Age of the directors who have won the Best Picture award
- The average age for the Oscar winners is 47 (considering the day of the ceremony and the birthdate of the director).
- There are only 3 women on the list: Sian Heder, Chloé Zhao and Katheryn Bigelow.
- Youngest Winner: William A. Wellman in 1927 (1st Edition). He was 32 years old.
- Oldest Winner: Clint Eastwood. He was 74 years old when he won with 'Million Dollar Baby'.
A tick means that a Best Picture Oscar Winner director also won the Best Director award.
- There are only 3 women on the list: Sian Heder, Chloé Zhao and Katheryn Bigelow.
- Youngest Winner: William A. Wellman in 1927 (1st Edition). He was 32 years old.
- Oldest Winner: Clint Eastwood. He was 74 years old when he won with 'Million Dollar Baby'.
A tick means that a Best Picture Oscar Winner director also won the Best Director award.
About this section:
A tick means that a Best Picture winner also won the Best Director award.
The 1st column: year awarded by the Academy. The 4th column: colors: blue: the oldest one. green: the youngest. Interesting facts:
- There are only 3 women on the list: Sian Heder, Chloé Zhao and Katheryn Bigelow.
- The youngest: with 32 years old William A. Wellman won in the 1st Academy Awards (1927). Followed by Coppola at 33.
- The oldest: Clint Eastwood was awarded at 74 years old.
- The most productive age is 44 years old (8 directors won Best Picture).
Outside the list of winners, but including Best Picture/Best Director Oscar nominees, extremes stand out:
- John Huston was 79 years old when he was nominated for 'Prizzi's Honor'.
- John Singleton was 24 years old when he was nominated for Best Director (not Best Picture though) thanks to 'Boyz N the Hood'.
- The youngest Best Picture and Best Director nominee (without winning) was the great Orson Welles, who was nominated for 'Citizen Kane'.
If we consider the Best Director Oscar winners -who did not win Best Picture-, the average age is slightly reduced: 46 (meaning, the average age of the Best Director winners is 46, for Best Picture winners is 47: obviously, in several years it was the same person). Among these winners, the most relevant data are:
- The master, John Ford, won 3 Best Director awards, apart from the one he won in 1942 ('How Green Was my Valley') to collect a total of 4 statuettes (a record still unbeaten) from 5 nominations. He won them in the years 1936, 1941 and 1953 with 42, 47 and 59 years old, respectively.
- The youngest Best Director award winner is Norman Taurog (1931), at 32 years old, the same age (but several months older) as William A. Wellman (1927).
- Summarizing, among the most awarded with Best Director, John Ford has 4 Oscars, William Wyler and Frank Capra have 3, and 17 filmmakers have 2 statuettes, from which only Eastwood, Spielberg, Oliver Stone, Ang Lee, Cuarón and Iñárritu are active.
- Among the most nominated, William Wyler received 12 nominations, Martin Scorsese 10 and Billy Wilder received 8.
- George Stevens (1952, 1957) and Ang Lee (2006, 2013) have 2 Oscars as Best Director, although they never won Best Picture.
A tick means that a Best Picture winner also won the Best Director award.
The 1st column: year awarded by the Academy. The 4th column: colors: blue: the oldest one. green: the youngest. Interesting facts:
- There are only 3 women on the list: Sian Heder, Chloé Zhao and Katheryn Bigelow.
- The youngest: with 32 years old William A. Wellman won in the 1st Academy Awards (1927). Followed by Coppola at 33.
- The oldest: Clint Eastwood was awarded at 74 years old.
- The most productive age is 44 years old (8 directors won Best Picture).
Outside the list of winners, but including Best Picture/Best Director Oscar nominees, extremes stand out:
- John Huston was 79 years old when he was nominated for 'Prizzi's Honor'.
- John Singleton was 24 years old when he was nominated for Best Director (not Best Picture though) thanks to 'Boyz N the Hood'.
- The youngest Best Picture and Best Director nominee (without winning) was the great Orson Welles, who was nominated for 'Citizen Kane'.
If we consider the Best Director Oscar winners -who did not win Best Picture-, the average age is slightly reduced: 46 (meaning, the average age of the Best Director winners is 46, for Best Picture winners is 47: obviously, in several years it was the same person). Among these winners, the most relevant data are:
- The master, John Ford, won 3 Best Director awards, apart from the one he won in 1942 ('How Green Was my Valley') to collect a total of 4 statuettes (a record still unbeaten) from 5 nominations. He won them in the years 1936, 1941 and 1953 with 42, 47 and 59 years old, respectively.
- The youngest Best Director award winner is Norman Taurog (1931), at 32 years old, the same age (but several months older) as William A. Wellman (1927).
- Summarizing, among the most awarded with Best Director, John Ford has 4 Oscars, William Wyler and Frank Capra have 3, and 17 filmmakers have 2 statuettes, from which only Eastwood, Spielberg, Oliver Stone, Ang Lee, Cuarón and Iñárritu are active.
- Among the most nominated, William Wyler received 12 nominations, Martin Scorsese 10 and Billy Wilder received 8.
- George Stevens (1952, 1957) and Ang Lee (2006, 2013) have 2 Oscars as Best Director, although they never won Best Picture.