. . and the Oscar goes to

Meryl Streep holds the record for the most Oscar nominations of any actor. With her first nomination for her role in the 1978 film The Deer Hunter she has been nominated 21 times. Eight more than both Katharine Hepburn and Jack Nicholson, tied for second place. Katherine Hepburn received four Academy Awards for Best Actress.  In 2012, with a win for her performance in Iron Lady,  she became the fifth actor to win three competitive Academy Awards for acting (Walter Brennan, Katharine Hepburn, Ingrid Bergman, and Jack Nicholson). Since then, Daniel Day-Lewis became the sixth actor to achieve that distinction, winning for his role in Lincoln.