leonardo DiCaprio really lost the most Oscars? Not by a long shot.
DiCaprio doesn't have the best track-record when it comes to the Academy Awards, this much is true. With four nominations and zero wins, he's had as many loses as nominations, but that doesn't make him the one with the most Oscars lost ever. In fact, it doesn't even come close. He is, however, probably one of the most high profile victims of repetitive Oscar loses.
So, who does have the most Oscar loses to their name? If you guessed Meryl Streep, who the most acting nominations in the history of the Academy Awards, you'd be wrong — she actually barely cracks the list of the top 10 losers in Academy history. With Streep as the starting point, here are the seven biggest losers in Oscar history.
7. Meryl Streep: 16 Losses
Meryl Streep has been nominated 19 times since 1979, when she was first nominated for The Deer Hunter. Despite being the most flawless human being and best actress in the game, she has only won three times.
6. Charles Lang, Jr.: 17 Losses
Nominated for 18 Academy Awards for Best Cinematography, Charles Lang, Jr., is the man behind the beautiful images of Some Like It Hot (1959) and A Farewell to Arms (1932), for which he won his one and only Oscar.
5. Sammy Cahn: 22 Losses
Songwriter Sammy Cahn has been nominated for 26 Oscars, all for Best Original Song. He won four times, including a win in 1964, when he took home the Oscar for writing "Call Me Irresponsible" for the film Papa's Delicate Condition.
4. Edwin B. Willis: 24 Losses; Cedric Gibbons: 27 Losses
Edwin B. Willis took home an astounding eight Oscars in his career as a Set and Art Director, but also lost 24. He worked on countless classic productions, including Julius Caesar (1953), Little Women (1949), Singin' in the Rain (1952) and The Wizard of Oz (1939). Willis' fellow set designer and frequent collaborator, Cedric Gibbons, also worked on the films mentioned above. Similar to Willis, Gibbons also won more than his fair share of Oscars over the year — taking home 11 in total, but suffering 27 loses.
3. Edith Head: 28 Losses
Edith Head, the renowned costume designer, won many an Oscar (eight to be exact) for her exquisite costumes. Head is responsible for dressing Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday (1953) and Sabrina (1954) — films that won her two awards back to back. However, she couldn't win every year, and over the course of her career, she lost 28 Oscars.
2. Alfred Newman: 32 Losses
Composer Alfred Newman lost 32 Oscars in his career, most for Best Original Score, making him a runner up for the most loses in Oscar history. But, don't feel too bad for him — he did manage to score the golden statue nine times.
1. John Williams: 44 Losses
John Williams has been composing original music for television and film for over half a century, and been nominated almost as many times. Williams, who composed the iconic themes of Star Wars, Indiana Jones and Harry Potter, has been nominated for an astounding 49 Oscars, but only won five. With an even 44 Oscar loses to his name, it's John Williams who holds the title for most Oscars lost.
And, there you have it, seven of the top losers in Oscar history. With his mere four loses, Leonardo DiCaprio doesn't even come close to making the top 10 — he's not even in the running for an actor with the most loses (Jack Nicholson has 10). So, don't feel too bad for Leo, it could be worse.
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