History

5 Wisconsinites Who Won Big on Oscar Night

Tom Giffey |

Mr. Welles
Mr. Welles

1. Orson Welles

The legendary actor, director, and writer who made one of Hollywood’s greatest films, Citizen Kane, was born in Kenosha and attended school for a time in Madison. He won an Academy Award in 1941 for Best Original Screenplay (for Kane) as well as an honorary Oscar in 1970. While he spent most of his life outside the state, Welles did contemplate running for U.S. Senate from Wisconsin in 1946.

2. John Ridley

Wisconsin’s most recent Oscar-winner is Ridley, who was born in Milwaukee and raised in suburban Mequon. He came home with a golden statuette in 2014 for Best Adapted Screenplay for the film 12 Years a Slave, which also won Best Picture that year. His other credits include helping write films such as Three Kings as well as the upcoming remake of Ben-Hur.

Actor Spencer Tracy, shown here with little known actress Katharine Hepburn.
Actor Spencer Tracy, shown here with little known actress Katharine Hepburn.

3. Spencer Tracy

If it’s an honor just to be nominated, Spencer Tracy was honored a whole lot by the Academy: His nine Best Actor nominations are tied for a record, and the two he did win – for Captains Courageous in 1938 and Boys Town in 1939 – make him the only man to earn back-to-back Oscars. Tracy was born and raised in Milwaukee and attended Ripon College before leaving to pursue an acting career.

4. Jim Rygiel

He may not have the name recognition of others on the list, but Jim Rygiel has more Oscars than any of them. The Wisconsin native has won three – yes, three – Academy Awards for Best Visual Effects, one for each of the Lord of the Rings movies. The Kenosha native is also a UW-Milwaukee alum.

Jim Rygiel
Jim Rygiel

5. Don Ameche

And speaking of Kenosha, that’s also the birthplace of Don Ameche, whose film career spanned the 1930s to the 1990s. Ameche attended both Marquette University and UW-Madison (Fun fact: his cousin, Alan Ameche, won the Heisman Trophy playing for the Badgers) before hitting the vaudeville circuit and then Hollywood. He won his Oscar for playing a mystically rejuvenated retiree in Cocoon.