The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, is the longest-running entertainment awards show in the world. 2023 marks the Oscars' 95th edition and the 70th year in a row that the ceremony has been televised to an international audience. Since the Oscars' inception, more than 3,000 of the iconic gold statuettes have been given out to incredibly talented actors, directors, writers, musicians, and more. With that many awards and so many stars who've attended the ceremony, there are bound to be memorable moments.
The Oscars is first and foremost an awards show, but we all know that it's also a major pop culture event. It is the Super Bowl of fashion, there is almost always at least one speech that goes viral (sometimes because it is so moving and sometimes because it is such a clunker), and there is always some controversy about who got screwed over and lost an award they should have won.
In anticipation of the upcoming 95th Academy Awards on March 12, we're taking a trip back in time to some of the most unforgettable Oscars moments. We've got the best and worst in fashion, the most memorable speeches, and the moments when something went seriously wrong. Read on for a little Hollywood nostalgia and to get pumped up for the next big moment in Oscars history.
Best Picture Blunder
In terms of the best picture category, there has almost certainly never been a more chaotic moment than in 2017 when, thanks to a mix-up with the envelopes, the wrong winner was called. The film Moonlight actually won, but nobody found out about that until after La La Land had been announced and speeches started onstage. Talk about going from a total low to an incredible high in the space of less than three minutes for the Moonlight team!
Best Performance by a Swan
We may not remember what year it happened (2001) or why Björk was even at the Oscars in the first place (she was nominated for best original song for a tune from the movie Dancer in the Dark) — but we all remember that wacky swan dress! That dress still gets commented on and imitated in pop culture, which is pretty impressive for a look that is more than 20 years old.
Memorable Barrier Breaker
Film fans everywhere were saddened to learn that the effortlessly elegant and handsome actor Sidney Poitier died in January 2022 at the age of 94. Sidney had an incredible career, including being the first Black man to win an Academy Award. He won in 1964 for the film Lilies of the Field. Shockingly, he would remain the only Black male to win in the lead actor category for the next 38 years, until Denzel Washington claimed the gold Oscars trophy in 2001.
The Best of the Worst Hosts
There's no doubt that hosting the Oscars is a high-pressure gig — there are just so many things that can go wrong. James Franco and Anne Hathaway are often considered memorable for the worst possible reason: They bombed big time! James seemed like he wanted to be anywhere but there, and Anne had the energy of a puppy with zoomies. Thankfully, she seems to have a sense of humor about it, even quipping on Instagram before the 2019 Oscars, "No matter what happens with today's show, just remember, it's already been worse."
Most Memorable Fashion Boundary Pusher
If we were ever going to host an awards show (Hmm, the "Mommies" might have a ring to it, right? Including awards like "best toddler tantrum" and "least annoying kids' TV show," obviously), we'd for sure want to include Billy Porter on the invite list. His awards show fashion choices are always interesting, memorable, and carefully thought out. Regarding his iconic, gender-bending tux dress from 2019, he said: "I was ready to create the conversation. People were going to be really uncomfortable with my Black a– in a ball gown, but it's not anybody's business but mine. We have to teach people how to treat us, how to love us, and how to respect us, and the only way we do that is to respect ourselves."
Most Memorable Speech
Winning an Academy Award is a big deal, but basically declining it is even bigger! In 1973, Marlon Brando won the award for best actor for The Godfather, but he sent an actress named Sacheen Littlefeather to the stage in his place, giving her the opportunity to talk about the horrible ways Hollywood has historically depicted Native Americans. She declined the Oscar on his behalf, making him one of the few winners to ever turn down the award.
A Perfect Speech
There are a lot of ways for an Oscars speech to go wrong: too long, too boring, or even forgetting the name of one's spouse. But we think Olivia Coleman's 2019 Best Actress acceptance speech is basically perfect. It's got just the right blend of humor, personality, and emotion, without seeming at all rehearsed.
Biggest Winner
For most people in the entertainment industry, the idea of even being nominated for one Oscar would be a dream come true. The competition is so fierce that it's hard to imagine that anyone in the future will ever come close to Walt Disney (the man, not the studio), who was nominated for 59 Oscars and won a whopping 26 of them.
Best Old-School Glam
When Julia Roberts won her best lead actress Oscar for Erin Brockovich in 2001, she also won countless "best-dressed" lists for her vintage Valentino dress. The black and white design is so timeless that anyone could have worn it for a ceremony in 1959 or in 2021 and looked chic and elegant.
Best GIF Moment
Anyone who has ever used the GIF of Meryl Streep applauding (and, let's be honest, who doesn't love that one?) owes a debt to Patricia Arquette, whose fired-up 2015 best supporting actress speech about wage equality had Meryl and other female stars on their feet and cheering enthusiastically. Yes!
Most Naked Moment
Although there have been plenty of Oscars dresses that have shown a lot of skin, nobody has been as actually naked as the infamous Oscars streaker! In 1974, an artist and gay rights activist named Robert Opal ran across the stage behind host David Niven. David, to his credit, seemed totally unflustered and remarked that it was "bound to happen" someday.
Most Awkward Speech
Joaquin Phoenix has never been the most easygoing, chill-seeming guy, but he brought a weird intensity to his 2020 best actor speech, including going on a lengthy rant about the evils of the dairy industry. The speech felt more like a lecture, and the audience seemed more uncomfortable than inspired.
Most Dramatic Musical Moment
Academy Awards musical moments can range from flat to epic, depending on the year. But no performance has been as perfectly extra as Céline Dion's 1998 rendition of "My Heart Will Go On." The song on its own is already super dramatic, but trust the Oscars to go with a full-scale orchestra in white suits, multiple fog machines, and Céline wearing a replica of the iconic Titanic necklace to turn the drama up to 11.
The Most Unforgettable Opening Number
The opening number for the Academy Awards should be fun and entertaining, something to kick off the night right. The 1989 Oscars opening song and dance number, which ran a mind-numbing 11 minutes long, has been described as "the trip you'd have after taking a tab of ecstasy and chasing it with a tall glass of denture water from the bedside table of an aging Hollywood icon." We really can't describe it better than that, sadly.
Best Opening Monologue
The Oscars is a serious business, but we love a host who doesn't take themselves or the entertainment industry too seriously. Steve Martin hit that mark perfectly when he hosted in 2003. His deadpan joke, "Writers. Directors. Actors. [pause] If we're stuck here tonight and run out of food, that's the order in which we eat them," was pitch perfect.
Best Pregnancy Moment
When Catherine Zeta-Jones won for best supporting actress for the movie Chicago in 2008, she looked stunning and glowing in her Versace gown. She was just weeks away from giving birth, so the fact that she was in heels was seriously impressive to those of us who were firmly in the "flip-flops only" stage of our pregnancies by that point.
The Slap Heard Around the World
The 2022 Oscars will always live in infamy, thanks to the moment when Will Smith stormed the stage to slap Chris Rock after he poked fun at Jada Pinkett Smith's lack of hair (which was actually due to alopecia, a condition she's said she's self-conscious about). The incident stunned audiences both at home and in person, and a year later, people are still talking about it.
This 'Encanto'-Themed Surprise
If you have kids (or love Disney movies yourself), you know that 2022 was a big year for Encanto at the Oscars. Members of the cast took the stage to perform the song "We Don't Talk About Bruno," and Megan Thee Stallion surprised everyone by showing up to add her own rap verse to the tune.
