This is is a list of every Hispanic or Latino person to be nominated for an Oscar. This includes, but is not limited to, Hispanic Americans, Latin Americans, Spaniards, and anyone with such ancestry.
To clarify the difference, Hispanic is defined as anyone with descent from Spain or its colonies, while Latino is defined as anyone with descent from Latin America, which are the areas of the Americas that were colonized by Spain or Portugal. Most of Central America and the Caribbean then falls under both categories, but the difference lies with the fact that someone from Spain for example is Hispanic but not Latino whereas someone from Brazil for example is Latino but not Hispanic. These are very politically…
This is is a list of every Hispanic or Latino person to be nominated for an Oscar. This includes, but is not limited to, Hispanic Americans, Latin Americans, Spaniards, and anyone with such ancestry.
To clarify the difference, Hispanic is defined as anyone with descent from Spain or its colonies, while Latino is defined as anyone with descent from Latin America, which are the areas of the Americas that were colonized by Spain or Portugal. Most of Central America and the Caribbean then falls under both categories, but the difference lies with the fact that someone from Spain for example is Hispanic but not Latino whereas someone from Brazil for example is Latino but not Hispanic. These are very politically contentious labels and have a lot of history to them, with the two often being used interchangeably and none of this goes into other nuances of the labels such as the belief that they reinforce Spaniard-centric ideology, that they ignore indigenous groups, or the rise of the word Latinx. The purpose of this list is not to comment on the labels themselves but simply to showcase how certain minority groups are represented at the Oscars.
The last ceremony to not have a single Hispanic or Latino nominee was the 59th Academy Awards in 1987.
Special Note: The award for Best International Feature is technically given to the submitting country and not to any individual. However, it is the director who accepts the award on behalf of the country and so, for the purposes of recognizing Hispanic/Latino contributions to the Oscars, films directed by Hispanic/Latino people that were nominated for this category will be included.
Also, it should be noted that the film A Place in the World was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 65th Academy Awards. This was an Argentine film that was submitted on behalf of Uruguay and secured a nomination. However, following the discovery that the film was primarily Argentine produced with little Uruguayan contribution, the film was disqualified. Due to the fact that this film was disqualified, it will not be included on this list despite being a Latino film that secured a nomination.
Categories:
Best Original Song:
- Nominated: 1942 (Ernesto Lecuona - Always in My Heart)
- Won: 1983 (Irene Cara - Flashdance)
- Total: 12/4
Best Production Design:
- Nominated: 1942 (Emile Kuri - Silver Queen)
- Won: 1949 (Emile Kuri - The Heiress)
- Total: 23/9
Best Original Score:
- Nominated: 1944 (Carmen Dragon - Cover Girl)
- Won: 1944 (Carmen Dragon - Cover Girl)
- Total: 21/4
Best Supporting Actor:
- Nominated: 1947 (Thomas Gomez - Ride the Pink Horse)
- Won: 1952 (Anthony Quinn - Viva Zapata!)
- Total: 8/4
Best Visual Effects:
- Nominated: 1947 (Paul Lerpae - Unconquered)
- Total: 10/0
Best Actor:
- Nominated: 1950 (José Ferrer - Cyrano de Bergerac)
- Won: 1950 (José Ferrer - Cyrano de Bergerac)
- Total: 13/1
Best Costume Design:
- Nominated: 1952 (Antoni Clavé - Hans Christian Andersen)
- Won: 1971 (Yvonne Blake and Antonio Castillo - Nicholas and Alexandra)
- Total: 6/1
Best Supporting Actress:
- Nominated: 1954 (Katy Jurada - Broken Lance)
- Won: 1961 (Rita Moreno - West Side Story)
- Total: 16/6
Best Documentary Feature:
- Nominated: 1957 (Manuel Barbachano Ponce - Torero!)
- Total: 8/0
Best International Feature:
- Nominated: 1958 (Juan Antonio Bardem - Vengeance)
- Won: 1983 (José Luis Garci - Begin the Beguine)
- Total: 52/9
Best Cinematography:
- Nominated: 1964 (Gabriel Figueroa - Night of the Iguana)
- Won: 1978 (Néstor Almendros - Days of Heaven)
- Total: 28/7
Best Original Screenplay:
- Nominated: 1967 (Jorge Semprún - The War Is Over)
- Won: 2002 (Pedro Almodóvar - Talk to Her)
- Total: 12/2
Best Adapted Screenplay:
- Nominated: 1969 (Jorge Semprún - Z)
- Total: 8/0
Best Documentary Short:
- Nominated: 1971 (Manuel Arango - Sentinels of Silence)
- Won: 1971 (Manuel Arango - Sentinels of Silence)
- Total: 6/1
Best Live Action Short:
- Nominated: 1971 (Manuel Arango - Sentinels of Silence)
- Won: 1971 (Manuel Arango - Sentinels of Silence)
- Total: 12/2
Best Director:
- Nominated: 1985 (Héctor Babenco - Kiss of the Spider Woman)
- Won: 2013 (Alfonso Cuarón - Gravity)
- Total: 9/5
Best Actress:
- Nominated: 1998 (Fernanda Montenegro - Central Station)
- Won: 1999 (Hilary Swank - Boys Don't Cry)
- Total: 11/2
Best Makeup and Hairstyling:
- Nominated: 2002 (Beatrice Alba - Frida)
- Won: 2002 (Beatrice Alba - Frida)
- Total: 6/3
Best Film Editing:
- Nominated: 2003 (Daniel Rezende - City of God)
- Won: 2013 (Alfonso Cuarón - Gravity)
- Total: 3/1
Best Animated Short:
- Nominated: 2003 (Carlos Saldanha - Gone Nutty)
- Won: 2009 (Nicolas Schmerkin - Logorama)
- Total: 8/4
Best Picture:
- Nominated: 2006 (Alejandro González Iñárritu - Babel)
- Won: 2014 (Alejandro González Iñárritu - Birdman)
- Total: 10/2
Best Sound:
- Nominated: 2006 (Fernando Cámara - Apocalypto)
- Won: 2020 (Jaime Baksht, Michelle Couttolenc, and Carlos Cortés - Sound of Metal)
- Total: 8/1
Best Animated Feature:
- Nominated: 2011 (Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal - Chico & Rita)
- Won: 2015 (Jonas Rivera - Inside Out)
- Total: 12/5
Best Casting:
- Nominated: 2026 (Gabriel Domingues - The Secret Agent)
- Total: 1/0
Special Awards:
- Academy Honorary Award: 1
- Special Achievement Award: 1
