List of directors with two or more Academy Awards for Best Director - wikipedia List of directors with two or more Academy Awards for Best Director The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has given the Academy Award for Best Directing to directors for their work in films since the conception of the Academy Awards. The 1st Academy Awards originally featured two directing awards : one for Dramatic Direction ( won by Frank Borzage for 7th Heaven ) and one for Comedy Direction ( won by Lewis Milestone for Two Arabian Knights ). The Comedy Direction award was not used in any subsequent ceremony. Throughout the history of the Academy Awards, there have been directors that have received multiple Academy Awards for Best Directing. As of 2015 ( 88th Academy Awards ), 20 directors have received two or more Academy Awards for Best Directing. Three of these directors have received more than two Academy Awards for Best Directing : John Ford ( four Best Directing awards ), Frank Capra ( three Best Directing awards ), and William Wyler ( three Best Directing awards ). Contents 1 Directors 2 See also 3 Notes 4 References 5 External links Directors Director Winning films ( Year / Ceremony ) Number of awards Number of nominations Borzage, Frank Frank Borzage 7th Heaven ( 1927 / 28 / 1st Academy Awards ) Bad Girl ( 1931 / 32 / 5th Academy Awards ) Capra, Frank Frank Capra It Happened One Night ( 1934 / 7th Academy Awards ) Mr. Deeds Goes to Town ( 1936 / 9th Academy Awards ) You Ca n't Take It with You ( 1938 / 11th Academy Awards ) 6 Eastwood, Clint Clint Eastwood Unforgiven ( 1992 / 65th Academy Awards ) Million Dollar Baby ( 2004 / 77th Academy Awards ) Ford, John John Ford The Informer ( 1935 / 8th Academy Awards ) The Grapes of Wrath ( 1940 / 13th Academy Awards ) How Green Was My Valley ( 1941 / 14th Academy Awards ) The Quiet Man ( 1952 / 25th Academy Awards ) 5 Forman, Milos Milos Forman One Flew Over the Cuckoo 's Nest ( 1975 / 48th Academy Awards ) Amadeus ( 1984 / 57th Academy Awards ) Iñárritu, Alejandro González Alejandro González Iñárritu Birdman ( 2014 / 87th Academy Awards ) The Revenant ( 2015 / 88th Academy Awards ) Kazan, Elia Elia Kazan Gentleman 's Agreement ( 1947 / 20th Academy Awards ) On the Waterfront ( 1954 / 27th Academy Awards ) 5 Lean, David David Lean The Bridge on the River Kwai ( 1957 / 30th Academy Awards ) Lawrence of Arabia ( 1962 / 35th Academy Awards ) 7 Lee, Ang Ang Lee Brokeback Mountain ( 2005 / 78th Academy Awards ) Life of Pi ( 2012 / 85th Academy Awards ) Lloyd, Frank Frank Lloyd The Divine Lady ( 1929 / 30 / 2nd Academy Awards ) Cavalcade ( 1932 / 33 / 6th Academy Awards ) Mankiewicz, Joseph L. Joseph L. Mankiewicz A Letter to Three Wives ( 1949 / 22nd Academy Awards ) All About Eve ( 1950 / 23rd Academy Awards ) McCarey, Leo Leo McCarey The Awful Truth ( 1937 / 10th Academy Awards ) Going My Way ( 1944 / 17th Academy Awards ) Milestone, Lewis Lewis Milestone Two Arabian Knights ( 1927 / 28 / 1st Academy Awards ) All Quiet on the Western Front ( 1929 / 30 / 3rd Academy Awards ) Spielberg, Steven Steven Spielberg Schindler 's List ( 1993 / 66th Academy Awards ) Saving Private Ryan ( 1998 / 71st Academy Awards ) 7 Stevens, George George Stevens A Place in the Sun ( 1951 / 24th Academy Awards ) Giant ( 1956 / 29th Academy Awards ) 5 Stone, Oliver Oliver Stone Platoon ( 1986 / 59th Academy Awards ) Born on the Fourth of July ( 1989 / 62nd Academy Awards ) Wilder, Billy Billy Wilder The Lost Weekend ( 1945 / 18th Academy Awards ) The Apartment ( 1960 / 33rd Academy Awards ) 8 Wise, Robert Robert Wise West Side Story ( 1961 / 34th Academy Awards ) The Sound of Music ( 1965 / 38th Academy Awards ) Wyler, William William Wyler Mrs. Miniver ( 1942 / 15th Academy Awards ) The Best Years of Our Lives ( 1946 / 19th Academy Awards ) Ben - Hur ( 1959 / 32nd Academy Awards ) 12 Zinnemann, Fred Fred Zinnemann From Here to Eternity ( 1953 / 26th Academy Awards ) A Man for All Seasons ( 1966 / 39th Academy Awards ) 7 See also Film portal List of actors with two or more Academy Awards in acting categories Notes At the 1st Academy Awards, Frank Borzage won the `` Dramatic Direction '' award for 7th Heaven, and Lewis Milestone won the `` Comedy Direction '' award for Two Arabian Knights. The `` Comedy Direction '' award was not used after the 1st Academy Awards. References General `` Director 2 or more ''. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. 2008 - 03 - 08. Retrieved 2008 - 08 - 21. Specific Jump up ^ `` Frank Borzage - Awards ''. Moviefone. Retrieved 2008 - 08 - 23. Jump up ^ `` Lewis Milestone - Awards ''. Moviefone. Retrieved 2008 - 08 - 23. ^ Jump up to : O'Neil, Tom ( 2008 - 01 - 28 ). `` And the Oscar goes to... you ( if only for a minute ) ''. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2008 - 08 - 23. Jump up ^ French, Phillip ( 2001 - 03 - 18 ). `` Philip French 's all - time Oscar favourites ''. The Guardian. Retrieved 2008 - 08 - 23. Jump up ^ Flint, Peter ( 1991 - 09 - 04 ). `` Frank Capra, Whose Films Helped America Keep Faith in Itself, Is Dead at 94 ''. The New York Times. Retrieved 2008 - 08 - 23. Jump up ^ `` Early Oscar favorites arrive ''. China Daily. 2006 - 10 - 12. Retrieved 2008 - 08 - 23. Jump up ^ `` Director 2 or more ''. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. 2008 - 03 - 08. Retrieved 2008 - 08 - 23. External links The Official Academy Awards Database The Motion Picture Credits Database IMDb Academy Awards Page Academy Awards lists Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences ( AMPAS ) Records Oscar season Oscar speech History of film Most wins per ceremony Combined major Oscars Superlatives Big Five All four acting categories Combined major awards Academy, Emmy, Grammy, and Tony Award careers Acting All nominees Best Actor ( by age ) Best Actress ( by age ) Best Supporting Actor ( by age ) Best Supporting Actress ( by age ) Acting noms in foreign language Actor multi-nom years Multi-Best Picture acting careers Multi-win Actors Multi-nom Actors Love curse Directing Best Director ( by age ) Multi-win Directors Film Films Best Picture milestones Foreign - language wins Foreign - language nominees Foreign - language noms in other categories Foreign - language : count by country Animated feature noms in other categories Ethnicity African Argentine Asian Australian Black Brazilian British Canadian Chilean Colombian Cuban French German - speaking Greek Hispanic - American ( U.S. ) Indian Iranian Italian Jewish Latin American Mexican New Zealand Nordic Pakistani Polish Puerto Rican Spanish Uruguayan Other Ceremonies Families Fictitious LGBT Multi-win years Posthumous Best Picture Presenters Trophy displays Oldest & Youngest Awards for Walt Disney Book Portal Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_directors_with_two_or_more_Academy_Awards_for_Best_Director&oldid=785807682 '' Categories : Academy Awards lists Lists of film directors Hidden categories : Articles with hCards Talk Contents About Wikipedia Add links This page was last edited on 15 June 2017, at 14 : 47. 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Question: who won the most oscars for best director
Answer: John Ford