Top 10 shortest Best Actress Oscar-winning performances [PHOTOS]
Although seven of the last 10 Best Actress Oscar recipients boast over 80 minutes of screen time apiece, the academy has not always favored such lengthy lead female roles. Indeed, over the course of 96 years, only 27 winners have exceeded that amount, while 45 have landed below the one-hour mark. Scroll through our photo gallery to find out which 10 Best Actress-winning performances are the shortest of all time.
This countdown is presented in terms of physical screen time, meaning any time an actress actually appears on screen or can be heard off screen. Moments involving non-visible or audible scene presence are not factored in. All 99 of this category’s winning performances were successfully counted, including the three that brought Janet Gaynor (“7th Heaven”; “Street Angel”; “Sunrise”) the inaugural award in 1929 and those from Katharine Hepburn (“The Lion in Winter”) and Barbra Streisand (“Funny Girl”) that tied for the 1969 prize.
Eight of the entrants on this list won prior to the start of the 21st century, with the newest of all being from the 81st Academy Awards in 2009. The overall screen time average for winners in this category is one hour, five minutes, and 30 seconds, which 50 victors have fallen under.
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