12 Married or Engaged Celebrity Couples Who Were Nominated for Oscars in the Same Year

These talented couples were nominated for Academy Awards in the same year — even a few for their respective work on the same project

Amy Schumer wasn't joking when she called the Academy Awards "a night for lovers."

While many Oscar nominees stroll down the red carpet hand in hand with their better halves, some take their affection a step further — showering them with affection in their acceptance speeches or even getting up on-stage to defend their honor.

But there's something truly magical about seeing Hollywood power couples both recognized for their craft in the same year. Whether nominated for individual films or recognized for their joint efforts, it's a rare and heartwarming sight.

From iconic pairs like Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor to modern-day sweethearts such as Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem, here's a look at the married and engaged partners who snagged Oscar nods together.

In 1932, celebrity couple Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne made history when they were both nominated for Academy Awards in the same year. After appearing together in The Guardsman (1931), they were up for Best Actor and Best Actress, respectively.

Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier are two of the most legendary actors of all time, so it's no wonder that the pair were both nominated for Oscars just months before their 1940 wedding.

Leigh won the award for Best Actress (the first British woman to do so) for her role as Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind (1939), while Olivier was nominated for playing Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights (1939).

The pair's epic Hollywood romance lasted from 1937 to 1960, when the couple divorced.

The Hollywood couple — who married in 1962 and divorced in 1971 — were both nominated for the 1964 Academy Awards. Rachel Roberts was up for Best Actress for This Sporting Life (1963) and her husband, Rex Harrison, for Best Actor for Cleopatra (1963).

Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor collaborated on 11 films together throughout their infamous relationship, and both were nominated in 1967 for their leading roles in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Taylor won the trophy for Best Actress, though her husband did not nab the Best Actor award.

Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward — who were married for 50 years from 1958 until Newman's death in 2008 — were both nominated in 1969 for their work on Rachel, Rachel (1968). Woodward was nominated for Best Actress, while her husband was nominated as a producer for Best Picture.

John Cassavetes and Gena Rowlands had been married for more than two decades when they were both nominated for Academy Awards in 1975. Rowlands was nominated for Best Actress for her role in A Woman Under the Influence (1974), and her husband received a nomination for directing the film. The pair remained married until Cassavetes' death in 1989.

In 1997, actress Frances McDormand and her writer-direc -

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tor husband Joel Coen won Academy Awards for Fargo (1996) — McDormand for Best Actress and Coen for Best Original Screenplay. The pair have been married since 1984.

Before Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander tied the knot in 2017, the ultra-private pair were both nominated for Oscars in 2016. Vikander won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in The Danish Girl (2015); Fassbender was nominated for Best Actor for his performance in Steve Jobs (2015) but didn't take home the Oscar. The prize went to Leonardo DiCaprio for The Revenant.

Before marrying at New York City Hall in December 2023, writer-directors Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach were both nominated for their individual films a decade after they first met. Gerwig received a nod for Best Adapted Screenplay for Little Women, while Baumbach earned recognition for Best Original Screenplay for Marriage Story — and both films were also contenders for Best Picture at the 2020 Oscars.

The power couple found themselves sharing the spotlight again in 2024, nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay for their collaborative effort on Barbie.

Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem, who have been married since 2010, were both nominated for Academy Awards in 2022. Cruz was up for Best Actress for her role in Parallel Mothers (2021), while her husband was nominated for Best Actor for his portrayal of Desi Arnaz in Being the Ricardos (2021).

Neither Cruz nor Bardem ended up bringing a statuette home, with Jessica Chastain nabbing Best Actress for The Eyes of Tammy Faye and Will Smith as Best Actor for King Richard.

Kirsten Dunst and then-fiancé (now husband) Jesse Plemons were both nominated for the very first time in 2022 for acting in the same film and playing spouses. Dunst was up for Best Supporting Actress and Plemons for Best Supporting Actor for their roles in The Power of the Dog (2021). However, neither Dunst or Plemons won.

Instead, Troy Kotsur was named Best Supporting Actor in a historic victory for CODA (Child of Deaf Adults), and Ariana DeBose won Best Supporting Actress for Steven Spielberg's West Side Story.

Baz Luhrmann and Catherine Martin married in 1997 and have been creative collaborators since they met as National Institute of Dramatic Art students. The pair have a long history of working together, notably on films like Romeo and Juliet (1996), Moulin Rouge! (2001) and The Great Gatsby (2013).

In 2023, Luhrmann and Martin's Elvis (2022) was nominated for Best Picture at the 95th Academy Awards, and Martin was also nominated for Best Costume Design and Best Production Design on the film. They had both previously been nominated in 2002 for Moulin Rouge! in the same categories they later were for Elvis, with Martin taking home both Oscars at that ceremony.

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