Did You Know Only 13 People From Illinois Have Won an Acting Oscar?

The Oscar nominations came out this morning, and it appears there's a severe lack of Illinois flavor in just about all categories.

As far as I know, it appears there isn't one person from The Land of Lincoln in the major acting categories in line to win an Oscar this year.

So it got me thinking, "How many people from Illinois have won an Oscar for acting?"

Lucky for me, I found Wanderu's States & Countries With the Most Oscar Wins for Acting.

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Turns out, other than New York and California, Illinois has the third most Oscar winners in the acting categories.

However, I'll bet you there's a very good chance you're not aware that some of these people are/were from Illinois.

I mean, I was surprised at first and still am to find out that probably the most decorated Oscar winner from Illinois is actually from, you know, Illinois. This person has only won three Best Actress Academy Awards in her career, most recently in 2021, but I digress.

Anyway, in the Best Actor and Best Actress categories, there are only two winners from Illinois.

While in the Best Actor and Actress categories, Illinois is represented by nine different people.

Oscars winners from Illinois won for acting in classics films like:

• Stalag 17
• Ben-Hur
• Children of a Lesser God
• Fargo
• A Streetcar Named Desire
• All the President's Men
• Good Will Hunting
• Dreamgirls

Overall, these 13 people from Illinois won 16 total Academy Awards for acting.

Take a look at the list. You're going to be surprised to find out some of these famous actors were born in Illinois.