Remember When Barbra Streisand and Katharine Hepburn Tied for an Oscar? Relive the Iconic Moment!
The two starlets both took home the statue for Best Actress
Over the years, there have been plenty of Oscar moments that have shaken up the esteemed Academy Awards. From Will Smith’s jarring slap he delivered on stage to Chris Rock to the accidental announcement that La La Land had won for Best Picture when in reality the award went to Moonlight to the 1974 Oscar streaker, it’s hard to predict what could happen during these live award shows. In 1969, something equally unexpected took place—but it was something that was actually in The Academy’s control.
At that year’s award ceremony, two famous faces shared the title of Best Actress when Barbra Streisand and Katharine Hepburn tied in the category—a moment that has gone down in history. Though there have been other instances of ties at this award ceremony, this was perhaps the most notable. Read all about this surprising Oscar moment that has gone down in history!
How Barbra Streisand and Katharine Hepburn tied for Best Actress
On April 14, 1969, the biggest stars in Hollywood gathered under one roof to celebrate that year’s most impactful films. Nominated for Best Actress that year was Katharine Hepburn for The Lion in Winter, Barbra Streisand for Funny Girl, Patricia Neal for The Subject Was Roses, Vanessa Redgrave for Isadora and Joanne Woodward for Rachel, Rachel. That evening, Ingrid Bergman would present the award, and excitedly announced that the votes had resulted in a tie—Both Barbra Streisand and Katharine Hepburn would be taking home a Best Actress trophy.
Though Hepburn was not in attendance to accept the award in person, the director of The Lion in Winter, Anthony Harvey, accepted the award on her behalf. When Streisand stepped up to give her acceptance speech, she began with a charming “Hello, gorgeous,” while looking fondly down at her trophy. “I’m very honored to be in such magnificent company as Katharine Hepburn, and gee whiz, it’s kind of a wild feeling.”
Though Streisand had much success on the stage in her early career, Funny Girl was her debut film role—making her Best Actress win her very first Oscar. Not many can say they’ve won an Academy Award for their first movie! As for Katharine Hepburn, by the time she had won for her part in The Lion in Winter, she had an illustrious film career in her wake, having won her first Oscar in 1933 for Morning Glory, followed by one for her role in Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner. After her tie with Streisand, she took home one more Oscar in 1981 for On Golden Pond.
Have there been other Oscar ties?
Though Streisand and Hepburn’s Oscar tie is one of the most notable, this wasn’t the first time in Academy Award history that it has happened. In 1932, for his role in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Fredric March tied with Wallace Beery for his performance in The Champ for Best Actor. However, being that rules at the time stated that any nominees that came within three votes of each other would result in a tie, this wasn’t a true tie, as March had one more vote. Additionally, in 1949 and 1986, there were ties in the Documentary categories, as well as in 1994 for Live Action Short Film and 2012 for Sound Editing. Could it happen again this year? Tune in on March 2 at 7 p.m. EST on ABC and streaming on Hulu to find out!
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