Academy Awards: The 10 Youngest 'Best Actress' Winners of All Time
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Vivien Leigh
Our number 10 spot for the youngest female Oscar winner of all time goes to actress Vivien Leigh (†53) for the role of "Scarlett O'Hara" in the movie 'Gone With The Wind' (1939). She won her first Oscar at the age of 26 and 116 days. Our number 9 spot goes to a lovely lady who is only 112 days younger...
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Julie Christie
Let us present to you our number 9 spot on our list: None other than Julie Christie at the age of 26 years and 4 days for the role of "Diana Scott" in the feature film 'Darling' (1965).
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Hilary Swank
Hilary Swank played the role of "Brandon Teena" in the drama 'Boys Dont't Cry' (1999). She won her first Oscar for her role in the drama back in 2000 at the age of 25 and 240 days. Swank won her second Oscar for her role in 'Million Dollar Baby' about 5 years later.
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Grace Kelly
Style icon Grace Kelly (†52) won her first Oscar at the age of 25 and 138 days. This leaves her in our top 7 spot on our list of the youngest female Oscar winners of all time! Her winning role was in 'The Country Girl' (1954) performing as "Georgie Elgin". Sadly, the then 52-year-old passed away after injuries sustained from a car crash.
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Jennifer Jones
Jennifer Jones (†90) had a good reason to celebrate her 25th birthday: She won an Oscar for best actress in the movie 'The Song of Bernadette' (1943)!
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Audrey Hepburn
Our number 5 spot goes to the lovely Audrey Hepburn (†63). Hepburn won an Oscar for her role as "Princess Ann" in the romantic movie 'Roman Holiday' (1953). She was 24 years and 325 days old at the time she won her Academy Award. Audrey Hepburn went on to win an Emmy, two Tony Awards and a Grammy during her long career in show business. She belongs to the small group of performers who has won 4 major awards in different branches of show business., which is today called the "EGOT".
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Joan Fontaine
Joan Fontaine (†96) was 24 and 127 days old when she won her first Oscar. She played the role of the shy "Lina McLaidlaw" who falls in love with shady "Johnny Aysgarth" (Cary Grant) in the psycho thriller 'Suspicion' (1946).
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Janet Gaynor
Janet Gaynor (†77) was 22 years and 222 days old when she received her first Academy Award. In fact, she held the record for youngest Oscar winner for over 58 years. Her winning role was in the movie '7th Heaven' (1927).
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Jennifer Lawrence
2nd place goes to the lovely Jennifer Lawrence. In the movie 'Silver Linings Playbook' (2013), Lawrence plays the role of "Tiffany" for which she received an Oscar at the age of 22 years and 193 days back in 2013. And our number one spot goes to....
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Marlee Matlin
... "And the Oscar goes to", were the words that Marlee Matlin heard in 1987 before she won an Oscar for her role as "Sarah Norman" in the movie 'Children of a Lesser God' (1986). With that, she became the youngest actress ever to win the prestigious Academy Award. She was only 21 years old at the time!