By Neia Balao
11:00am PDT, Mar 12, 2023
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In honor of the 95th Annual Academy Awards on March 12, 2023, we're taking a look back at some of our favorite stars' first and earliest Oscars appearances…
Angelina Jolie was 10 when she attended the Oscars for the first time — with dad Jon Voight (who was up for best actor for his work in "Runaway Train") and brother James Haven — in 1986. Fourteen years later, she won an Oscar for best supporting actress for her performance in "Girl, Interrupted."
Keep reading for more stars at their first Oscars ceremonies…
MORE: Worst Oscars fashion of all time
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A young Leonardo DiCaprio? Be still our hearts! Leo made his Academy Awards debut in 1994 when he was 19. In 2016, he finally took home an Oscar himself — best actor for his performance in "The Revenant" — after six nominations.
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Kate Winslet made her Oscars debut at the 68th Annual Academy Awards in 1996. The fresh-faced English actress hit the red carpet in a pink gown an fuchsia shawl, and if this silhouette doesn't scream '90s then we don't know what does! That year, the British star was nominated for best supporting actress for her performance in the film adaptation of Jane Austen's "Sense and Sensibility."
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Look at this former couple, who were both Oscar newbies when they attended together! Brad Pitt made his Academy Awards debut in 1992 with then-girlfriend Juliette Lewis, who was also a first-time Academy Awards attendee as well as a nominee that year for her performance in "Cape Fear." Four years later in 1996, Brad was back when he scored a best supporting actor nomination for his work in "12 Monkeys."
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Cute! Co-stars Winona Ryder and Christian Slater made their Academy Awards debuts together in 1989 just three days before the U.S. release of their dark teen comedy "Heathers." Winona has since earned two Oscar nods.
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After starring in "Girl with a Pearl Earring" and "Lost in Translation" just one year prior, Scarlett Johansson had justifiably earned her invitation to the star-studded event. ScarJo made her Oscars debut at the 76th Annual Academy Awards in 2004, in a fitted green satin gown. In 2020, she finally became a nominee herself, scoring an almost unheard of two nods in the same year: best lead actress for her performance in "Marriage Story" and best supporting actress for her work in "Jojo Rabbit."
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Baby Drew is everything! Following the release of "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial," 8-year-old Drew Barrymore made her first Academy Awards appearance at the 1983 Oscars ceremony.
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Jennifer Lawrence made her Academy Awards debut at 20 in 2011. That year, the actress — who looked gorgeous in a bright red Calvin Klein gown — earned her first nod for best actress for her performance in "Winter's Bone."
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Dakota Johnson is no stranger to the Academy Awards! Long before her own acting career took off, she attended the 2000 event with her actress mom, Melanie Griffith, and then-stepdad Antonio Banderas when she was 10.
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Laura Dern was just 8 years old the first time she went to the Oscars. It was 1975 and her mother, Diane Ladd, was nominated for best supporting actress for her work in "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore." Young Laura went on to score a few nominations of her own in the decades that followed. After earning nods for her work in 1992's "Rambling Rose" and 2015's "Wild," Laura won a best supporting actress Oscar for her performance in "Marriage Story" in 2020 — and her mom as well as her own children were there to witness it.
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Claire Danes looked dreamy in teal blue when she made her Academy Awards debut in 1997. The young actress, who starred as Juliet Capulet in Baz Luhrmann's "Romeo + Juliet" the previous year, was 17 when she first attended the big award show.
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In 2010, just three months before the release of "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse," a 19-year-old Kristen Stewart attended her first Academy Awards ceremony. Twelve years later, Kristen became a nominee herself: She's up for best actress for her portrayal of the late Princess Diana in "Spencer" at the 2022 show.
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Andrew Garfield was a first-time Academy Awards attendee in 2011 following the success of "The Social Network," in which he appeared. In 2022, he earned a best actor nomination for his starring portrayal as Jonathan Larson in "Tick, Tick… Boom!"
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Charlize Theron stunned in tangerine as she made her Oscars debut at the 72nd Annual Academy Awards in 2000. That evening, she presented the trophy for best original score with Keanu Reeves. The South African star would go on to win the Academy Award for best actress in 2004 for her portrayal of serial killer Aileen Wuornos.
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Following the success of "Legally Blonde," Reese Witherspoon stunned in a black lace-trimmed gown as she attended her first Academy Awards ceremony in 2002. Reese earned an Oscar for best actress for her performance in "Walk the Line" four years after making her debut at the show.
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Lupita Nyong'o made her Academy Awards debut in 2014, in an ethereal light blue gown. That night, she also snagged her first Oscar win, taking home the prize for best supporting actress for her work in "12 Years a Slave."
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Penelope Cruz made her Academy Awards debut in 2005 in a stunning strapless yellow Oscar de la Renta gown. This year, the 2009 Oscar winner is up for best actress for her starring performance in "Parallel Mothers."
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Adam Driver was a first-time attendee at the 2019 Academy Awards. He made his Oscars debut with wife Joanne Tucker by his side. That year, the former "Girls" star was nominated for best supporting actor for his work in Spike Lee's "BlacKkKlansman." He scored another nod a year later for his work in "Marriage Story."
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Nicole Kidman made her Oscars debut with then-husband Tom Cruise back in 1991. The Australian actress went on to score four Academy Awards nominations and a win for her performance in "The Hours" in 2003.
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Julia Stiles made her Academy Awards debut in 2001 a few days shy of her 20th birthday. The "10 Things I Hate About You" actress stunned in a slinky silver gown by Vera Wang.
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Sylvester Stallone attended his first Academy Awards back in 1977 where the actor-writer had quite the successful debut. That evening, he took home Oscars for best original screenplay and best actor for his work in "Rocky." In 2016, Sly also garnered a nomination for best supporting actor for his performance as the same well-intentioned former boxer in "Creed."
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Lucy Liu looked like a total goddess in a Versace gown when she made her Academy Awards debut in 2000 — the same year her blockbuster film "Charlie's Angels" hit theaters.
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In 2002, Kirsten Dunst made her first appearance at the Academy Awards in a pink sequined frock by John Galliano. Twenty years later in 2022, she was up for her first Oscar — best supporting actress for her performance in "The Power of the Dog."
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In 1990, Julia Roberts made her first-ever Academy Awards appearance! The same year, she was up for best supporting actress for her performance in "Steel Magnolias." Though she didn't take home the Oscar that evening, the "Pretty Woman" star would go on to win best actress in 2001 for "Erin Brockovich."
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A Canadian hunk with his biggest supporters! At the 2007 Academy Awards, Ryan Gosling hit the red carpet with mom Donna and sister Mandi. That evening, he was up for best actor for his performance in 2006's "Half Nelson."
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Benedict Cumberbatch made his Oscars debut in 2014. Impressively enough, he went on to earn two best actor nominations: the first for "The Imitation Game" in 2015 and the second for "The Power of the Dog" in 2022.
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This adorable little girl is Saoirse Ronan! In 2008 when she was just 14, the Irish-American actress made her Academy Awards debut the year she was nominated for best supporting actress for her performance in "Atonement." Saoirse would go on to garner three best actress nominations — for her work in "Brooklyn" in 2016, "Lady Bird" in 2018 and "Little Women" in 2020.
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Actress-turned-filmmaker Greta Gerwig made her Oscars debut in 2018 when she was nominated for two Academy Awards — best director and best original screenplay for her coming-of-age film "Lady Bird."
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Timothée Chalamet was both a first-time attendee and nominee at the 2018 Academy Awards, where he was up for best actor for his performance in "Call Me by Your Name." At 22, he was the youngest actor to be nominated in that category in nearly 80 years.
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In 2012, Jessica Chastain made her first appearance at the Academy Awards. It was the year she was nominated for best supporting actress for her performance in "The Help." She's since earned two best actress nods — most recently in 2022 for her work in "The Eyes of Tammy Faye."
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Alicia Vikander made her Academy Awards debut in 2013. The "Danish Girl" actress opted for an elegant confection by Elie Saab Couture that evening.
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Daniel Kaluuya is another Hollywood star who made his Academy Awards debut in 2018. That year, he was a best actor nominee for is performance in Jordan Peele's "Get Out."
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To say that 1998 was a good year for this duo would be an absolute understatement! Best friends Matt Damon and Ben Affleck won big at their first Academy Awards ceremony — the writing duo took home the prize for best original screenplay for "Good Will Hunting." That year, Matt was also nominated for best actor for his performance in the film.
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Jenny from the block has certainly known how to dress for red carpets since way back when! Jennifer Lopez made her first Oscars appearance in 1997 looking like an Old Hollywood goddess in this glitzy gown. Her breakout film, "Selena," hit theaters on March 27, 1997 — just three days after she made her Academy Awards debut.
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Margot Robbie made her Academy Awards debut in 2014 after delivering a breakout performance in Martin Scorsese's "The Wolf of Wall Street." The naturally blonde Australian actress was sporting dark brown hair at the time as she was filming "Z is for Zachariah." She went on to score two Oscar nominations for her work in "I, Tonya" in 2018 and "Bombshell" in 2020.
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Renee Zellweger made her first Oscars appearance in 1999 and looked stunning in a sultry satin gown! The actress — who has four Oscar nominations in total — took home an Academy Award for best supporting actress in 2004 for her work in Anthony Minghella's epic war flick "Cold Mountain."
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Viola Davis wore a gorgeous gold gown when she made her Oscars debut back in 2009. That year, she was up for best supporting actress for her performance in "Doubt." While she didn't take home the award that night, she was nominated for best actress in 2012 for her work in "The Help" and in 2017 won the best supporting actress prize for her performance in "Fences."
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Amy Adams made her Academy Awards debut in 2006. The star — who stunned in a chocolate brown Carolina Herrera confection — received a nomination that year for best supporting actress for her performance in "Junebug."
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Joaquin Phoenix made his Academy Awards debut in 2001. He's racked up an impressive four nominations over the years: three for best actor for his work in "Walk the Line," "The Master" and "Joker" and one for best supporting actor for "Gladiator."
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Writer-director Jordan Peele made more than his Academy Awards debut in 2018 — he made history too! That evening, the first-time filmmaker took home the award for best original screenplay for "Get Out," making him the first black writer to ever win in that category.
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Cate Blanchett made her Academy Awards debut in 1999, the same year she received her first nomination (for best actress for her work in "Elizabeth"). Though she didn't win, Cate would go on to snag two Oscars in the years that followed: In 2005, she took home a best supporting actress statue for her performance in "The Aviator" and in 2014, she won a best actress Oscar for her work in "Blue Jasmine."
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Acting legend Meryl Streep made her Academy Awards debut back in 1979 when she was 29. That year, she was a first-time attendee as well as a first-time nominee for her performance in "The Deer Hunter." Meryl — a 21-time Oscar nominee — would go on to win the first of her three Academy Awards a year later for her work in "Kramer vs. Kramer."
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We love a good throwback photo of Tom Hanks! Before his plethora of accolades, Tom made his Oscars debut at the 1987 Academy Awards where he presented with Bugs Bunny. Tom would go on to garner six Academy Award nominations over the years. He's won twice, first in 1994 for his work in "Philadelphia" and again in 1995 for his performance in "Forrest Gump."
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Emma Stone made her Academy Awards debut back in 2012 when she presented the award for best visual effects with Ben Stiller. She received her invitation to the star-studded ceremony following the success of her 2011 film "Crazy, Stupid, Love." In 2017, she took home a best actress Oscar for her performance in "La La Land."
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Four-time nominee Michelle Williams made her Oscars debut at the 78th Annual Academy Awards in 2006, when she was nominated for her performance in "Brokeback Mountain" alongside then-boyfriend Heath Ledger.
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Natalie Portman made her first Academy Awards appearance in 2005 — the same year she was nominated for best supporting actress for her work in "Closer." Six years later, she won an Oscar for her performance in "Black Swan."
