SEX WORK IS WORK
What’s a surefire way for an actress to win an Oscar? Playing a real-life person helps. Sissy Spacek won an Academy Award for playing Loretta Lynn in “Coal Miners Daughter.” Consider portraying a character with a disability. Patty Duke won an Oscar for playing Helen Keller in “The Miracle Worker.” Duke increased her odds of a win by portraying a real-life individual with a disability. What about a psychopath? Kathy Bates’ portrayal of Annie Wilkes in “Misery” helped her win the Oscar. Having a flawless accent works in your favor as well. Meryl Streep scored double Oscar wins for having a spot-on accent as the Polish Holocaust survivor Sophie Zawistowska in “Sophie’s Choice.” Then again, almost 20 years later, as British PM Margaret Thatcher in “The Iron Lady.”
Or you have another option. You could choose to portray a sex worker. Close to twenty actresses have won Academy Awards for playing a hooker. The portrayal of this line of work is not limited to the big screen. Prostitution has been in books, theater, television, and radio dramas.
Some of the most famous female characters in American cinema and theater have been prostitutes. For instance, Anna Christie and Blanche DuBois. Holly Golightly and Vivian Ward are also examples. Keep in mind Fantine and Mary Magdalene.
Some of the most acclaimed writers in literature, film, and theater have written roles for women where their main occupation has been that of a hooker. John Steinbeck, Woody Allen, Neil Simon, David Mamet, and Tennessee Williams are just a few.
Eighteen actresses have won the Academy Award for playing a prostitute. Plus, no fewer than 15 Oscar nominations were copped by actresses playing a hooker, garnering nods for A-listers like Julia Roberts, Natalie Portman, Nicole Kidman, and Jodie Foster, to name a few.
So that got me thinking. If winning an Academy Award represents the pinnacle of an actor’s success in their industry, how many of them have played characters involved in sex work? The answer? An astounding ONE HUNDRED PERCENT!
That is right. Every actress who has won an Academy Award has played a character working in the sex trade industry. While 95% of Oscar-winning actresses have played a full-out prostitute or madam, the remaining 5% have played a character related to sex work. Examples include phone sex operators, massage attendants, lap dancers, saloon girls, etc. We even have one character working off the proceeds of prostitution.
The bottom line is that every actress who has won an Academy Award has played a sex worker, either as a prostitute or somehow related to the sex trade industry.
Keep a few things in mind when reading this website. First, I am commenting on the character and NOT the actress. For instance, when I write about Pretty Woman and mention, “She turned tricks on the streets of L.A.,” I am not referring to the actress, Julia Roberts. I’m talking about the character she is playing, Vivian Ward.
The layout of this site begins in the 1930s and continues straight through to the present day. The site highlights every female Oscar win, decade by decade. Since the first Academy Awards happened in 1929, that year appears in the decade of the 1930s. Each win is listed under the year the performer received their award, not the year of the movie’s release. For instance, the release of “Silence of the Lambs” took place in 1990. The film swept the top five Oscars in 1991. So the best actress winner, Jodie Foster, was listed in 1991, the year she won her second Academy Award.
Speaking of multiple Oscar winners, several women have won more than one Academy Award but only played a prostitute once in their career. There are several repeats of the same hooker role. For instance, I’ve had to repeat Katharine Hepburn’s prostitute role four times because she is a four-time Oscar winner over several decades. But other actresses, who have multiple Oscars, have played a prostitute more than once. Shelley Winters has played a hooker five times. So in those instances, descriptions of past hooker roles have been spread out between her two wins—one Oscar win for playing a prostitute and four prostitute roles listed in her second Oscar win.
That is about it. Sit back, relax, grab a glass of white wine, and prepare to walk down the streets of broken dreams—reading over 100 hooker roles played by Oscar-winning actresses.
