Foreign Oscar Winners: Lupita Nyong’o and 12 Others Who Won Gold

Jose Ferrer

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Ferrer (pictured, right) was the first Puerto Rican, and the first Hispanic actor of any kind, to win an Academy Award when his performance in Cyrano de Bergerac took the best actor trophy in 1950. While Ferrer had a big stage career – winning three Tonys — his onscreen presence was slight in comparison, with supporting roles in The Caine Mutiny (1954) and Lawrence of Arabia (1962) among the highlights. Before his death in 1992, Ferrer complained that there were not enough good parts for aging actors in Hollywood.
Lila Kedrova

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The Russian-born actress won best supporting actress for Zorba the Greek in 1964. But instead of going on to starring glory, Kedrova made do with a few stand-out supporting roles in features including Alfred Hitchcock's Torn Curtain (1966) and Roman Polanski's The Tenant (1976).
Sophia Loren

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The career of the Italian acting legend is a blueprint for how to balance both a U.S. career and an international one. After winning the best actress Oscar for Two Women in 1960, Loren balanced Hollywood productions like El Cid (1961) and Pret a Porter (1994) with European features such as Marriage, Italian Style (which garnered her a second Oscar nom) and double Oscar nominee A Special Day (1977). Loren took home her second Oscar, an honorary trophy for lifetime achievement, in 1991.
Benicio Del Toro

Image Credit: Photo Credit: AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)

His turn as a non-corrupt Mexican cop in Steven Soderbergh's Traffic won the Puerto Rico-born Del Toro the best supporting actor nod and launched his international career. While never quite cracking the A-list, Del Toro has kept busy, featuring in Sin City (2005), Savages (2012) and the upcoming Marvel tentpole The Guardians of the Galaxy.
Ingrid Bergman

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Arguably the most successful European import to Hollywood, the Swedish-born Bergman won a total of three Oscars, two Emmys, four Golden Globes and a Tony. Her Academy Awards (best actress for Gaslight in 1944 and Anastasia in 1957 and best supporting actress for Murder on the Orient Express in 1974) were interspersed with star turns in cinema classics including Casablanca (1942), Spellbound (1945) and Notorious (1946).
Marion Cotillard

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The Parisian beauty translated her best actress win in 2008 for playing Edith Piaf in La Vie en Rose into a spot on Hollywood's A-list, appearing in Michael Mann's Public Enemies, Christopher Nolan's Inception and The Dark Knight Rises and even securing a cameo in Anchorman 2. Her latest coup is scoring the role of Lady MacBeth alongside Michael Fassbender in Justin Kurzel's adaptation of Shakespeare's Scottish play.
Penelope Cruz

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Already a big star when she won best supporting actress for Woody Allen's Vicky Christina Barcelona in 2008, the Spanish-born Cruz is among the handful of foreign-born actresses to sustain a top-tier career in the U.S. with high-profile roles in features such as Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Allen's To Rome With Love and Ridley Scott's The Counselor.
Juliette Binoche

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Binoche's best supporting actress win in 1996 for The English Patient – part of that film's Oscar sweep – crowned an already blossoming Hollywood career for the French star. While Binoche has never quite made it to the top tier in the U.S., she has stayed on agents' Rolodexes with roles opposite Johnny Depp in Chocolat (2000) and Steve Carell in Dan in Real Life (2007).
Roberto Benigni

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The Italian funnyman was the first man ever to win an Oscar in a non-English-speaking role when he took best actor for Life Is Beautiful in 1998 (the film also won best foreign language film). But after his memorable awards show antics, Benigni returned to Italy and never really came back. His follow-up to Life Is Beautiful, 2002's Pinocchio, was one of the most expensive Italian films of all time. It was a hit at home but bombed in North America, earning $3.6 million for Miramax and a dismal 0 percent critics' score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Jean Dujardin

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The suave Frenchman didn't need a single line of dialogue to win over Academy voters as the silent film star of The Artist, the role that won Dujardin the best actor Oscar in 2012. Since then, Dujardin has stayed focused on his day job as a French leading man in local-language comedies such as The Players and upcoming Le petit joueur alongside bit roles in Hollywood titles, including playing a Swiss banker in Martin Scorcese's The Wolf of Wall Street and as one of George Clooney's Monuments Men in the WWII-set drama.
Christoph Waltz

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After decades in near obscurity in German TV, the Austrian-born multilingual Waltz became an overnight superstar with his Oscar-winning supporting actor turn in Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds and a repeat nod for Django Unchained. Waltz's full dance card includes turns in the upcoming Muppets Most Wanted feature, Horrible Bosses 2 and David Yates' live-action Tarzan.
Javier Bardem

Image Credit: Photo Credit: AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill

Penelope Cruz's husband has notched three Oscar nominations including one supporting actor win for No Country for Old Men in 2008. The husky Spaniard is firmly established on the Hollywood A-list, not least thanks to his creepy turn as the villain Silva in Sam Mendes' Bond blockbuster Skyfall.
Lupita Nyong’o

Born in Mexico and raised in Kenya, Nyong'o cut her teeth as a production runner on the Ralph Fiennes starrer The Constant Gardener, which shot in Africa. Before British director Steve McQueen picked her to play Patsey in 12 Years a Slave, her own major credit was on the South African TV miniseries Shuga. Nyong’o's first post-Oscar role in Non-Stop looks a good fit. The actioner, starring Liam Neeson, opened atop the U.S. and international box office this past weekend, grossing $30 million in North America and a total of some $50 million worldwide.

Jose Ferrer

Lila Kedrova

Sophia Loren

Benicio Del Toro

Ingrid Bergman

Marion Cotillard

Penelope Cruz

Juliette Binoche

Roberto Benigni

Jean Dujardin

Christoph Waltz

Javier Bardem

Lupita Nyong’o