Throughout the history of the Academy Awards, several individuals have died prior to the ceremony and were posthumously nominated or have won the award following their deaths. As of 2024, 64 individuals have reserved posthumous nominations in competitive categories, 29 individuals have won posthumously, including 14 individuals in honorary categories. This list includes posthumous winners and nominees of the Academy's competitive awards, as well as posthumous recipients of its honorary awards.
The list does not include people who were retrospectively honoured with an Academy Award and were dead at the time the Academy made the decision to make the retrospective award. For example: in 1993, seventeen years after his death, Dalton Trumbo was retrospectively awarded the 1953 Oscar for Academy Award for Best Story for Roman Holiday. It had been previously awarded to Ian McLellan Hunter. However, Hunter was merely a front for Trumbo, because Trumbo was on the Hollywood blacklist at the time and it was not possible for his name to appear in either the film's credits or the Academy Award nomination (hence, it was not generally known that he was the real screenwriter). Trumbo did not die until 1976, and under normal circumstances he would have received this award in person in 1953; hence the Academy does not consider this a posthumous award but a correction of the record.
Similarly, the Oscar for Best Screenplay (Adaptation) for The Bridge on the River Kwai was originally awarded to Pierre Boulle, but only in 1984 corrected to honor the actual screenwriters, Carl Foreman and Michael Wilson, who were blacklisted at the time and could only work on the film in secret. By the time this correction was made, both Foreman and Wilson had died, but the award does not qualify for an entry in the above list.
^Ashman's partner, Bill Lauch, accepted the award on his behalf. Ashman had a total of three nominations in this category this year, for "Belle", "Be Our Guest", and "Beauty and the Beast", which he won the award for.
^Boseman is the first black actor to posthumously receive a nomination.
^Finch became the first posthumous winner in an acting category. His widow Eletha and screenwriter Paddy Chayefsky accepted the award on his behalf.
^Ledger died after completing his scenes in The Dark Knight but before the film had been completed, and a year before the nominations were announced. His father, mother and sister accepted the award on his behalf.
^ abLimelight, a 1952 film, won its award in 1972 because the blacklisting of Charlie Chaplin prevented it from being shown in Los Angeles until then. (The Academy subsequently changed its rules to prevent films more than two years old from receiving awards.)
^Unsworth died during the shooting of Tess, and the cinematography was completed by Ghislain Cloquet. Unsworth and Cloquet were jointly nominated, successfully, for Best Cinematography.
^Zimbalist died during the filming of Ben-Hur. His widow Mary Zimbalist accepted the award on his behalf.
^Hepburn died eight days after the Academy voted to confer this award, but two months before the 65th Academy Awards ceremony. Her son Sean Hepburn Ferrer accepted the award on her behalf.
^Robinson died after the Academy voted to confer this award, but two months before the 45th Academy Awards ceremony. His widow Jane accepted the award on his behalf.
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