Michigan Has More Oscar Winners Than You Might Think

As you probably already know, the highest award you can win as an actor or moviemaker is an Academy Award. And while the awards are known to be Hollywood fanfare, not everyone calls LA their home.

While Michigan may not be the home to some of your favorite actors on the big screen, you’d be pleasantly surprised that a few creative people who have an Oscar on their shelf (or have been nominated for one along the way) that used to call Michigan their home. Some of them you may know, others may be new to you too.

Which Michiganders have won or been nominated for an Oscar?

Some of the famous few who have made Michigan proud by bringing home an Oscar include Ellen Burstyn who was originally born in Detroit.

She secured the Best Actress Oscar back in 1975 for her role in “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.”

The next you may already know, James Earl Jones. If you didn't know, he spent a significant part of his youth in Manistee County as well as being a University of Michigan alumnus. Later in life, he received an Honorary Academy Award in 2011, recognizing his ‘extensive contributions’ to film and theater.

Additionally, while he wasn't born in Michigan: Charlton Heston spent part of his youth in northern Michigan. He also won the Best Actor Oscar back in 1960 for his performance in the film “Ben-Hur.”

A director who is more than proud of his Michigan roots that has an oscar is Michael Moore. He to this day still has ties to Traverse City, owning two theaters in the city. He also won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature back in 2003 for “Bowling for Columbine.” He held the Traverse City Film Festival for 20 years before it shut down in 2023

While we don’t have a huge list of Oscar winners in Michigan, several other natives have earned nominations. For instance, Interlochen Arts Camp alumna Laura Karpman received a nomination for Best Original Score for her work on “American Fiction,” which was also nominated for Best Picture.

Additionally, Northern Michigan University alumni played significant roles in two of the 2025 Best Animated Feature Film nominees: Kelsey Mann directed “Inside Out 2,” while Joshua Brock served as modeling lead for “The Wild Robot.”

Despite the relatively small number of Oscar winners hailing from Michigan, our state’s influence in the film industry is worth celebrating, and here’s hoping we’ll take a few more home in the coming years as more and more inventive film makers are born in the mitten state.