The great and good of Hollywood are once again in their finery for the 2025 Oscars – with yet more of the coveted golden statuettes to be handed out tonight.
But there’s still one question about those statues that keeps on cropping up time and time again – namely, just why are those little gold men known as ‘Oscars’ when in actual fact they’re Academy Awards?
Well, to be honest, there’s no definitive answer to this, as nobody really knows the true reason for the name.
But that hasn’t stopped the theories about the origins of Oscar from pouring forth. And it could be any one of these…
They were named after someone’s uncle
Possibly the most popular theory is the idea that the statue was so named because Academy librarian Margaret Herrick – later to become the Director of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences – claimed that it ‘looked like her uncle Oscar’.
A journalist thought of it
It’s claimed that journalist Sidney Skolsky later wrote about Herrick’s remark in his New York Daily News column, although he later claimed that he actually first used it in a column where he was poking fun at the entire ceremony, taking his inspiration from a Vaudeville joke which used the name.
It was all Bette Davis’ fault
The legendary actress claimed she had coined the phrase ‘Oscar’ by naming the statue after her husband Harmon O Nelson Jr.
While some reports claim it was merely a tribute to his middle name, others suggest a cheekier reason for the nickname – namely that the statue’s rear reminded her of hubby when he emerged from the shower in the morning. Er, OK then.
Oscars 2025: Full list of winners
Picture
Anora
Director
Sean Baker – Anora
Leading actress
Mikey Madison – Anora
Leading actor
Adrien Brody – The Brutalist
Supporting actor
Kieran Culkin – A Real Pain
Supporting actress
Zoe Saldaña – Emilia Pérez
Original screenplay
Anora
Adapted screenplay
Conclave
Cinematography
The Brutalist
Editing
Anora
Production design
Wicked
Costume design
Wicked
Makeup and hairstyling
The Substance
Original score
The Brutalist
Original song
El Mal – Emilia Pérez
International feature
I’m Still Here
Sound
Dune: Part Two
Visual effects
Dune: Part Two
Animated feature
Flow
Animated short
In the Shadow of the Cypress
Documentary feature
No Other Land
Documentary short
The Only Girl in the Orchestra
Live action short
I’m Not a Robot
Somebody else had the idea
Other early mentions of the name – making the whole thing even more confusing – came from a Time magazine article about the ceremony in 1934, while other stories cite Walt Disney thanking the Academy for his ‘Oscar’ in 1932. None of which makes it any clearer to us…
Full list of Oscars 2025 nominations
Best Picture
Anora
The Brutalist
A Complete Unknown
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Emilia Pérez
I’m Still Here
Nickel Boys
The Substance
Wicked
Best Director
Sean Baker, Anora
Brady Corbet, The Brutalist
James Mangold, A Complete Unknown
Jacques Audiard, Emilia Pérez
Coralie Fargeat, The Substance
Best Actor
Adrien Brody, The Brutalist
Timothée Chalamet, A Complete Unknown
Colman Domingo, Sing Sing
Ralph Fiennes, Conclave
Sebastian Stan, The Apprentice
Best Actress
Cynthia Erivo, Wicked
Karla Sofía Gascón, Emilia Pérez
Mikey Madison, Anora
Demi Moore, The Substance
Fernanda Torres, I’m Still Here
Best Supporting Actor
Yura Borisov, Anora
Kieran Culkin, A Real Pain
Edward Norton, A Complete Unknown
Guy Pearce, The Brutalist
Jeremy Strong, The Apprentice
Best Supporting Actress
Monica Barbaro, A Complete Unknown
Ariana Grande, Wicked
Felicity Jones, The Brutalist
Isabella Rossellini, Conclave
Zoe Saldaña, Emilia Pérez
Best Original Screenplay
Anora
The Brutalist
A Real Pain
September 5
The Substance
Best Adapted Screenplay
A Complete Unknown
Conclave
Emilia Pérez
Nickel Boys
Sing Sing
Best Animated Feature
Flow
Inside Out 2
Memoir Of A Snail
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
The Wild Robot
Best International Feature Film
I’m Still Here (Brazil)
The Girl With The Needle (Denmark)
Emilia Pérez (France)
The Seed Of The Sacred Fig (Germany)
Flow (Latvia)
Best Documentary Feature Film
Black Box Diaries
No Other Land
Porcelain War
Soundtrack To A Coup D’Etat
Sugarcane
Best Original Score
The Brutalist
Conclave
Emilia Pérez
Wicked
The Wild Robot
Best Original Song
‘El Mal’, Emilia Pérez
‘The Journey’, The Six Triple Eight
‘Like A Bird’, Sing Sing
‘Mi Camino’, Emilia Pérez
‘Never Too Late’, Elton John: Never Too Late
Best Cinematography
The Brutalist
Dune: Part Two
Emilia Pérez
Maria
Nosferatu
Best Editing
Anora
The Brutalist
Conclave
Emilia Pérez
Wicked
Best Sound
A Complete Unknown
Dune: Part Two
Emilia Pérez
Wicked
The Wild Robot
Best Production Design
The Brutalist
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Nosferatu
Wicked
Best Makeup And Hairstyling
A Different Man
Emilia Pérez
Nosferatu
The Substance
Wicked
Best Costume Design
A Complete Unknown
Conclave
Gladiator II
Nosferatu
Wicked
Best Visual Effects
Alien: Romulus
Better Man
Dune: Part Two
Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes
Wicked
Best Documentary Short Film
Death By Numbers
I Am Ready, Warden
Incident
Instruments Of A Beating Heart
The Only Girl In The Orchestra
Best Live-Action Short Film
A Lien
Anuja
I’m Not A Robot
The Last Ranger
The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent
Best Animated Short Film
Beautiful Men
In The Shadow Of The Cypress
Magic Candies
Wander To Wonder
Yuck!
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