Excitingly, the 2026 Oscars saw a number of performers and filmmakers picking up those iconic gold statuettes for the first time – some of whom are relatively early on in their careers, and others who’ve been waiting a long time to win an Academy Award.

While One Battle After Another and Sinners were the two biggest success stories of the night, there were plenty of other movies whose cast and crew picked up awards during Sunday night’s ceremony.

Here are just seven first-time winners from this year’s Oscars…

After a clean sweep at awards season this year, Jessie Buckley rounded things off with a win in the Best Actress category for her performance in the heartbreaking drama Hamnet.

The Irish performer had one Oscar nomination to her name already this year, off the back of her work in the Maggie Gyllenhaal movie The Lost Daughter, in which she played the younger version of Olivia Colman’s character.

The Best Actor category was one of the most open contests in the lead-up to the 2026 Oscars, but in the end, Sinners star Michael B Jordan beat stiff competition from Leonardo DiCaprio, Timothée Chalamet, Ethan Hawke and Wagner Moura to the prize.

Michael’s win was one of the night’s most emotional moments, following his performance as twins Smoke and Stack in the hugely popular musical vampire thriller.

Amy Madigan achieved something really rare at the 2026 Oscars, winning an Academy Award for playing a horror character, after stealing the show in last year’s Weapons thanks to her work as Aunt Gladys.

Before this year, Amy had earned one Oscar nomination previously, back in 1986, for the film Twice In A Lifetime.

Earlier this year, she broke the record for the longest gap between two nominations at the Academy Awards, joking on stage: “Everybody’s asking me in the press, ‘well, it’s been 40 years, what’s different about this time?’. What’s different is I got this little gold guy!”

Back in January, Sinners made Oscars history when it received more nominations than any other film since the Academy Awards started.

While sadly, it didn’t end up becoming the night’s top winner when the ceremony came around, it did pick up a respectable four awards, including Best Original Screenplay for Ryan Coogler.

Ryan’s first nomination was in 2020 as a producer on the Best Picture nominee Judas And The Black Messiah, with another following two years later for his work on the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever soundtrack.

“You make a guy work hard for one of these!” Paul Thomas Anderson joked during his first speech at Sunday night’s Oscars, quickly adding: “I really appreciate it.”

It’s been almost 30 years since Paul was first nominated for an Oscar as the director of Boogie Nights, consistently racking up more nods for movies like Inherent Vice, Phantom Thread and There Will Be Blood, none of which translated into a win until this year.

Of One Battle Another Another’s six wins, half of them were for Paul himself, who picked up three awards for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay.

One of Sinners’ wins was in the Best Cinematography category.

Not only was this Autumn Durald Arkapaw’s first time winning an Oscar, it was the first time any female artist has triumphed in this category, which was not lost on the creator, who invited all of the women in the room to stand up with her to commemorate the moment.

What movie fans might not realise is that the Best International Feature Film prize doesn’t just go to filmmakers, but to actual countries.

So, this year’s triumph for Sentimental Value marks the first time a Norwegian film has won in this category – technically marking the first time Norway itself has received an Oscar, as well as its director, Joachim Trier.

Check out the full list of winners from the 2026 Oscars here.

In the lead-up to this year’s Oscars, it looked like the Best Actor prize could have gone in one of several directions, after previous wins for Timothée Chalamet, Wagner Moura and Michael B Jordan at various awards shows over the last few months.

At Sunday night’s Academy Awards, it was Sinners star Michael who came out on top, in one of the night’s most memorable and emotionally-charged moments.

The US star was visibly stunned when his name was called by last year’s recipient Adrien Brody, first pausing to share the moment with his mum, who was seated to his right, before being wrapped up in a hug by Sinners director Ryan Coogler.

He and co-star Delroy Lindo then also shared a moment before Michael headed up to the stage to collect his award – but what really came across was just how much love there was for the Black Panther star from the whole auditorium.

Meanwhile, in his acceptance speech, he paid homage to the Black performers who have won Oscars for their leading performances in the past, name-checking Sidney Poitier, Denzel Washington, Halle Berry, Jamie Foxx, Forest Whitaker and Will Smith.

Michael played twins Smoke and Stack in Ryan Coogler’s Sinners, which made Oscars history as the most-nominated film ever at the Academy Awards.

In the end, it triumphed in an impressive four categories in total, but One Battle After Another was the year’s big winner, picking up six awards including Best Director for Paul Thomas Anderson and the coveted Best Picture prize.

Sean Penn also won his third Oscar on Sunday night for his work in One Battle After Another (but didn’t attend to accept it in person), while the hotly-contested Best Supporting Actress went to Amy Madigan for Weapons, over One Battle After Another’s Teyana Taylor and Sinners’ Wunmi Mosaku, as well as Sentimental Value’s Elle Fanning and Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas.

Meanwhile, Frankenstein came away with three technical prizes, and family favourite KPop Demon Hunters won two awards in total.

Take a look at our round-up of all the winners from the 2026 Oscars here.

While her sense of humour is perhaps not the first thing that comes to mind when most of us think of Anna Wintour, she certainly managed to raise a smile while presenting at the 2026 Oscars.

Early on in Sunday night’s ceremony, the long-time Vogue editor came on stage to present two awards with Anne Hathaway.

Anne, of course, is the star of The Devil Wears Prada and its upcoming sequel, both of which feature the character Miranda Priestly, heavily rumoured to have been inspired by Anna.

Introducing the Best Costume Design prize, the Oscar winner told the audience: “A character’s costume is key to telling a story.

“One could argue that one’s wardrobe in real life is also key. Does it make one appear elegant and attractive on, say, the most important night in Hollywood, and say when the most important people in fashion will be judging how one looks?”

Turning to her co-host, she continued: “Anna, just curious, what do you think of my dress tonight?”

By way of response, Anna simply donned her sunglasses and declared: “And the nominees are…”

Following this, the duo then announced the winners for Best Makeup And Hairstyling, with Anna intentionally misnaming her co-presenter “Emily” in an even more explicit nod to The Devil Wears Prada.

In the original Devil Wears Prada film and the new follow-up, Meryl Streep plays Miranda Priestly, the editor of the fictitious Runway magazine, whose look and mannerisms have sparked comparisons with Anna Wintour for two decades now.

Last year, the award-winning journalist and Met Gala organised claimed: “I went to the [Devil Wears Prada] premiere wearing Prada, completely having no idea what the film was going to be about.

“I think that the fashion industry was very sweetly concerned for me about the film that it was gonna paint me in some kind of difficult light.”

Praising Meryl’s “fantastic” work in the movie, she then insisted: “I found [the film] highly enjoyable and very funny. It had a lot of humour to it, it had a lot of wit.

“I mean, [the actors are] all amazing. And in the end, I thought it was a fair shot.”

Take a look at the full list of winners from the 2026 Oscars here.

Before the weekend, there had only ever been six ties at the Oscars.

However, on Sunday night, movie history was made when a seventh occurred.

During this year’s ceremony, Marvel star Kumail Nanjiani was welcomed to the stage to announce the winner in the Best Live Action Short category.

After opening the envelope, he revealed that two of the nominees had received the same number of votes from Academy members, meaning they’d each be awarded an Oscar.

“It’s a tie!” he exclaimed, before assuring the audience: “I’m not joking! It’s actually a tie, so everyone calm down!”

He then explained that he’d be announcing the winners one at a time, first welcoming the producers of The Singers to the stage before the crew behind Two People Exchanging Saliva collected theirs.

Uncomfortably, during the latter, the Oscars team attempted to cut the team’s acceptance speech short, before the night’s host Conan O’Brien then encouraged them to continue.

The Oscars’ most famous tie came in 1969, when screen icon Katharine Hepburn and then-newcomer Barbra Streisand split the win for Best Actress for their performances in The Lion In Winter and Funny Girl.

Back in 1932, the first tie at the Oscars came during the awards show’s fifth year, when Fredric March and Wallace Beery were both named Best Actor.

Technically, the former had received one more vote than the latter, but at this time, a rule was in place meaning that anyone within three votes of the winner would also receive an award.

So Much For So Little and A Chance To Live then split Best Documentary Short in 1950, while a similar draw occurred 37 years later when the features Artie Shaw: Time Is All You’ve Got and Down And Out In America got the same number of votes in the Best Documentary Feature category.

Trevor and Franz Kafka’s It’s A Wonderful Life were the two winners in the Best Live-Action Short category in the mid-1990s, while the latest tie was just over a decade ago, in 2013, with Zero Dark Thirty and Skyfall winning Best Sound Editing.

Check out the full list of winners from the 2026 Oscars here.

Amy Madigan has gone and done the unthinkable – and actually won an Oscar for a horror movie performance.

The veteran actor well and truly stole the show in the 2025 horror film Weapons, creating an iconic and deeply sinister character in Aunt Gladys and inspiring no end of Halloween costumes in the process.

Following an awards season that’s seen Best Supporting Actress prizes going out in a variety of directions, Amy came out on top during Sunday night’s Oscars – joining a rare group of actors including Anthony Hopkins, Ruth Gordon and Kathy Bates who’ve picked up Academy Awards for their horror characters.

In the past, the Academy has been notoriously reluctant to recognise horror performances, with many undeservedly losing out on the night – and others failing to secure a nomination at all.

As we celebrate Amy’s success, here are 13 more performances that deserved more love from the Oscars…

From the moment we first heard about Demi Moore’s performance in the graphic body horror The Substance, we were already intrigued, and when it finally hit cinemas last year, we couldn’t shout loud enough about how good she was in it.

Over 2025′s awards season, Demi won a Golden Globe, Actor Award and Critics’ Choice Award for her work in The Substance, before finally securing her first Oscar nomination more than 40 years into her career.

In the end, Demi’s work wound up being added to the long list of incredible performances that deserved an Oscar only to miss out – but there’s no question that her nomination marked a huge win for horror recognition at the Oscars.

This is the Oscars snub that horror fans will be banging on about for eternity – and with good reason.

Ari Aster’s first ever feature film Hereditary takes you on a truly wild ride (we’re still recovering from it seven years later, to be honest with you), and at the centre of it all is Toni Collette’s unbelievable performance.

With her role as tortured matriarch Annie Graham, she brings the deeply unsettling story to life, and showcases her unparalleled versatility as an actor with a performance that takes her character through every emotion under the sun, from unsettled to heartbroken to terrified to furious. And let’s not even talk about that iconic dinner party scene.

Frankly, Toni has been snubbed at the Oscars too many times to count at this point – but it’s interesting that her only nomination to date was actually for her performance in a horror film, when she was recognised for her work in The Sixth Sense.

Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall’s work in Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining might now be widely considered two of the finest and most unnerving performances in horror history, but they weren’t so well-received at the time.

Though the reception to the Stephen King adaptation grew warmer as the years went on, critics were pretty lukewarm on it at the time, with Shelley even earning a Worst Actress nomination at the Razzies following its release.

In 2022, this was finally rescinded by the Razzies, who apologised publicly to Shelley Duvall, after learning of director Kubrick’s alleged treatment towards her on set.

There are a few things we think of when someone mentions Psycho. Those infamous high-pitched strings during the iconic shower sequence. The image of the Bates Motel looming in the distance. And, of course, Anthony Perkins’ unsettling portrayal of serial killer Norman Bates.

While Psycho itself was nominated for a string of Oscars the year after its release – including an acting nod for Janet Leigh and Best Director recognition for Alfred Hitchcock – curiously, Anthony Perkins did not make the shortlist for his work in Psycho, despite his portrayal of the slowly unravelling Norman Bates playing such a part in what makes the movie so gripping.

Daniel Kaluuya managed a rare feat for the lead in a horror film in 2017 and actually got nominated for an Oscar, which is a testament to the strength of both his performance and the strength of Get Out in general.

But despite getting awards love from the Golden Globes, Baftas, SAG Awards and Academy Awards, none of these translated to a win.

Absolutely no offence to Gary Oldman, or his performance as Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour, but as the years go on, it’s becoming clearer which performance is most likely to stand the test of time…

Daniel did eventually pick up an Oscar of his own just three years later, though, thanks to his work in Judas And The Black Messiah.

Like Daniel, both Sissy Spacek and her on-screen mum Piper Laurie were both nominated for Oscars for their work in the horror classic Carrie.

Neither of their nominations transferred into a win, but there’s no denying that with her performance, Sissy created an iconic movie character for the ages that we’re still talking about 50 years after the film’s original release.

We’ve already touched on Toni Collette’s much-lauded performance in Hereditary, but there’s another female lead in an Ari Aster project that deserves to be shouted about, too.

In fact, Florence Pugh’s Midsommar performance could well be considered the “yin” to Toni in Hereditary’s “yang”. Both films centre around women who suffer traumatic life events, and struggle to cope as the world around them becomes increasingly more unsettling, although while the latter is shrouded in darkness and shadow, the former takes place in broad sunshine, making the unfolding horror all the more jarring.

The year after Midsommar, Florence did score an Oscar nomination for her performance in Greta Gerwig’s Little Women, which probably scuppered her chances of a Best Actress nod for the horror film, which is a bit of a shame, as her emotionally-charged work in Ari Aster’s film was every bit as deserving, if not more.

Often cited as one of the best horror films of all time, Rosemary’s Baby landed two Oscar nominations following its release, including a Best Supporting Actress win for Ruth Gordon.

But given everything she had to do in the title role, it feels a little surprising in the present day that the Academy would go as far as celebrating Rosemary’s Baby back in 1969, without actually giving its leading star Mia Farrow a nomination.

By the time Jordan Peele’s follow-up to Get Out came along, the world was ready for more from the Oscar-winning screenwriter, particularly as Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o was on double duty playing two halves of the same whole.

Now, we appreciate that audiences and critics didn’t quite take to Us in the same way they did to Get Out, but we stand by it being an excellent film, and for everything Lupita was able to do with two completely opposing characters, we still think it’s a shame she never secured her second Oscar nomination for it.

Interestingly, her peers in the Screen Actors’ Guild did nominate for her performance that year, though the Best Actress title would ultimately end up going to Renée Zellweger for Judy, as did the Oscar.

Say what you want about Heretic (to be honest, we still think of it as one of our biggest cinema disappointments of 2024, after a trailer that promised so much), but there’s no arguing with Hugh Grant’s transformative performance as the chilling Mr Reed, putting his charm to work in ways we never saw in his many rom-coms of yore.

While Hugh did secure recognition at the Baftas and Golden Globes earlier this year, that Best Actor category was especially stacked in 2025, meaning plenty of deserving actors missed out on a place, including the former Love Actually star.

The Fly may have won an Oscar in the Best Makeup category back in 1987 (which, interestingly enough, was fellow sci-fi body horror The Substance’s only win in 2025), but its Saturn Award-winning lead performance from Jeff Goldblum did not transfer to an Oscar nomination.

We get it, a film about a half-man, half-fly was always going to be a hard sell to the Academy, but Jeff’s performance is still being talked about almost 40 years later.

Despite his expansive career, the Wicked star has, in fact, never been nominated for an Oscar for acting, although he was nominated as the director of the short film Little Surprises in the mid-1990s.

It’s been seven years, and we’re still not sure we understand exactly what went on in Luca Guadagnino’s remake of Suspiria. But what we do remember is that Tilda Swinton played about 20 different characters, disappearing into each role as flawlessly as you’d expect, and received absolutely zip the following awards season.

Despite four Golden Globe nods and three from the Baftas, Tilda has just one Oscar nomination to her name, which was the same year she won for Michael Clayton.

Every year, the Oscars ceremony features some of our favourite film stars, directors, writers and even musicians accepting one of the most prestigious cinema awards there is in front of their peers.

The 2025 Academy Awards gave us first-time victories for stars like Kieran Culkin, Zoe Saldaña, Mikey Madison and filmmaker Sean Baker – but sadly, there’s only space for one winner per category each year, meaning there are still many deserving actors who’ve missed out, time and time again.

Here are 25 of the Hollywood stars still working today who, somehow, still have an Oscar-shaped space on their mantelpiece…

Considered by many to be “the new Leonardo DiCaprio” when it comes to the Oscars, Amy Adams has been nominated for six Academy Awards, most recently in 2019, only to leave empty-handed every year.

The good news for Amy is that Leo got his win on his sixth nomination, so if she really is following in his footsteps, she shouldn’t have to wait too much longer.

Glenn Close holds the dubious distinction of being the living actor who has the most Oscar nominations without a win.

As of 2026, the esteemed performer has been nominated for an Academy Award a whopping eight times, but has never come out on top.

Her most recent nomination came in 2021, with a nod in the Best Supporting Actress category for her performance in the divisive Netflix offering Hillbilly Elegy – a role that also landed the Fatal Attraction star a Razzie nomination for Worst Supporting Actress.

Despite more than 50 years (!!!) in the entertainment industry, Samuel L Jackson has landed just one Oscar nomination in his career.

Back in 1994, he was on the Best Supporting Actor shortlist for playing Jules Winnfield in Pulp Fiction. He lost out to Martin Landau on the night, and hasn’t been nominated again since.

However, it’s worth pointing out that he did win an Honorary Academy Award in 2021, after being recognised as a “cultural icon whose dynamic work has resonated across genres and generations and audiences worldwide”.

Between acting, directing, producing and screenwriting, Bradley Cooper has scored a whopping 12 Oscar nominations – including two as recently as 2024 for his work on the film Maestro.

When it comes to just his on-screen performances, he’s been recognised for his roles in American Hustle, American Sniper, A Star Is Born and the aforementioned Leonard Bernstein biopic.

Lost In Translation star Scarlett Johansson is similarly yet to be awarded by the Motion Picture Academy, although she does have two Oscar nominations to her name – both of which came in the same year.

In 2020, Scarlett was nominated in both the Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress categories for her roles in Marriage Story and Jojo Rabbit.

She was pipped to the win by Renée Zellweger and Laura Dern, respectively.

As if the fact Angela Bassett has never won an Oscar isn’t galling enough – she’d actually only been nominated once until 2023.

Her first nomination came in 1993, following her portrayal of Tina Turner in the biopic What’s Love Got To Do With It?.

Three decades later, she made history when she became the first star to receive an Oscar nomination for a performance in a Marvel film.

Sadly, though, this resulted in a second loss, although she did pick up an honorary Oscar in 2025.

Timothée Chalamet has made no secret of his hopes to one day win an Oscar – or his disappointment at the award having eluded him so far in his career.

Over the last decade, he’s scored three acting nods, first for Call Me By Your Name and later for the Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown.

It looks like this year could be his, though, following wins at the Golden Globes and Critics’ Choice Awards for his work in Marty Supreme.

Jake Gyllenhaal is another A-list actor you might be surprised to hear has been given only a small amount of love by the Oscars.

In fact, it’s been over 20 years since Jake last bagged an Academy Award nomination, earning his first and only nod for his supporting role in Brokeback Mountain.

The Oscars’ lack of recognition for David Oyelowo’s performance as Martin Luther King Jr Selma is one of the biggest snubs in recent history, sparking a major backlash at the time.

Despite a number of critically-acclaimed performances to his name, the British star is yet to be nominated for an Academy Award. Seriously, Oscars. Sort. It. Out.

Off the top of our head, we can probably come up with six or seven Toni Collette performances that would have been deserving an Oscar win – and yet, the Australian star has just one nomination under her belt (for The Sixth Sense, if you’re wondering).

As one of the most versatile actors in the game, we’re confident that Toni’s time is coming… and when it does, it will be long overdue.

Will we ever be over her not even being nominated for Hereditary? Probs not, no.

He might have Oliviers coming out of his ears (seven in total, at the time of writing), but Sir Ian McKellen is yet to be awarded the biggest honour in the film industry.

The British acting legend does have two Oscar nominations, but neither of them translated to a win. He hasn’t fared any better on his home soil, either, with neither of his four previous Bafta nominations resulting in him taking home an award.

Roles in acclaimed films like Dreamgirls and Cadillac Records led many fans to think that Beyoncé was setting her sights on Oscars glory.

Although neither ended in so much as a nomination, when she signed up to voice Nala in The Lion King (contributing a new song to the beloved soundtrack), it was thought she might get her win in the form of a Best Original Song victory. Sadly, this didn’t end up landing her a nomination, either, though she was later recognised in this category for her work on the film King Richard.

We reckon she probably doesn’t need to lose sleep about that, though, as she has since become the most-awarded person in Grammys history.

Like many musicians before her, Dolly Parton has made the transition into acting with roles in films like The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Steel Magnolias and, of course, 9 To 5.

While the Academy never recognised Dolly’s acting (even if the Golden Globes did!), she does have two Best Original Song nominations to her name.

In recent years, Dolly has continued contributing new music to films like Dumplin’ and the Netflix festive film Christmas On The Square, though, so a win could well be on the horizon if she keeps it up.

Since 2006, Michelle Williams has earned Oscar nominations for her performances in Brokeback Mountain, Blue Valentine, My Week With Marilyn, Manchester By The Sea and, more recently, The Fabelmans.

In 2019, she did win an Emmy on her first nomination for Fosse/Verdon, so we reckon it won’t be long until the Academy catches up.

In a career spanning more than three decades, Michelle Pfeiffer has been nominated for an Oscar on three different occasions, but so far, the Academy Award has always passed her by.

Sadly, none of these nominations were for Grease 2, which we can only describe as a huge oversight.

Tom Cruise has been nominated for four Oscars over the course of his career (although it has been more than two decades since his last acting nod), but he’s never come out on top in his category.

In 2023, he picked up his fourth nomination for his work producing the Top Gear sequel, though regrettably he failed to land any nods for his acting performance.

Sigourney Weaver has racked up three nominations over the years but sadly, the win has eluded her each time.

At the 1989 ceremony, she was up for both the Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress prizes, but lost out to Jodie Foster and Geena Davis, respectively.

“Is this the year Michael Keaton finally wins his Oscar?” Vanity Fair asked, hopefully, in 2016.

Sadly, it was not – and, in fact, he didn’t even score a nomination for the movie sparking the question, The Founder.

His 2014 nomination, earned for his star turn in Birdman, remains Michael’s only Oscar-nominated role.

Annette Bening’s performances in The Kids Are Alright, Being Julia, American Beauty and The Grifters have all made the Academy’s shortlist in the past – but she was pipped to the post each time.

Her work is still getting her a lot of recognition, though, with a nomination as recently as 2024 for her work in the film Nyad, so a future Oscar win is definitely not out of the question for Annette.

The British star is known for her quirky and offbeat roles, but despite Helena Bonham Carter’s bold choices when it comes to acting, the Academy is yet to reward her efforts with a win.

She does have two nominations, though, for The Wings Of The Dove and The King’s Speech.

Over the last few years, Hugh Jackman has been at the centre of Oscar buzz for films like The Front Runner, Bad Education and even The Greatest Showman, although none of them led to an actual nomination.

In 2026, his Song Sung Blue co-star Kate Hudson is in the running for Best Actress, marking the film’s only Academy Award nomination.

The Australian star did receive a nod back once, though, following his leading performance in Les Misérables in 2013.

We’re, frankly, still raging about the complete snub that occurred in 2017, when Taraji P Henson was missing from the Best Actress category.

The Hidden Figures star does have one previous Oscar nomination under her belt, thanks to her role in The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button.

For those not familiar with Diane Warren, she’s the songwriter behind hit movie soundtrack tunes like Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now, There You’ll Be and I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing.

Remarkably, she’s now been nominated for an Oscar 17 times without a win – and true to form, she’s in the running in 2026, too.

Diane did pick up an honorary Oscar in 2022, but we’re pretty confident she’ll be attaching herself to film soundtracks for years to come until she gets her hands on a competitive trophy.

It was more than 40 years into Demi Moore’s on-screen career that she even landed her first Oscar, thanks to her performance in the body horror movie The Substance (a rare feat for a horror movie to be recognised by the Academy at all!).

Heading into the 2025 ceremony, it looked like it could have been Demi’s year, after she pretty much cleaned up at every preceding awards show. Though this proved not to be the case, she’s still credited with majorly opening the door when it came recognition for horror performances, which have traditionally been overlooked at the Oscars.

A year later, for example, Amy Madigan landed the second nomination of her career for her work as the iconic Aunt Gladys in Weapons.

HuffPost favourite John Travolta has become something of an Oscars staple in recent years, thanks to iconic moments like his “Adele Dazeem” gaffe, his after-party dance-off with Lady Gaga, his awkward red carpet posing with Scarlett Johansson and the fact he was the one to give Will Smith his award after the slap seen around the world.

John does have two Oscar nominations of his own, one for Saturday Night Fever and a second for Pulp Fiction, although neither ended up in a win for him.

But while he may not have any trophies to show for it, we’d still argue the Oscars are nothing without Mr Travolta…

It’s almost time to roll out the red carpet for the 2026 Brit Awards, with some of the biggest musicians on the planet up for the night’s top awards.

Fresh from their respective victories at the Grammys earlier this month, Olivia Dean and Lola Young are going into this year’s Brits with the most nominations, racking up an impressive five each.

Just behind them is Mercury Prize winner Sam Fender, with four nods in total, with Wolf Alice, Lily Allen and Dave also in the running for the night’s top prizes.

Meanwhile, international nominees include Bruno Mars, Sabrina Carpenter, Taylor Swift and Lady Gaga.

Here’s the full list of all of this year’s nominees…

British Album Of The Year

Dave – The Boy Who Played The Harp

Lily Allen – West End Girl

Olivia Dean – The Art Of Love

Sam Fender – People Watching

Wolf Alice – The Clearing

Calvin Harris and Clementine Douglas – Blessings

Chrystal and Notion – The Days

Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande – Defying Gravity

Fred Again.., Skepta and Plaqueboymax – Victory Lap

Lewis Capaldi – Survive

Myles Smith – Nice To Meet You

Olivia Dean – Man I Need

Raye – Where Is My Husband!

Sam Fender and Olivia Dean – Rein Me In

Skye Newman – Family Matters

British Artist Of The Year

British Group Of The Year

British Breakthrough Artist

British Alternative/Rock Act

Calvin Harris and Clementine Douglas

Fred Again.., Skepta, Plaqueboymax

British Hip-Hop/Rap/Grime Act

International Song Of The Year

Chappell Roan – Pink Pony Club

Disco Lines and Tinashe – No Broke Boys

Gigi Perez – Sailor Song

Gracie Abrams – That’s So True

Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars – Die With A Smile

Ravyn Lenae – Love Me Not

Rosé and Bruno Mars – Apt.

Sabrina Carpenter – Manchild

Taylor Swift – The Fate Of Ophelia

International Artist Of The Year

International Group Of The Year

In the run-up to the ceremony, it was revealed that Jacob Alon had beaten Rose Gray and Sienna Spiro to the Critics’ Choice prize, which honours emerging British talent.

Last year, the award went to singer-songwriter Myles Smith, with other past recipients including Adele, Florence + The Machine, Sam Smith, Sam Fender, Jorja Smith and The Last Dinner Party.

Meanwhile, PinkPantheress has made history as the first woman to be awarded Producer Of The Year, while Noel Gallagher has been named Songwriter Of The Year, in a controversial move considering he hasn’t actually released new music in the last year.

The Outstanding Contribution prize is going to Mark Ronson this year, while Ozzy Osbourne is to be posthumously bestowed with a Lifetime Achievement recognition.

The 2026 Brit Awards will take place at Manchester’s Co-op Live Arena on Saturday 28 February.

Across the last four decades, the Brit Awards have been home to some seriously show-stopped performances that have had the whole world talking the next day.

In addition to all of the outrageous moments and attention-grabbing blunders that have become synonymous with the annual Brits broadcast, the awards show has repeatedly given artists a chance to create a true water-cooler moment by really nailing a performance.

The Brits are set to return on Saturday 28 February, with the ceremony taking place in Manchester for the first time ever, and performers on the line-up including Harry Styles, Olivia Dean, Wolf Alice and Rosalía, as well as Mark Ronson, in honour of his Outstanding Contribution prize.

With more than 40 years’ worth of memorable on-stage moments to pick from, here’s a timeline of all the performances that have truly stood the test of time, starting with some classics and leading right up to the present day…

You didn’t know Elton John was responsible for what was arguably the birth of the “lip sync for your life”, did you?

Yes, as well as hosting the Brit Awards together in 1994 (something we’d argue people forget about all too often) the duo also lip-synced the house down to a disco-tastic mix of Sir Elton and Kiki Dee’s famous duet. It’s a comfort to know, if nothing else, that RuPaul has been rocking the exact same moves for the last 30 years.

For their first ever Brit Awards performance, Take That paid homage to the OG British boyband.

At this point Take That were very much still on the come-up, and threw it right back to the swinging 60s, performing three of The Beatles’ early hits while dressed in replicas of the Fab Four’s iconic blue suits.

Take That star Robbie Williams would go on to become the undisputed King Of The Brits, racking up more wins than any other artist in history (although Adele is now hot on his heels).

Yes, you might think you’ve already seen this Spice Girls footage a million times over, but when was the last time you sat down and properly watched it?

Do it now – we promise it’s even better than you remember, and there’s a lot more to love than just that iconic Union Jack dress.

The indisputable king of the Brit Awards, Robbie Williams has a fair few impressive performances under his belt from over the decades.

For his debut as a solo artist, he roped in a musical legend to help him really make an impression, performing a string of tunes with Sir Tom Jones.

What 90s disco was complete without this one, eh?

Next time someone tries to tell you that Geri couldn’t cut it as a solo artist, you show them this video.

As if she hadn’t commanded enough attention when she was still in the Spice Girls, Geri made sure all eyes were on her with her debut solo Brits performance.

Emerging from between a giant pair of legs, she performed this Girl Power anthem, surrounded by oiled-up male dancers and eventually tearing open her top, telling “all the ladies” in the crowd: “Let’s see your boobs!”

Her performance also totally overshadowed her former Spice Girls bandmates, who collected an Outstanding Contribution award later that evening as a four-piece, before delivering a medley performance of their own.

Eminem made one of the most memorable entrances in Brit Awards history when he took to the stage in denim overalls and a hockey mask, all while brandishing a chainsaw.

A slightly terrifying (alhough obviously iconic) Brits memory.

Of course, the most iconic Brits entrance has to go to a certain Ms Minogue, who kicked off this rendition of her chart-topping hit Can’t Get You Out Of My Head by literally ejecting herself from an oversized CD player.

As if this medley of Justin Timberlake’s biggest hits wasn’t pop perfection already, out strutted Kylie Minogue to cap things off with a version of Blondie’s Rapture, providing the Brit Awards with one of its most memorable collaborations ever.

Talk about chucking everything and the kitchen sink into a performance, eh?

Scissor Sisters kicked off the show in 2005 with a rendition of Take Your Mama that involved Jim Henson flamingos, leather lederhosen and, naturally, a singing barn.

While still fairly early in the Back To Black era, plenty of us were familiar with Amy Winehouse by the time she appeared on stage at the 2007 Brits (though it often wasn’t for her music).

This performance allowed her to remind everyone why she was famous in the first place, even managing to make that vast Brit Awards stage feel like an intimate lounge performance.

Yes, it was technically Mark Ronson’s moment – but let’s be honest, it was really all about Amy, wasn’t it?

Reports in the press prior to the Brits had suggested that, due to problems in her tumultuous personal life, the music legend may not have been able to perform on the night. However, she managed to shut up her detractors by turning it out alongside her friend and producer.

Keep an eye on that Adele, too. We just might be seeing a bit more of her later on.

It’s been over a decade and we’re still absolutely wowed by this performance. Fun fact: this took place on Rihanna’s 20th (20th!!) birthday.

Fortunately, Nadine remembered her passport this time…

So often, acts use their Outstanding Contribution prize as a way to lazily perform their best-loved tracks, plug a new greatest hits collection and then take themselves off home for the night.

Not Pet Shop Boys, though, who provided a full multimedia experience for their performance, whizzing through their decades’ worth of hits and even welcoming a little-known singer named Lady Gaga to fill in for Dusty Springfield.

Interesting choice of wig from Chris Lowe, too.

And speaking of Lady Gaga and interesting wigs…

One year she’s singing backing vocals for Pet Shop Boys, and the next she’s the biggest star in the world. What a difference 12 months makes.

This performance, where Gaga paid her respects to fashion designer Alexander McQueen, divided opinion, with some loving the fact she’d decided to think outside the box, and others hoping for something a little more traditional.

Sidenote: We can’t believe Gaga has still only ever performed solo at the Brits this one time.

Given this performance came just days after the breakdown of her marriage to Ashley Cole, Cheryl would have been forgiven if her Brits appearance wasn’t exactly her best work. But frankly, she slayed.

From the moment she jumped onto the stage in those diva sunglasses, Cheryl proved herself as so much more than magazine fodder; she was a bona fide popstar.

The quick change Show Me Love sample that followed was just the icing on the cake…

The Brits has always been known for its collaborations, many of which we’ve already touched on, and this is a perfect example of when two artists from two totally separate genres come together and make a performance work.

Adele’s sophomore album, 21, was obviously massive, but it was this performance at the Brit Awards that catapulted her to the position of mega-stardom.

Proving you don’t always need to pull huge stunts for a performance to be memorable, she performed the emotional track accompanied by just a piano, and by the time the glitter rain started falling, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house.

Obviously, this will always be remembered as the performance Madonna fell down the stairs… but you can’t take away from her that she got up and finished the song as only a true pro really could.

There had been much speculation in the press leading to to the 2016 Brit Awards about how they’d be paying homage to the recently-deceased David Bowie, with a number of huge British artists rumoured to have been in the pipeline.

What no one predicted was that it would be Lorde who’d be taking to the stage, chosen as the late pop icon once declared she was the “future of music”.

We still get a bit teary watching this simple but emotional performance, even all these years later.

Anyone who was still doubting Little Mix’s star quality in 2017 was given a very abrupt awakening when they opened the Brit Awards with this stunning rendition of their signature tune.

This version of Shout Out To My Ex, complete with full choreo, a throne made out of spray-painted dancers and enough wigs to keep Cher happy for a full mini break, Little Mix knocked it out of the park on an otherwise pretty uneventful night.

A performance that starts off strong and then gets better and better.

Beginning as a live recreation of his Brit award-winning album cover, Stormzy quickly took us through a rendiition of Blinded By Your Grace before lambasting the government in a freestyle rap, highlighting the injustices of the Grenfell disaster, and then having a shirtless dance in the rain to Big For Your Boots.

This is how you close the show at the Brits.

The night well and truly belonged to Dave when the Brits took place in 2020.

Not only did Psychodrama end up taking home Album Of The Year, he also delivered the moment of the evening when he performed his song Black, including a blistering freestyle verse about institutional racism in the UK.

This included comparisons between the media’s treatment of Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton, as well as accusations of racism towards then-newly-elected prime minister Boris Johnson.

For many of us, Dua Lipa’s second album Future Nostalgia provided some much-needed escapism at the height of the pandemic, when we were unable to see our loved ones or enjoy a night out.

When the awards show finally returned in mid-2021, it was amazing to see Dua bringing the songs we loved to life at last, while paying homage to some iconic former Brits performances with her hair and wardrobe.

Anyone who only knew Sam Smith from their emotional ballads was in for a shock when they tuned into their 2023 Brits performance.

Sam and Kim’s duet at the Grammys weeks earlier had already rattled conservative critics to the point terms like “satanism” were bring bandied around online. When it came to the Brits, the duo switched things up, honing in on Unholy’s “body shop” lyric and setting their performance in a mechanic shop.

Their performance, by the way, was reportedly so elaborate it wound up delaying the whole ceremony, leading ITV to play a year-old performance of Adele’s to fill a gap in their schedule.

Anyone who’s followed Raye’s career will know the journey to releasing her debut album came after a tumultuous decade navigating the pitfalls of the music industry. So, when the album itself wound up spawning a number one single, and really put Raye on the map as one of the UK’s biggest stars, it felt like poetic justice.

This performance at the 2024 Brits – where Raye walked away with four wins – felt like a massive victory lap, and served as a reminder to everyone why she’s a musical force to be reckoned with.

Having been grafting for years as both a singer and actor, Sabrina Carpenter had finally made it to global megastardom once she was invited to open the Brit Awards in 2025.

Not only was the chart-topper a household name, she was also synonymous with brewing up a bit of controversy with some of her stage performances, and that’s exactly what she did during her time on the Brits stage.

She kicked off that year’s show at around 8.15pm, with a medley of her songs which saw her sporting red lingerie while she and her dancers gyrated on a bed.

Towards the end of her performance, she was seen cosying up to a dancer dressed as a royal guard, before slipping down out of shot, at which point he winked suggestively towards the camera.

Sabrina’s performance, paired with Charli XCX’s revealing attire on stage, led to almost 1000 viewers complaining to Ofcom, prompting the Espresso singer to quip on Instagram: “Brits… I now know what watershed is.”

There was never a doubt in our mind that Jade would pull out all the stops with her solo Brits debut, but the level of theatrics she managed to squeeze into her performance still came as a shock.

Over the course of just four minutes, Jade managed multiple costume and wig changes, stellar live vocals, choreography stage combat and two jaw-dropping stunts, first plummeting through a trapdoor before ascending over everyone with angel wings for her final chorus.

Truly jaw-dropping stuff.

The 2026 Baftas ceremony brought some of the biggest stars in Hollywood to London on Sunday night.

And, of course, a star-studded awards ceremony means plenty of A-list red carpet photos for us all to pore through afterwards.

One Battle After Another led the way when it came to both nominations and wins at this year’s Baftas, with cast members Teyana Taylor and Chase Infiniti delivering some of the stand-out looks of the evening, with Benicio Del Toro and Leonardo DiCaprio also looking smart on the night.

Elsewhere, Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal were out representing their tear-jerking drama Hamnet, two-time winner Robert Aramayo was looking dapper and Sinners faves like Wunmi Mosaku, Michael B Jordan and Miles Caton pulled out all the stops on the red carpet, too.

But it wasn’t just about the nominees this year, with presenters including HuffPost faves Hannah Waddingham, Riz Ahmed, Erin Doherty and Aimee Lou Wood.

Check out the must-see red carpet snaps from the 2026 Baftas below…

Nominated – Best Actress

Winner – Best Actor and Rising Star

Nominated – Best Supporting Actress

Winner – Best Supporting Actress

Nominated – Best Supporting Actor

Nominated – Best Actress

Nominated – Best Actress

Nominated – Best Supporting Actress

Nominated – Rising Star

Nominated – Best Actress

Nominated – Best Actress

Nominated – Best Supporting Actress

Nominated – Best Supporting Actress

Nominated – Best Director

Nominated – Rising Star

Nominated – Best Supporting Actress

Nominated – Best Supporting Actor

Nominated – Best Supporting Actor

Check out our round-up of the winners from the 2026 Baftas here.