Shirley MacLaine

It took Shirley MacLaine six nominations before her name was finally read aloud on Oscar night in 1984. Her portrayal of an emotional mother in Terms of Endearment garnered her a trophy, as well as a touchingly funny moment onstage. "I'm going to cry because this show has been as long as my career," she uttered, with the crowd erupting in laughter. The eccentric MacLaine, who was exploring reincarnation at that point in her career, added: "I'm not going to thank everyone I've ever met in my entire life, although with the way my mind has been going lately, probably everybody I've ever met in my entire life and in the other life I might have had, had probably something to do with this."