7 actors who won an Oscar with their debut film

Winning an Oscar has always been a goal for every actor, but to do it with the very first film is a dream come true.

Typically, the Academy Award is the fruit of many years of hard work, innumerable auditions, and recognition that comes after years of hard work for most performers. However, an exceptional few have managed to win audiences with their very first moments in the limelight and grabbed the golden statuette.

The charming portrayal by Julie Andrews of the fanciful Mary Poppins is one, and the powerful voice of Jennifer Hudson in Dreamgirls is another. These first-time victories have made a great impact on the history of Hollywood. Each actor who is included in this list not only gave a surprise to critics but also showed that talent, no matter how unrefined, can win over experience.

Their tales include everything from surprising breakthroughs to very intimate victories, and are a reminder that a first performance can very well be the defining moment of the actor's whole career.

7 actors who won an Oscar with their debut film

1. Julie Andrews - Mary Poppins

Dame Julie Andrews In Sydney - Source: Getty

Julie Andrews' movie debut as the practically perfect nanny in Mary Poppins is still one of Hollywood's most loved performances. She had already been a Broadway star but had never been in a film until Walt Disney personally offered her the role. Her Best Actress Oscar vindicated Disney's risk and formed a groundbreaking crossover from stage to screen.

Surprisingly, Andrews revealed she stored the Oscar in her attic because she "didn't feel worthy" of it after receiving one for her first motion picture. Even after so many decades, her rendition of Mary Poppins still defines the movie magic and discipline combined with elegance.

2. Barbra Streisand - Funny Girl

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Barbra Streisand's transition from Broadway to Hollywood was no less dazzling. Her on-screen introduction as comedian and singer Fanny Brice in Funny Girl immediately established her as a force of nature. At the 1969 Oscars, she tied with Katharine Hepburn, becoming one of Oscar's most iconic moments. Streisand's "Hello, gorgeous" line became a catchphrase and an acceptance speech staple.

She also inadvertently created a sensation when her sparkly costume became translucent under the spotlights. The moment encapsulated Streisand's entry: daring, unforgettable, and unapologetically original, establishing the tone for her remarkable career.

3. Tatum O’Neal - Paper Moon

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At the tender age of 10, Tatum O'Neal broke film records with her work in Paper Moon, in which she co-starred with her real-life father, Ryan O'Neal. Her quick wit and natural grace infused the Depression era tale with life and won her an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress.

Offstage, her victory caused strain with her father, who grappled with her overnight stardom. Tatum has looked back decades later and said that her childhood victory was a blessing and a curse, representing Hollywood's obsession with young starlets.

4. Anna Paquin -The Piano

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Anna Paquin's path to her debut film was a case of pure happenstance. She auditioned after seeing an open casting call in New Zealand. Selected out of thousands, she gave an astonishing performance as Flora McGrath in Jane Campion's The Piano. At age 11, she won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar and became the second youngest winner of the award.

Her brief, childlike, awed silence and speech became iconic in its own way. Now a seasoned actor in many genres, Paquin frequently attributes The Piano with educating her on how to use restraint as an emotional conduit, something that continues to characterize her award-winning work today.

5. Jennifer Hudson - Dreamgirls

Jennifer Hudson's evolution from American Idol hopeful to Oscar-winning actress is one of Hollywood's greatest success stories. In her first film role in Dreamgirls, Hudson's powerhouse performance as Effie White and her performance of "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" were nothing short of breathtaking. Her Best Supporting Actress Oscar was the indication not only of her breakthrough but of the huge range she has outside of music.

Hudson has since reached EGOT status, joining the list of very few performers to have an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony. Dreamgirls is still the performance that launched her career, brimming with raw emotion.

6. Lupita Nyong’o - 12 Years a Slave

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Lupita Nyong'o's devastating turn as Patsey in 12 Years a Slave was her film debut and immediately cemented her as a leading talent. Her performance of strength in the face of brutality was both lovely and heartbreakingly powerful, and she won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. Nyong'o's Oscar win opened doors to African actors in Hollywood and set a new era of representation in commercial film in motion.

Since then, she has been widening her scope with movies such as Us and Black Panther. Ten years on, Nyong'o still regards 12 Years a Slave as "the role that changed my life and my sense of purpose."

7. Haing S. Ngor - The Killing Fields

Haing S. Ngor's Oscar-winning breakthrough in The Killing Fields is one of cinema's greatest on-screen victories. A Cambodian physician who lived through the Khmer Rouge genocide, Ngor had no acting experience before playing journalist Dith Pran, a man whose agony was echoed in his own. His unvarnished, honest performance stunned viewers around the globe and earned him the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.

Contrary to the majority of first-time winners, Ngor's triumph wasn't conceived out of ambition but of truth and survival. Sadly, he was killed in 1996, but his performance stands today as a witness to human perseverance and the redemptive power of narrative.

Not only did these 7 actors enter the scene, but they also made an impression by their sheer presence and redefined the very notion of a first impression in Hollywood. Their victories at the Academy Awards were not simply recognitions but rather milestones of the remarkable career paths that were just starting. To say it with Lupita Nyong’o’s plainness or to indicate it with Haing S. Ngor’s bravery, every acting performance became a part of the history of film.

The narratives of their success bring us back to the fact that the very first entry into the light can sometimes be so strong that it reverberates for ages.