Over the years, numerous Academy Award trophies have gone missing due to theft, mishaps, or accidents, with some eventually recovered and others still unaccounted for. Prominent actors like Angelina Jolie, Jared Leto, and Matt Damon have experienced the loss of their Oscars, whether through misplacement, theft, or disaster.
Jared Leto's Oscar for Dallas Buyers Club was missing for six years before being found in 2024, while Matt Damon's statuette was believed lost during a flood in 2007. The wildfires in Los Angeles also claimed several trophies, with the Academy offering to replace severely damaged awards.
In some cases, Oscars have been stolen in high-profile incidents, such as Frances McDormand's award at the Governors Ball in 2018, which was recovered shortly after theft was suspected. Other thefts involved Oscar statuettes from the Weinstein Company, which are still missing, and Whoopi Goldberg’s Oscar, which was lost in transit during a cleaning process but later recovered by airport security.
Some trophies, like Olympia Dukakis’s Oscar, were simply ransomed and bought back further highlighting the trophy’s high value and cultural importance. Despite many thefts and mishaps, the Academy often takes steps to replace or recover missing trophies, underscoring their iconic status in Hollywood history.
Over the years, numerous Academy Award trophies have gone missing due to theft, mishaps, or accidents, with some eventually recovered and others still unaccounted for. Prominent actors like Angelina Jolie, Jared Leto, and Matt Damon have experienced the loss of their Oscars, whether through misplacement, theft, or disaster.
Jared Leto's Oscar for Dallas Buyers Club was missing for six years before being found in 2024, while Matt Damon's statuette was believed lost during a flood in 2007. The wildfires in Los Angeles also claimed several trophies, with the Academy offering to replace severely damaged awards.
In some cases, Oscars have been stolen in high-profile incidents, such as Frances McDormand's award at the Governors Ball in 2018, which was recovered shortly after theft was suspected. Other thefts involved Oscar statuettes from the Weinstein Company, which are still missing, and Whoopi Goldberg’s Oscar, which was lost in transit during a cleaning process but later recovered by airport security.
Some trophies, like Olympia Dukakis’s Oscar, were simply ransomed and bought back further highlighting the trophy’s high value and cultural importance. Despite many thefts and mishaps, the Academy often takes steps to replace or recover missing trophies, underscoring their iconic status in Hollywood history.