10 Oscar winners whose statuettes were lost or stolen: From Matt Damon to Angelina Jolie
10 winners whose Oscars were either stolen or lost forever
Getting recognized by the Academy Awards is an honor, and winners often decorate their awards rightfully in their homes to display their achievements. However, some celebrities do not know where their Oscars went after they won it. Reports over the years have said that the golden statuette getting stolen or misplaced is not a new thing.
1. Jared Leto
Jared Leto won an Oscar in 2014 for his work in ‘Dallas Buyers Club’. But in 2021, he reportedly shared on ‘The Late Late Show with James Corden’ that he had lost it while shifting. He disclosed, “You know, I found out that it's been missing for, like three years, and I didn't know that. I don't think anyone wanted to tell me. It could be somewhere, but everyone's searched for it high and low. I hope it's in good hands wherever it is. We haven't seen it for quite some time.”
2. Whoopi Goldberg
Goldberg became an Oscar honoree in 1990 for ‘Ghost’ but when she sent it for cleaning via mail in 2002, someone reportedly took it out even before it reached the award’s manufacturer. However, luckily the award was eventually discovered in Ontario Airport’s garbage box. Later, the TV personality said, “Oscar will never leave my house again.”
3. Matt Damon
Matt Damon lost the Oscar award he received in 1998 for writing ‘Good Will Hunting’ with Ben Affleck because of a flood. He reportedly said in 2007, “I know it ended up at my apartment in New York, but unfortunately, we had a flood when one of the sprinklers went off when my wife and I were out of town and that was the last I saw of it.”
4. Angelina Jolie
In 2000, Angelina Jolie was honored with an Oscar award for ‘Girl, Interrupted’. She reportedly gave the statuette to her mother, Marcheline Bertrand. However, after Bertrand died in 2007, Jolie had no idea where the award was. “I didn't actually lose it, but nobody knows where it is at the moment,” the actress reportedly said.
5. Margaret O’Brien
In 1944, Margaret O’Brien received an Academy Juvenile Award as a child artist for ‘Meet Me in St Louis’. Reports have said that the award was later stolen by her housekeeper. But five decades later, she finally got it back after auctioneers failed to sell it.
6. Olympia Dukakis
Olympia Dukakis got an Oscar for ‘Moonstruck’, but in 1988 a thief stole it from her kitchen. Not only that, the thief then contacted the actor’s son and asked for money in return for the golden statuette. A sting operation was launched to get to the thief but the deal did not happen and Dukakis failed to recover her award.
7. Jeff Bridges
Jeff Bridges was honored with an Oscar for ‘Crazy Heart’ in 2010 but he soon lost it. He reportedly said, “It's been in a few places since last year but I haven't seen it for a while now.”
8. Bing Crosby
Bing Crosby reportedly donated his Oscar to Gonzaga University. But at the university, the award was reportedly replaced with a Mickey Mouse figurine by someone. Days later, it was finally recovered from the university chapel.
9. Hattie McDaniel
Hattie McDaniel reportedly became the first African-American to get an Oscar, which she gave to Howard University. However, it has been said that the statuette was thrown in the Potomac River by the university’s students.
10. Marlon Brando
Oscar recognition seemingly did not suit Marlon Brando. For his first one, the late actor reportedly said, “I don't know what happened to the Oscar they gave me for 'On the Waterfront.' Somewhere in the passage of time, it disappeared.” For the second one that Brando refused for 'Godfather', he added, “The Motion Picture Academy may have sent it to me, but if it did, I don't know where it is now.”
