Meet woman with 16 Oscar nominations, more than Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, DiCaprio, but no wins
With 16 Oscar nominations in 38 years, this woman towers above several Hollywood legends on the list. Yet, she has never won an Academy Award.
Oscar nominee is an adjective that many wear proudly. Winning an Academy Award is the career highlight for most film performers, but a nomination is no mean feat either. Multiple nominations imply consistency. Meryl Streep has 21 nominations in the acting categories, which is what many refer to when calling her the greatest living actor. But then Streep has won a couple of times. One unfortunate woman has been nominated for an Oscar 16 times in 38 years without ever winning.
The woman with most Oscar nominations without winning
On Sunday night, as the award for Best Original Song was announced at the 2025 Oscars, Clément Ducol and Camille emerged victorious for their song El Mal from Emilia Pérez. But the announcement meant that songwriter Diane Warren lost out at the Oscars for a record-tying 16th time. The 68-year-old has been nominated for the song The Journey from Tyler Perry’s Netflix film The Six Triple Eight. This was Diane Warren's eighth consecutive nomination in the Best Original Song category and 16th overall. However, she has never won the award. Just how impressive this is can be gauged by the fact that Diane Warren has more Oscar nominations than legends like Al Pacino (9), Marlon Brando (8), Robert De Niro (8), Kate Winslet (7), Daniel Day-Lewis (6), and Leonardo DiCaprio (6).
Who is Diane Warren?
Born in 1956, Diane Warren has been a prominent songwriter for nearly five decades. Winner of an Emmy, two Golden Globes, and three Billboard Music Awards, she was described by EMI's UK Chairman Peter Reichardt as "the most important songwriter in the world". Over the course of her career, Diane Warren has written nine number-one songs and 33 top-10 songs on the Billboard Hot 100, giving artists like Cher, Celine Dion, and Aerosmith some of their biggest hits.
The songwriter has been single all her life, describing herself as unromantic. "I've never been in love like in my songs. I'm not like normal people. I'm no good at relationships. I draw drama to me—it's the Jew in me," she once told The Guardian, claiming that she has been single since 1992. American Songwriter reported that the veteran works 12–16 hours daily and always takes her keyboard whenever she travels. She believes this almost 'workaholic' nature makes her peculiar among songwriters.
Some of Diane Warren's most popular songs include If I Could Turn Back Time (Cher), Because You Loved Me (Celine Dion), How Do I Live (LeAnn Rimes), and I Don't Want to Miss a Thing (Aerosmith).
