Who Won Best Director Academy Awards?
From Frank Borzage in 1929 to Christopher Nolan in 2024, the Academy Awards have recognized outstanding achievement by movie directors throughout the years. Multiple winners of the Best Director Oscar have included Frank Capra, John Ford, Clint Eastwood, Steven Spielberg and Alejandro G. Inarritu.
| 2024 (96th) |
Christopher Nolan Oppenheimer Other Nominees: Justine Triet (Anatomy Of A Fall); Martin Scorsese (Killers Of The Flower Moon); Yorgos Lanthimos (Poor Things); Jonathan Glazer (The Zone Of Interest) |
| 2023 (95th) |
Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert Everything Everywhere All At Once Other Nominees: Martin McDonagh (The Banshees Of Inisherin); Steven Spielberg (The Fabelmans); Todd Field (Tar); Ruben Ostlund (Triangle Of Sadness) |
| 2022 (94th) |
Jane Campion The Power Of The Dog Other Nominees: Kenneth Branagh (Belfast); Ryusuke Hamaguchi (Drive My Car); Paul Thomas Anderson (Licorice Pizza); Steven Spielberg (West Side Story) |
| 2021 (93rd) |
Chloe Zhao Nomadland Other Nominees: Thomas Vinterberg (Another Round); David Fincher (Mank); Lee Isaac Chung (Minari); Emerald Fennell (Promising Young Woman) |
| 2020 (92nd) |
Bong Joon-ho Parasite Other Nominees: Martin Scorsese (The Irishman); Todd Phillips (Joker); Sam Mendes (1917); Quentin Tarantino (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) |
| 2019 (91st) |
Alfonso Cuarón Roma Other Nominees: Yorgos Lanthimos (The Favourite), Spike Lee(BlacKkKlansman), Adam McKay (Vice), Paweł Pawlikowski (Cold War) |
| 2018 (90th) |
Guillermo del Toro The Shape Of Water Other Nominees: Paul Thomas Anderson (Phantom Thread); Greta Gerwig (Lady Bird); Christopher Nolan (Dunkirk); Jordan Peele (Get Out) |
| 2017 (89th) |
Damien Chazelle La La Land Other Nominees: Mel Gibson (Hacksaw Ridge); Barry Jenkins (Moonlight); Kenneth Lonergan (Manchester by the Sea); Denis Villeneuve (Arrival) |
| Year | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Alejandro G. Inarritu | (The Revenant) |  |
| 2015 | Alejandro G. Inarritu | (Birdman) |  |
| 2014 | Alfonso Cuaron | (Gravity) |  |
| 2013 | Ang Lee | (Life Of Pi) |  |
| 2012 | Michel Hazanavicius | (The Artist) |  |
| 2011 | Tom Hooper | (The King's Speech) |  |
| 2010 | Kathryn Bigelow | (The Hurt Locker) |  |
| 2009 | Danny Boyle | (Slumdog Millionaire) |  |
| 2008 | Joel & Ethan Coen | (No Country For Old Men) |  |
| 2007 | Martin Scorsese | (The Departed) |  |
| 2006 | Ang Lee | (Brokeback Mountain) |  |
| 2005 | Clint Eastwood | (Million Dollar Baby) |  |
| 2004 | Peter Jackson | (The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King) |  |
| 2003 | Roman Polanski | (The Pianist) |  |
| 2002 | Ron Howard | (A Beautiful Mind) |  |
| 2001 | Steven Soderbergh | (Traffic) |  |
| 2000 | Sam Mendes | (American Beauty) |  |
| 1999 | Steven Spielberg | (Saving Private Ryan) |  |
| 1998 | James Cameron | (Titanic) |  |
| 1997 | Anthony Minghella | (The English Patient) |  |
| 1996 | Mel Gibson | (Braveheart) |  |
| 1995 | Robert Zemeckis | (Forrest Gump) |  |
| 1994 | Steven Spielberg | (Schindler's List) |  |
| 1993 | Clint Eastwood | (Unforgiven) |  |
| 1992 | Jonathan Demme | (The Silence Of The Lambs) |  |
| 1991 | Kevin Costner | (Dances With Wolves) |  |
| 1990 | Oliver Stone | (Born On The Fourth Of July) |  |
| 1989 | Barry Levinson | (Rain Man) |  |
| 1988 | Bernardo Bertolucci | (The Last Emperor) |  |
| 1987 | Oliver Stone | (Platoon) |  |
| 1986 | Sydney Pollack | (Out Of Africa) |  |
| 1985 | Milos Forman | (Amadeus) |  |
| 1984 | James L. Brooks | (Terms Of Endearment) |  |
| 1983 | Richard Attenborough | (Gandhi) |  |
| 1982 | Warren Beatty | (Reds) |  |
| 1981 | Robert Redford | (Ordinary People) |  |
| 1980 | Robert Benton | (Kramer vs. Kramer) |  |
| 1979 | Michael Cimino | (The Deer Hunter) |  |
| 1978 | Woody Allen | (Annie Hall) |  |
| 1977 | John G. Avildsen | (Rocky) |  |
| 1976 | Milos Forman | (One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest) |  |
| 1975 | Francis Ford Coppola | (The Godfather Part II) |  |
| 1974 | George Roy Hill | (The Sting) |  |
| 1973 | Bob Fosse | (Cabaret) |  |
| 1972 | William Friedkin | (The French Connection) | |
| 1971 | Franklin J Shaffner | (Patton) | |
| 1970 | John Schlesinger | Midnight Cowboy | |
| 1969 | Carol Reed | Oliver! | |
| 1968 | Mike Nichols | The Graduate | |
| 1967 | Fred Zinnemann | A Man For All Seasons |  |
| 1966 | Robert Wise | The Sound Of Music |  |
| 1965 | George Cukor | My Fair Lady |  |
| 1964 | Tony Richardson | Tom Jones | |
| 1963 | David Lean | Lawrence Of Arabia |  |
| 1962 | Robert Wise & Jerome Robbins | West Side Story |  |
| 1961 | Billy Wilder | The Apartment | |
| 1960 | William Wyler | Ben-Hur |  |
| 1959 | Vincente Minnelli | Gigi | |
| 1958 | David Lean | The Bridge On The River Kwai |  |
| 1957 | George Stevens | Giant | |
| 1956 | Delbert Mann | Marty |  |
| 1955 | Elia Kazan | On The Waterfront | |
| 1954 | Fred Zinnemann | From Here To Eternity | |
| 1953 | John Ford | The Quiet Man | |
| 1952 | George Stevens | A Place In The Sun | |
| 1951 | Joseph L Mankiewicz | All About Eve |  |
| 1950 | Joseph L Mankiewicz | A Letter To Three Wives | |
| 1949 | John Huston | The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre | |
| 1948 | Elia Kazan | Gentleman's Agreement | |
| 1947 | William Wyler | The Best Years Of Our Lives | |
| 1946 | Billy Wilder | The Lost Weekend | |
| 1945 | Leo McCarey | Going My Way | |
| 1944 | Michael Curtiz | Casablanca |  |
| 1943 | William Wyler | Mrs. Miniver |  |
| 1942 | John Ford | How Green Was My Valley | |
| 1941 | John Ford | The Grapes Of Wrath | |
| 1940 | Victor Fleming | Gone With The Wind |  |
| 1939 | Frank Capra | You Can't Take It With You |  |
| 1938 | Leo McCarey | The Awful Truth | |
| 1937 | Frank Captra | Mr Deeds Goes To Town | |
| 1936 | John Ford | The Informer |  |
| 1935 (7th) | Frank Capra | It Happened One Night |  |
| 1934 (6th) | Frank Lloyd | Cavalcade |  |
| 1932 (5th) | Frank Borzage | Bad Girl | |
| 1931 (4th) | Norman Taurog | Skippy | |
| 1930 (3rd) | Lewis Milestone | All Quiet On The Western Front | |
| 1930 (2nd) | Frank Lloyd | The Divine Lady | |
| 1929 (1st) -Comedy | Lewis Milestone | Two Arabian Nights | |
| 1929 (1st) -Drama | Frank Borzage | 7th Heaven |  |