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JWR VerifiedJWR-2026-000202

First Jewish Winner of the Academy Award for Best Actor

Record holder

Paul MuniPerson

Record value

4 March 1937

Country represented: United StatesAchievement location: Los Angeles, California, United StatesAchievement date: 4 March 1937Current record

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Portrait of Jewish American actor Paul Muni.

Paul Muni, photographed by Carl Van Vechten in 1932.Carl Van Vechten / Library of Congress / Wikimedia CommonsSourcePublic Domain

Official record definition

The earliest Jewish performer to win the Academy Award for Actor in a Leading Role / Best Actor.

Measurement methodology

Chronological review of Academy Best Actor winners from the inaugural ceremony through 1937 combined with Jewish identity verification.

Record story

Paul Muni became the "First Jewish Winner of the Academy Award for Best Actor" on 4 March 1937. The achievement was marked at the 9th Academy Awards in Los Angeles, California, where he won the award for Actor in a Leading Role for his performance in the film The Story of Louis Pasteur.

Born Meshilem Meier Weisenfreund, Muni was a prominent Jewish American stage and film actor. His Jewish identity was noted in contemporary reports from the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, which described him as a famous Jewish American actor with a family background in Yiddish theatre. The basis for this 'first' record is a chronological review of the Academy's Best Actor winners from the inaugural ceremony through to the 1937 event, which confirmed Muni as the earliest qualifying Jewish recipient of the honour.

Media

How JWR verified this record

Verification date
26 September 2026
Verification standard
JWR Verification Standard 1.0

Achievement evidence

The Academy's 1937 ceremony page lists Paul Muni as the Best Actor winner for The Story of Louis Pasteur.

Superiority evidence

Review of the Best Actor chronology through 1937 identifies Muni as the first winner meeting JWR Jewish eligibility; JTA explicitly identifies him as Jewish.

Jewish Eligibility — Verified by JWR

Jewish eligibility verification

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

  • Funeral Services Tomorrow for Paul Muni — Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Achievement / record verification

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

  • The 9th Academy Awards — 1937 — Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
  • Paulmuni image — Wikimedia Commons — Library of Congress / Wikimedia Commons

Superiority / counter-candidate verification

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

  • Academy Best Actor chronology through 1937 — Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

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

  • The 9th Academy Awards — 1937

    Official recordAcademy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

    What this proves: Confirms Paul Muni as Best Actor winner for The Story of Louis Pasteur.

  • Funeral Services Tomorrow for Paul Muni

    Independent publicationJewish Telegraphic Agency

    What this proves: Explicitly describes Paul Muni as a famous Jewish American actor and gives his Yiddish-theatre family background.

  • Academy Best Actor chronology through 1937

    Official recordAcademy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

    What this proves: Used with the Academy's prior ceremony pages to establish Muni as the earliest qualifying Jewish Best Actor winner.

  • Paulmuni image — Wikimedia Commons

    Reference databaseLibrary of Congress / Wikimedia Commons

    What this proves: Documents Carl Van Vechten's 1932 portrait and public-domain/no-known-restrictions status.

History

  1. Verified

    Verified according to JWR Verification Standard 1.0.

  2. Publishedv1

    Published to the official JWR registry.

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