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JWR VerifiedFounding RecordJWR-2026-000030

Most Academy Awards (Oscars) Won by a Jewish Person

Record holder

Alfred NewmanPerson

Record value

9 Academy Awards

Country represented: United StatesAchievement location: Santa Monica, California, United StatesAchievement date: 10 April 1968Current record

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Alfred Newman

Alfred NewmanNationaal Archief / Wikimedia CommonsSourceCC0 1.0

Official record definition

The greatest number of competitive Academy Awards personally won by an individual who satisfies the JWR Jewish Eligibility Standard, regardless of gender or award category.

Measurement methodology

Official Academy career-win count combined with Jewish-eligibility review and cross-category counter-search.

Measurement point: personally credited competitive Academy Awards across all award categories

Record story

American film composer, conductor, and arranger Alfred Newman holds the record for the most Academy Awards won by a Jewish person, with a career total of "9 Academy Awards". The achievement was established on 10 April 1968 when he received his ninth Oscar. This award was for his work on the film Camelot and was presented at the 40th Academy Awards ceremony in Santa Monica, California. The record measures the greatest number of personally credited competitive Academy Awards won by a single eligible individual across all categories.

Newman's career in film music resulted in numerous accolades, with his nine competitive wins accumulated over several decades. Among his earlier awards were those for films such as The Song of Bernadette in 1944 and another confirmed win in 1948, which contribute to his overall total. A review of official Academy Award statistics across all categories confirms that Alfred Newman's nine wins represent the verified maximum for a Jewish person. He is ranked first among all composer and songwriter Oscar winners.

Media

How JWR verified this record

Verification date
9 September 2026
Verification standard
JWR Verification Standard 1.0

Achievement evidence

Alfred Newman accumulated nine competitive Academy Awards for film music; his ninth came for Camelot at the 40th Academy Awards in 1968.

Superiority evidence

JWR's cross-category review identifies Alfred Newman's nine competitive Academy Awards as the verified maximum among eligible Jewish individuals.

Jewish Eligibility — Verified by JWR

Jewish eligibility verification

Evidence establishing that the holder qualifies as Jewish for JWR purposes.

  • Alfred Newman and the Newman film-music family — The Forward

Achievement / record verification

Evidence establishing that the holder achieved the result and holds the record as defined.

  • 1968 Academy Awards — Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
  • 1944 Academy Awards — Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
  • 1948 Academy Awards — Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

Superiority / counter-candidate verification

Evidence comparing the result with other candidates relevant to the record claim.

  • Oscar: Music stats — Award Stats

Jewish eligibility, achievement and superiority evidence retain their separate classifications and are never merged. Context and provenance are not presented as proof of the achievement. Restricted evidence and internal research notes are never published. Learn more about the seven-stage process on the verification page.

Sources & Verification

  • 1968 Academy Awards

    Official recordAcademy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences· 10 April 1968

    What this proves: Confirms Alfred Newman's 1968 win for Camelot and the achievement date.

  • Alfred Newman and the Newman film-music family

    Independent publicationThe Forward· 17 January 2020

    What this proves: Supports Alfred Newman's Jewish family background and film-music career context.

  • 1944 Academy Awards

    Official recordAcademy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

    What this proves: Confirms an early Alfred Newman competitive Academy Award win for The Song of Bernadette.

  • Oscar: Music stats

    Reference databaseAward Stats

    What this proves: Ranks Alfred Newman first among composer/songwriter Oscar winners at nine, ahead of Alan Menken at eight.

  • 1948 Academy Awards

    Official recordAcademy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

    What this proves: Confirms another Alfred Newman competitive Academy Award win in his career total.

  • Alfred Newman portrait

    Reference databaseWikimedia Commons

    What this proves: Confirms the selected public-domain image file and provenance.

History

  1. Verified

    Verified according to JWR Verification Standard 1.0.

  2. Publishedv1

    Published to the official JWR registry.

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