Both the youngest and oldest ever nominated for Best Actress vie for Oscar this year (Quvenzhané Wallis, 9 and Emmanuelle Riva, 85).
The only octogenarian to win an acting Oscar was Jessica Tandy at age 80 (male or female, none for Best Supporting). No actor under 20 has ever won a best acting Oscar (male or female, although 3 under 20 won Best Supporting Actress Oscars).
No other application of actors’ ages stirs especially into this year’s Oscar races. However, some curious observations do pop up from Academy Awards history.
About 75% of the Best Acting Oscars fall into a 20 year age range. For women, the range is 20-39. For men, it’s 30-49. For Best Supporting Actor and Actress, the 20 year range tamps down closer to half the awards. While women in their 30s and men in their 40s still tend to have the best chances of winning, women in their 40s become about as likely to win a Best Supporting Oscar.
Actors in their 50s, 60s, and 70s win Best Supporting Actress Oscars evenly. Men, however, win Supporting Oscars twice as often in each of those age ranges.
Gold predictions this year: best actor, age 55; actress, 22; supporting actor, 66; supporting actress, 30.