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The 5 Youngest People To Ever Win An Oscar: Who Holds The All-Time Record?

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The question of who is the youngest person to ever win an Academy Award is more complex than a single name, involving a distinction between honorary and competitive categories. As of the most recent Academy Awards ceremony in December 2025, the all-time record belongs to a six-year-old child star, but the title for the youngest winner in a competitive category—the one most people are curious about—has been held for over five decades by a groundbreaking actress who was just 10 years old. This article breaks down the definitive list of the youngest Oscar winners across the major categories, including the most recent record-breaker for the youngest two-time winner.

The All-Time Record: Youngest Oscar Winner (Honorary)

The overall, undisputed record for the youngest person to ever receive an Academy Award belongs to a legend of the silver screen, whose career began almost a century ago.

1. Shirley Temple (Age 6)

Award: Juvenile Academy Award (Honorary)
Year of Ceremony: 7th Academy Awards (1935)
Age at Win: 6 years, 310 days
Notable Films (for the period): Little Miss Marker, Bright Eyes, Curly Top

Shirley Temple's win is often cited as the all-time record, but it comes with an asterisk. The award she received was a non-competitive, special statuette known as the Juvenile Academy Award, presented for her outstanding contribution as a child star in 1934. This small, unique Oscar was given out sporadically between 1935 and 1961 to recognize the exceptional work of young performers who were deemed too young to compete fairly with adult actors.

The Legacy of Shirley Temple Black: Temple's career didn't end with her childhood fame. She retired from film at age 22, but her later life was marked by a distinguished career in public service and diplomacy. As an adult, Shirley Temple Black served as the U.S. Ambassador to Ghana and later to Czechoslovakia, making her one of the few Oscar recipients to achieve significant success in a completely different field.

The Competitive Record: Youngest Competitive Oscar Winners

The competitive categories—Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director, etc.—are the ones that truly define the Academy Awards. The following individuals hold the records for the youngest winners in their respective fields.

2. Tatum O'Neal (Age 10)

Award: Best Supporting Actress
Year of Ceremony: 46th Academy Awards (1974)
Age at Win: 10 years, 148 days
Winning Film: Paper Moon (1973)

Tatum O'Neal holds the definitive record as the youngest person to ever win an Academy Award in a competitive category. She won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her stunning debut performance as Addie Loggins in the film Paper Moon, where she starred opposite her real-life father, Ryan O'Neal.

Her victory at such a young age was a historic moment, solidifying her place in cinematic history. O'Neal's career, however, was later overshadowed by personal struggles, which she documented in her 2004 best-selling autobiography, A Paper Life, providing a candid look at the pressures of early fame.

3. Marlee Matlin (Age 21)

Award: Best Actress
Year of Ceremony: 59th Academy Awards (1987)
Age at Win: 21 years, 218 days
Winning Film: Children of a Lesser God (1986)

Marlee Matlin is the youngest person to win the highly coveted Best Actress Oscar for her role as Sarah Norman in Children of a Lesser God. Her win was a double milestone: not only did she set the age record for the category, but she also became the first deaf performer to ever win an Academy Award. Matlin's powerful and moving performance earned her critical acclaim and remains one of the most significant wins in Oscar history for its representation and artistic merit.

The Modern Era Records: Youngest Winners in Key Non-Acting Categories

While the competitive acting records have stood for decades, other major categories have seen younger winners in the modern era, setting new benchmarks for youthful achievement behind the camera and in music.

4. Billie Eilish (Age 22) and Finneas O'Connell (Age 26)

Award: Best Original Song (Two-Time Winners)
Year of Ceremony: 96th Academy Awards (2024)
Age at Second Win: Eilish at 22; O'Connell at 26
Winning Songs: "No Time to Die" (2022) and "What Was I Made For?" (2024)

In a major recent update, Billie Eilish became the youngest person to win a second competitive Oscar at the 96th Academy Awards in 2024. She and her brother, Finneas O'Connell, won Best Original Song for "What Was I Made For?" from the blockbuster film Barbie. This win broke the record previously held by Luise Rainer and Jodie Foster for the youngest two-time Oscar winner.

Their first win came in 2022 for the James Bond theme "No Time to Die." Finneas O'Connell, her co-writer, also became the youngest male to claim two competitive Oscars, making their partnership a historic powerhouse in film music.

5. Ben Affleck (Age 25) and Damien Chazelle (Age 32)

The record for the youngest winner in a competitive writing category is held by Ben Affleck. He won the Best Original Screenplay Oscar for Good Will Hunting (1997) at the age of 25, sharing the award with his friend and co-writer, Matt Damon (who was 27).

The youngest person to win the prestigious Best Director Oscar is Damien Chazelle, who won the award for the musical La La Land (2016) at the 89th Academy Awards in 2017. Chazelle was 32 years and 38 days old at the time of his win, making him the youngest director to ever receive the honor. This record surpassed the previous mark held by Norman Taurog, who won in 1931 at age 32, but was slightly older than Chazelle.

The Youngest Oscar Winners: A Key Entity List

The history of the Academy Awards is filled with incredible achievements, but the youngest winners represent moments of truly precocious talent. This list summarizes the key record holders across the most-watched categories:
  • Youngest Overall Winner (Honorary): Shirley Temple (Age 6)
  • Youngest Competitive Winner (Acting): Tatum O'Neal (Age 10, Best Supporting Actress)
  • Youngest Best Actress Winner: Marlee Matlin (Age 21)
  • Youngest Best Actor Winner: Adrien Brody (Age 29, The Pianist)
  • Youngest Two-Time Winner: Billie Eilish (Age 22, Best Original Song)
  • Youngest Best Director Winner: Damien Chazelle (Age 32)
  • Youngest Screenplay Winner: Ben Affleck (Age 25, Best Original Screenplay)

These records highlight that while child actors can achieve early recognition, the competitive categories for acting, directing, and writing are typically dominated by artists in their twenties and thirties, underscoring the immense experience and skill required to achieve the industry’s highest honor.

The 5 Youngest People to Ever Win an Oscar: Who Holds the All-Time Record?
youngest person to win an oscar
youngest person to win an oscar

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