Oscars first-timers: Stars whose careers kicked off with awards season (2024)

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Long before she was David O. Russell's muse she was 'the girl in Winter's Bone.' The now-Oscar-winning actress came onto the scene with her role in the bleak Ozarks drama, which earned her an Oscar nomination and a spot on every guest list that season.

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It's no secret Lupita is a total unicorn and her debut onto the Hollywood scene was perfectly in line with that theory. Her first-ever movie was 2013's 12 Years a Slave and she wound up with a Golden Globe nomination and an Academy Award win.

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Three years earlier Hailee Steinfeld played Jeff Bridges' daughter in the 2010 western flick True Grit. It was her first real Hollywood production — she was only 14 — and she wound up with an Oscar nomination and a brand new notoriety.

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Much debate has been over which film was truly Leo's breakout: Was Romeo & Juliet too niche? Did Titanic really put him on the map? But those arguments forgo the fact that his true coming-out party was the 1994 award season — he was nominated for the much-beloved What's Eating Gilbert Grape.

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By now their Hollywood comeuppance has been written in every record book thanks to Good Will Hunting. But it's still worth reminiscing that they became famous because of this adorable award season's worth of bromance.

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Barrymore wasn't personally nominated for her role in E.T., but the adorable flick dominated the 1983 awards season with two Golden Globe wins, four Oscar wins, and 14 total nominations between the two shows. And Barrymore, for her part, dominated that movie. It launched her career and made her a household name (and face).

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Before Armie Hammer was Oliver he was the Winklevii. (sure, there were plenty of roles in between the two, but let's focus on what's important). His turn as the enterprising twins in The Social Network — which scored three Oscars and four Golden Globes in 2011 — got him noticed in mainstream Hollywood. And yes, his uncanny ability to rock a tuxedo probably had something to do with it.

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The Aussie actress had been in the business for almost eight years when she landed the coveted role of Elizabeth I, but it was her portrayal of the monarch that got her noticed on this side of the Pacific Ocean. She was nominated for a Golden Globe and an Oscar and also got to show American audiences just how freaking charming she is.

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America's Sweetheart has been in our collective lives so long that it's hard to imagine a world in which she didn't have a dizzyingly long résumé. Her true career coming-out party was the critical reception to Steel Magnolias, which won her a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Supporting Role on top of an Oscar nom and a chance to introduce hair envy to the masses.

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The True Blood actress is one of the youngest Oscar winners of all time, thanks to her role in The Piano (she was 11). The biggest difference between Paquin and the rest of the youngest nominees and winners is, of course, that her award season debut was only the beginning of a long career.

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