- Material: The Oscar statuette is made of solid bronze and plated in 24-karat gold.
- World War II: During World War II, Oscars were made of painted plaster due to a metal shortage. After the war, winners were able to exchange their plaster Oscars for gold-plated versions.
- First Hispanic winner: Rita Moreno became the first Hispanic woman to win an Oscar in 1962 for her role as Anita in West Side Story.
- Most wins: Walt Disney holds the record for most Academy Awards won, with 26. He also holds the record for most nominations, with 59.
- Ties: Ties have occurred six times in Academy Awards history.
- Newspaper leak: In 1940, the newspaper The LA Times broke the Academy’s embargo and released the names of the winners to the public.
Why the name Oscar?
The Academy librarian, Margaret Herrick, who is said to have exclaimed in the 1930s that the statuette looked like her uncle Oscar.
The origin of the nickname is disputed, and the Academy doesn’t know for sure who came up with it. The Academy adopted “Oscar” as an official name in 1939.
The most popular story is that Herrick thought the statuette looked like her uncle Oscar, and the name stuck.