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1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsSix performers have won exactly three competitive acting Oscars: Ingrid Bergman, Walter Brennan, Daniel Day-Lewis, Jack Nicholson, Meryl Streep, and Frances McDormand. Counting lead and supporting awards together—and excluding honorary Oscars—puts all six in the same group. My pick for each performer’s most deserving win is a critical judgment, not an official Academy ranking.
Who has won three acting Oscars?
The Academy’s historical acting statistics list five performers with three wins, but that document was updated through the 88th Academy Awards. Frances McDormand joined the group after winning for Nomadland at the 2021 ceremony. The Academy’s current database says its record is complete through the 2025 (98th) Awards, presented March 15, 2026.
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The six names are Ingrid Bergman, Walter Brennan, Daniel Day-Lewis, Jack Nicholson, Meryl Streep, and Frances McDormand. The count combines competitive lead and supporting acting wins. Katharine Hepburn, sometimes mentioned in discussions of multiple acting Oscars, is not included: she won four.
The Academy’s Official Academy Awards Database describes itself as the official record of past winners and nominees. The historical acting-awards statistics establish the earlier five-person list; the Academy’s 2021 ceremony record confirms McDormand’s win for Nomadland.
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Each actor’s three wins—and my most deserving pick
“Most deserving” is an interpretive choice, not a fact the award record can settle. I weighed transformation and specificity, emotional and technical range, how strongly the performance shapes its film, and how it compares with that actor’s other winning roles. These choices are recommendations, not claims of consensus.
| Performer | Three acting Oscar wins | My pick |
|---|---|---|
| Ingrid Bergman | Gaslight (1944); Anastasia (1956); Murder on the Orient Express (1974) | Gaslight (1944) |
| Walter Brennan | Come and Get It (1936); Kentucky (1938); The Westerner (1940) | Come and Get It (1936) |
| Daniel Day-Lewis | My Left Foot (1989); There Will Be Blood (2007); Lincoln (2012) | There Will Be Blood (2007) |
| Jack Nicholson | One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975); Terms of Endearment (1983, supporting); As Good as It Gets (1997) | One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975) |
| Meryl Streep | Kramer vs. Kramer (1979, supporting); Sophie’s Choice (1982); The Iron Lady (2011) | Sophie’s Choice (1982) |
| Frances McDormand | Fargo (1996); Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017); Nomadland (2020) | Fargo (1996) |
Ingrid Bergman: Gaslight
Bergman’s performance makes uncertainty itself the film’s central tension. Her gradual shifts between confidence and fear give the psychological story its force, making Gaslight the most compelling of her three winning roles to me. The Academy’s historical record verifies the win and year; the choice of performance is critical judgment.
Rank #2
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Walter Brennan: Come and Get It
Brennan’s work in Come and Get It is my pick because a supporting performance can do more than accompany the lead: it can give a film’s social world and generational contrasts their texture. The Academy archive records Brennan’s win for the film; the performance rationale is an editorial assessment.
Daniel Day-Lewis: There Will Be Blood
For Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood is the fullest demonstration of sustained control: physical transformation and vocal design work together across the film. The Academy’s database record lists his winning roles and years.
Rank #3
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- Oscar Winners: Argo / Gravity / The Great Gatsby
- Oscar Winners: Argo / Gravity / The Great Gatsby
Jack Nicholson: One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest
Nicholson’s screen presence is central to this choice, especially the way comic energy becomes a source of conflict rather than a break from it. His other wins include a supporting award for Terms of Endearment; the category and role size differ, so the three wins are not identical kinds of achievement.
Meryl Streep: Sophie’s Choice
Sophie’s Choice is my selection for Streep because it offers the strongest showcase of emotional range among her three winning roles. This is a critical preference, not a measurable consensus. Her win for Kramer vs. Kramer was in the supporting category.
Rank #4
![Oscar Winners: Argo / Gravity / The Great Gatsby [ Blu-Ray, Reg.A/B/C Import - Belgium ]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41fiV3tTPpL._SL160_.jpg)
- Oscar Winners: Argo / Gravity / The Great Gatsby
- Oscar Winners: Argo / Gravity / The Great Gatsby
Frances McDormand: Fargo
In Fargo, McDormand makes apparent ordinariness absorbing without sacrificing precision. That combination makes it my choice over her later winning performances in Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri and Nomadland. The Academy’s McDormand record lists her winning roles.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the count does—and does not—tell you
The award record answers who won and for which films; it does not establish which performance was artistically best. The group also includes both lead and supporting winners, so counting Oscars alone cannot make the roles directly comparable. The picks above apply the same critical questions to each actor while leaving room for a reader to prefer another of the three performances.
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