Awards season will finally come to an end this Sunday with the Oscars. This year's awards season has already brought many bright fashion moments. For example, Teyana Taylor appeared on the red carpet of the 2026 Golden Globes in a Schiaparelli look with a jeweled “whale tail” element. However, it is the red carpet of the Oscars that traditionally becomes the main fashion event of the awards season. After all, it is the finale of the film awards season and the most prestigious acting award in the world of cinema. That is why the Oscars ceremony is always associated with maximum glamour and the most spectacular fashion looks. So what can actresses look like on Oscar night 2026? The answer can often be found in the history of the dresses of the winners of the Academy Award for Best Actress.
Advertising.
Since the Oscars were created, the event has gradually become more formal. In 1928, Janet Gaynor won the first ever Academy Award for Best Actress in a rather simple outfit. She wore a long-sleeved blouse and skirt. She completed her look with a silk scarf draped over her shoulders.
In the recent history of the Oscars, the red carpet has been a place of active fashion competition. Luxury fashion houses seek to cooperate with leading actresses in advance. They want their dresses to appear at the ceremony and go down in the history of cinema and fashion. After all, many iconic dresses in modern fashion first appeared on the Oscars red carpet. Among them is the soft pink Ralph Lauren dress worn by Gwyneth Paltrow. Also the stage look by Bob Mackie, chosen by Cher. And also the dress with floral embroidery by Elie Saab, worn by Halle Berry at the ceremony.
In the early decades of the Academy Awards, many winners turned to costume designers to create the outfits for the awards ceremony. For example, Edith Head created a mint satin dress for Grace Kelly. Olivia de Havilland and Bette Davis also appeared at the Oscars in outfits created by costume designer Orry-Kelly.
Buying an Oscar dress from a department store was also common practice. In 1989, Jodie Foster won her Oscar for Best Actress in a light blue dress she bought from a department store. One winner even created her own look. 1966 winner Julie Christie showed up at the ceremony in a gold lamé jumpsuit. In this look, she even resembled the Oscar statuette itself.
Ahead of the 2026 Oscars, we're looking back at (almost) all the dresses worn by the Best Actress winners. From Jennifer Lawrence's luxurious Dior ball gown to Audrey Hepburn's lace Givenchy gown.
Mikey Madison in a Dior dress, 2025 
Emma Stone in a Louis Vuitton dress, 2024 
Michelle Yeoh in Dior, 2023 
Jessica Chastain in Gucci, 2022 
Frances McDormand in Valentino, 2021 
Renee Zellweger in Armani Privé, 2020 
Olivia Colman in Prada, 2019 
Frances McDormand in Valentino, 2018 
Emma Stone in Givenchy, 2017 
Brie Larson in Gucci, 2016 
Julianne Moore in Chanel, 2015 
Cate Blanchett in Armani Privé, 2014 
Jennifer Lawrence in Dior, 2013 
Meryl Streep in Lanvin, 2012 
Natalie Portman in Rodarte, 2011 
Sandra Bullock in Marchesa, 2010 
Kate Winslet in Yves Saint Laurent, 2009 
Marion Cotillard in Jean Paul Gaultier, 2008 
Helen Mirren in Christian Lacroix, 2007 
Reese Witherspoon in a vintage Dior dress, 2006 
Hilary Swank in Guy LaRoche, 2005 
Charlize Theron in Gucci, 2004 
Nicole Kidman in Jean Paul Gaultier, 2003 
Halle Berry in Elie Saab, 2002 
Julia Roberts in Valentino, 2001 
Gwyneth Paltrow in Ralph Lauren, 1999 
Helen Hunt in Gucci, 1998 
Hilary Swank in Randolph Duke, 2000 
Frances McDormand in Richard Tyler, 1997 
Susan Sarandon in Dolce & Gabbana, 1996 
Jessica Lange in Calvin Klein, 1995 
Holly Hunter in Vera Wang, 1994 
Emma Thompson in Caroline Charles, 1993 
Jodie Foster in Giorgio Armani, 1992 
Kathy Bates in Donna Karan, 1991 
Jessica Tandy in Giorgio Armani, 1990 
Jodie Foster in a dress from a thrift store, 1989 
Cher in Bob Mackie's skin, 1988 
Marley Matlin in a Theoni V. Aldredge dress, 1987 
Geraldine Page in Gail Cooper-Hecht, 1986 
Sally Field in Holly Harp, 1985 
Shirley MacLaine in Fabrice, 1984 
Meryl Streep in Christian Leigh, 1983 
Sissy Spacek in a jumpsuit from a regular store, 1981 
Sally Field in Bob Mackie, 1980 
Jane Fonda in James Reva, 1979 
Diane Keaton in Ruth Morley, 1978 
Faye Dunaway in Geoffrey Beene, 1977 
Louise Fletcher in Alfred Fiandaca, 1976 
Liza Minnelli in Halston, 1973 
Jane Fonda in Yves Saint Laurent, 1972 
Barbra Streisand in Arnold Scaasi, 1969 
Julie Christie in a homemade jumpsuit, 1966 
Julia Andrews, 1965 
Sophia Loren, 1962 
Elizabeth Taylor in Christian Dior, 1961 
Simone Signoret in Jean Dessès, 1960 
Susan Hayward, 1959 
Joan Woodward, 1958 
Grace Kelly in Edith Head, 1955 
Audrey Hepburn in Givenchy, 1954 
Shirley Booth, 1953 
Judy Holliday, 1951 
Olivia de Havilland in Orry-Kelly, 1950 
Jane Wyman, 1949 
Loretta Young in Adrian Greenberg, 1948 
Olivia de Havilland in Ann Lowe, 1947 
Joan Crawford, 1946 
Ingrid Bergman, 1945 
Jennifer Jones (second from left), 1944 
Greer Garson (second from left), 1943 
Joan Fontaine (left), 1942 
Ginger Rogers in Irene, 1941 
Vivien Leigh in Irene, 1940 
Bette Davis in Orry-Kelly, 1939 
Louise Rainer, 1938 
Louise Rainer, 1937 
Bette Davis, 1936 
Claudette Colbert, 1935 
Helen Hayes, 1932 
Marie Dressler, 1931 
Norma Shearer, 1930 
Mary Pickford, 1929 
Janet Gaynor, 1928
Based on material from vogue.com