The Oscars Record That Bette Davis & Greer Garson Still Hold

Bette Davis, one of the best actresses of all time, was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress 11 times in her career. Some persnickety Oscar historians might say that she was nominated only 10 times, though, as her nomination for 1934's "Of Human Bondage" was one of the very few write-in votes ever permitted by the Academy. Records show that Davis, although not officially nominated by the Academy, still came in third that year. 

Davis only won two Oscars, however. The first was for her performance in "Dangerous" in 1935 and the second was for playing a Scartett O'Hara-like role in "Jezebel" in 1938. Her performance in "Jezebel," Hollywood would eventually learn, was the first in a streak of nominations that would last for five straight years. In 1939, Davis was nominated for her performance in "Dark Victory." 1940 would see her nominated for "The Letter." In 1941, it was for "The Little Foxes," and in 1942, it was for "Now, Voyager." 

In 1942, Davis (understandably) lost Best Actress to Greer Garson, star of William Wyler's Best Picture winner "Mrs. Miniver." 

That win, however, marked a parallel Oscars hot streak that Garson was, herself, also rocketing through. In 1941, Garson received a Best Actress nomination for "Blossoms in the Dust," and then, in 1943, Garson played the lead in "Marie Curie," getting another nom. In 1944, Garson was recognized for her performance in "Mrs. Parkington," and finally, in 1945, Garson received her fifth annual Best Actress nomination for "The Valley of Decision." 

Overall, Garson received seven Best Actress nominations in her career. No performers beyond Davis and Garson have been nominated for Best Actress five years in a row. They were among the biggest acting powerhouses of their generation.

If Davis won Best Actress in 1938, and Garson won in 1942, and at least one of them was nominated every year from 1938 until 1945, then who was their main competition? 

1939 was, one might recall, the year "Gone with the Wind" steamrolled over the Oscars, getting 13 nominations and eight wins, both records at the time. One of those wins was for Vivian Leigh's performance as Scarlett O'Hara. A fun piece of trivia: Bette Davis was rumored to have been offered the role of Scarlett O'Hara, but passed. Her role in "Jezebel" was, the rumor continues, her consolation prize ("Gone with the Wind" took so long to make, that "Jezebel" beat it to the big screen by a year). 

1940 was the year Ginger Rogers won her only Oscar, playing the title role in "Kitty Foyle." It's surprising that such a Hollywood legend only has one statuette. 1941 was the first year both Davis and Garson were nominated for Best Actress at the same time, but they were both beaten by Joan Fontaine for "Suspicion." The following year, Garson won Best Actress over Davis. She also beat Katharine Hepburn, Rosalind Russell, and Theresa Wright. In 1943, Davis wasn't nominated, and Garson lost to Jennifer Jones in the religious film "The Song of Bernadette." Ingrid Berman was also nominated that year, although — perhaps surprisingly — it wasn't for "Casablanca." It was for "For Whom the Bell Tolls."

Jennifer Jones, it should be noted, picked up the torch from Garson at that point. She was nominated three additional times in a row, for "Since You Went Away" in 1944, for "Love Letters" in 1945, and for "Duel in the Sun" in 1946. Jones, however, is part of a slightly larger "four in a row" Oscar-nominees club that also includes Thelma Ritter (1951 – 1954), Marlon Brando (1952 – 1955), Elizabeth Taylor (1958 – 1961), and Al Pacino (1973 – 1976).