The Academy Awards isn’t just for actors — many famous musicians have won Oscars too!
Since its inception in 1929, the Academy Awards, affectionately known as The Oscars, have stood as the pinnacle of recognition in the world of film, honoring the year’s most outstanding achievements. Over the span of nearly a century, more than 3,000 statuettes have been awarded to the creatives behind the silver screen for their contributions to moviemaking.
The Oscars celebrate excellence across 24 distinct categories. Each award serves as a testament to the passion and craftsmanship that bring cinematic sounds and visions to life.
Success in one industry requires exceptional talent, but doing so in two is a feat that truly demands admiration. Such is the case with the remarkable individuals on this list of musicians who have won Oscars.
From Lady Gaga‘s Best Original Song “Shallow” from A Star is Born, to Prince’s electrifying Best Original Score of Purple Rain, to Cher’s iconic Best Actress performance in Moonstruck, we see how musicians have seamlessly transitioned from the concert stage to the screen. Their ability to captivate audiences is astounding.
As creatives, musicians have helped the ever-changing cinematic landscape evolve, reflecting diverse narratives and cultural influences that shape the art form. The musicians below have reached the top of the mountain in music and film, which is nothing short of extraordinary, so let’s dig into their awe-inspiring output.
Here are all the musicians who have won Oscars!
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Billie Eilish & Finneas O’Connell
Image Credit: Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images Billie Eilish, the youngest two-time Oscar winner, and her brother Finneas O’Connell took home the award for Best Original Song in 2022 for the title track to the James Bond film No Time to Die. They won again in 2024 for their beautifully haunting ballad about meaning and purpose, “What Was I Made For,” from Barbie.
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Questlove
Image Credit: Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images Living and breathing music encyclopedia and drummer for The Roots, Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, won the 2022 Oscar for Best Documentary Feature for Summer of Soul, his directorial debut about the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival.
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Jon Batiste
Image Credit: Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images The former bandleader for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert won 2021’s Best Score for his work with Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross on the Pixar film, Soul.
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H.E.R.
Image Credit: Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images Critically acclaimed multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, and producer, H.E.R. (which stands for Having Everything Revealed) won 2021’s Best Original Song for “Fight For You” from Judas and the Black Messiah.
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Elton John
Image Credit: Steve Eichner/WWD/Penske Media via Getty Images Two-time winner and four-time nominee, Elton John, won Best Original Song in 1995 for The Lion King’s “Can You Feel The Love Tonight,” and again 25 years later in 2020 for “I’m Gonna Love Me Again,” the end-titles theme to his biopic, Rocketman.
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Lady Gaga
Image Credit: Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, also known as Lady Gaga, won Best Original Song in 2019 for “Shallow,” from the 5th iteration of the classic, A Star Is Born.
Previous versions include the 1937 original, a 1951 television adaptation, 1964’s classic with Judy Garland and James Mason, and the inimitable Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson version from 1976.
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Sam Smith
Image Credit: Penske Media via Getty Images The man with the golden voice won Best Original Song in 2016 for “Writing’s On The Wall,” which he wrote with Jimmy Napes for the 24th Bond film, Spectre.
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John Legend & Common
Image Credit: C Flanigan/Getty Images John Legend and Common took home 2015’s Best Original Song for “Glory” from the powerful civil rights film, Selma.
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Jared Leto
Image Credit: John Nacion/Variety via Getty Images Though he’s been the lead singer for 30 Seconds to Mars for nearly 3 decades, for a generation of women, Jared Leto will forever be known as Jordan Catalano. Whether you consider him an actor or a musician first, it’s impossible to deny his gripping performance in Dallas Buyers Club which won him 2014’s Best Supporting Actor.
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Adele
Image Credit: Katie Jones/WWD/Penske Media via Getty Images Adele’s “Skyfall” was the first Bond theme to win an Oscar (in 2013) and the first nomination for the franchise since Sheena Easton’s power ballad “For Your Eyes Only” in 1981.
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Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross
Image Credit: Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images In addition to winning 2021’s Best Score for Soul with Jon Batiste, Reznor and Ross also won the award in 2011 for their work on The Social Network.
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Randy Newman
Image Credit: Chelsea Lauren/Variety/Penske Media via Getty Images Randy Newman’s two Best Original Song Oscars are for “If I Didn’t Have You” sung by Billy Crystal and John Goodman in Monsters, Inc. and 2011’s “We Belong Together” from Toy Story 3.
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Jennifer Hudson
Image Credit: Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images As the only American Idol album to win an Oscar, JHud took home the Best Supporting Actress award in 2007 for her showstopping role as Effie in Dreamgirls.
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Melissa Etheridge
Image Credit: Aurora Rose/Variety via Getty Images Accomplished rocker and activist Melissa Etheridge was awarded Best Original Song in 2007 for “I Need To Wake Up,” her contribution to the documentary An Inconvenient Truth.
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Annie Lennox
Image Credit: John Salangsang/Variety via Getty Images Annie Lennox won 2004’s Best Original Song for her song “Into the West” which was featured during the end credits of Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings: Return of the King.
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Eminem
Image Credit: Michael Buckner/Variety/Penske Media via Getty Images Eminem became the first rapper to win Best Original Song with the anthemic “Lose Yourself” from 8 Mile in 2003. He skipped the awards that year, wrongly assuming he wouldn’t have a chance to win in a hotly contested category, and missed a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be presented an Oscar by Barbra Streisand. In 2020, recognizing that he may have missed his shot, he made a surprise appearance and performed the monster hit.
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Phil Collins
Image Credit: Miami Herald file/Tribune News Service via Getty Images Proving that the third time was indeed charmed, Lily Collins’ dad scored his first win for Best Original Song with 2000’s “You’ll Be In My Heart” from Tarzan. His previous nominations were for “Against All Odds” and “Two Hearts.”
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Bob Dylan
Image Credit: Dave J Hogan/Getty Images for ABA Rock troubadour Bob Dylan won 2001’s Best Original Song for “Things Have Changed” from the film Wonder Boys.
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Bruce Springsteen
Image Credit: David Buchan/Variety/Penske Media via Getty Images At the height of the AIDS epidemic in 1994, Bruce Springsteen’s stirring “Streets of Philadelphia,” from the film Philadelphia, about a gay lawyer slowly dying of AIDS, took home Best Original Song.
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Carly Simon
Image Credit: Clint Spaulding/WWD/Penske Media via Getty Images “Let The River Run” is quite possibly the only Oscar winning song (1989) that will forever be associated with The Staten Island Ferry. Written and performed by Carly Simon, this hit from Working Girl also won a Grammy and Golden Globe.
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Cher
Image Credit: Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images Cher won Best Actress in 1988 for her portrayal of Loretta Castorini, a widow who while living with her parents in the Brooklyn brownstone of our dreams, unexpectedly falls in love with her fiancé’s brother. We get it. “When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that’s amore”…you’re Moonstruck and there’s no way to “snap out of it!”
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Lionel Richie
Image Credit: Gilbert Flores/Billboard via Getty Images Lionel Richie must have been “Dancing on the Ceiling” when he won Best Original Song in 1986 for “Say You, Say Me,” from the Mikhail Baryshnikov and Gregory Hines film, White Nights.
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Prince
Image Credit: Fairchild Archive/Penske Media via Getty Images Purple Rain. Over 25 million albums sold. Over 1 billion streams. Is there any film more closely tied to its soundtrack (that isn’t a traditional musical) than this? Short answer, no. Prince’s semi-autobiographical opus Purple Rain may have lost out for Best Original Song in 1985 to Stevie Wonder’s “I Just Called To Say I Love You” but it did win the award for Best Original Score.
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Stevie Wonder
Image Credit: Michael Buckner/Variety via Getty Images Legendary Stevie Wonder’s Best Original Song was for 1985’s “I Just Called To Say I Love You” from the film The Woman In Red.
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Irene Cara
Image Credit: Chad Buchanan/Getty Images “Flashdance…What A Feeling” indeed! The theme song to Flashdance won Cara 1984’s Best Original Song and inspired generations of women to chase their dreams of welding, dancing, and rocking exposed shoulders in torn, gray sweatshirts.
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Christopher Cross
Image Credit: Medios y Media/Getty Images The King of Yacht Rock won Best Original Song in 1982 for his song “Arthur’s Theme,” the title track to Dudley Moore’s rom-com, Arthur.
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Barbra Streisand
Image Credit: Michael Buckner/Variety via Getty Images A two-time winner and five-time nominee, Barbra Streisand won Best Actress in 1969 for her performance as Fanny Brice in Funny Girl and Best Original Song in 1977 for “Evergreen” from A Star Is Born. (The latter made her the first woman to win an Oscar for composing music.)
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The Beatles
Image Credit: Bettmann Archive via Getty Images In 1971, after they had disbanded, The Beatles won Best Original Song for “Let It Be” from their 1970 documentary of the same time.
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Frank Sinatra
Image Credit: William Gottlieb/Redferns via Getty Images Ol’ blue eyes won Best Supporting Actor in 1954 for his role as Private Angelo Maggio in From Here to Eternity.
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