List of awards and nominations received by John Williams

This is a list of awards and nominations received by the American composer John Williams.

John Williams in 2007

John Williams has been nominated for 54 Academy Awards, winning 5; 6 Emmy Awards, winning 3; 26 Golden Globe Awards, winning 4; 76 Grammy Awards, winning 26; 16 British Academy Film Awards, winning 7; 23 Saturn Awards, winning 10. In 2022, Williams was appointed an Honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) by Queen Elizabeth II, "for services to film music".

With 54 Oscar nominations, Williams currently holds the record for the most Oscar nominations for a living person,^[1][2] and is the second most nominated person in Academy Awards history behind Walt Disney with 59, as well as the only person in the history of the Academy Awards to have received nominations in seven consecutive decades. Forty-eight of Williams's Oscar nominations are for Best Original Score and five are for Best Original Song. He won four Oscars for Best Original Score and one for Best Scoring: Adaptation and Original Song Score (Fiddler on the Roof).

Williams has won the Grammy Awards for Best Instrumental Composition and Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media several times for his scores for Star Wars, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Superman, The Empire Strikes Back, E.T. the Extraterrestrial, Munich, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, The Book Thief, The Force Awakens and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. The competition includes composers of instrumental music of any genre.

Major associations

Academy Awards

Year	Category	Nominated work	Result	Ref.
1968	Best Scoring of Music – Adaptation or Treatment	Valley of the Dolls	Nominated	[3]
1970	Best Score of a Musical Picture – Original or Adaptation	Goodbye, Mr. Chips	Nominated	[4]
	Best Original Score for a Motion Picture (Not a Musical)	The Reivers	Nominated
1972	Best Scoring: Adaptation and Original Song Score	Fiddler on the Roof	Won	[5]
1973	Best Original Dramatic Score	Images	Nominated	[6]
		The Poseidon Adventure	Nominated
1974		Cinderella Liberty	Nominated	[7]
	Best Song	"Nice to Be Around" (from Cinderella Liberty)	Nominated
	Best Scoring: Original Song Score and Adaptation or Scoring: Adaptation	Tom Sawyer	Nominated
1975	Best Original Dramatic Score	The Towering Inferno	Nominated	[8]
1976	Best Original Score	Jaws	Won	[9]
1978		Star Wars	Won	[10]
		Close Encounters of the Third Kind	Nominated
1979		Superman	Nominated	[11]
1981		The Empire Strikes Back	Nominated	[12]
1982		Raiders of the Lost Ark	Nominated	[13]
1983		E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial	Won	[14]
	Best Original Song	"If We Were in Love" (from Yes, Giorgio)	Nominated
1984	Best Original Score	Return of the Jedi	Nominated	[15]
1985		Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom	Nominated	[16]
		The River	Nominated
1988		Empire of the Sun	Nominated	[17]
		The Witches of Eastwick	Nominated
1989		The Accidental Tourist	Nominated	[18]
1990		Born on the Fourth of July	Nominated	[19]
		Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade	Nominated
1991		Home Alone	Nominated	[20]
	Best Original Song	"Somewhere in My Memory" (from Home Alone)	Nominated
1992	Best Original Score	JFK	Nominated	[21]
	Best Original Song	"When You're Alone" (from Hook)	Nominated
1994	Best Original Score	Schindler's List	Won	[22]
1996	Best Original Song	"Moonlight" (from Sabrina)	Nominated	[23]
	Best Original Musical or Comedy Score	Sabrina	Nominated
	Best Original Dramatic Score	Nixon	Nominated
1997		Sleepers	Nominated	[24]
1998		Amistad	Nominated	[25]
1999		Saving Private Ryan	Nominated	[26]
2000	Best Original Score	Angela's Ashes	Nominated	[27]
2001		The Patriot	Nominated	[28]
2002		A.I. Artificial Intelligence	Nominated	[29]
		Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone	Nominated
2003		Catch Me If You Can	Nominated	[30]
2005		Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban	Nominated	[31]
2006		Memoirs of a Geisha	Nominated	[32]
		Munich	Nominated
2012		The Adventures of Tintin	Nominated	[33]
		War Horse	Nominated
2013		Lincoln	Nominated	[34]
2014		The Book Thief	Nominated	[35]
2016		Star Wars: The Force Awakens	Nominated	[36]
2018		Star Wars: The Last Jedi	Nominated	[37]
2020		Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker	Nominated	[38]
2023		The Fabelmans	Nominated	[39]
2024		Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny	Nominated	[40]

BAFTA Awards

Year	Category	Nominated work	Result	Ref.
British Academy Film Awards
1976	Anthony Asquith Award for Original Film Music	Jaws and The Towering Inferno	Won	[41]
1979		Star Wars	Won	[42]
		Close Encounters of the Third Kind	Nominated
1981	Best Original Film Music	The Empire Strikes Back	Won	[43]
1982		Raiders of the Lost Ark	Nominated	[44]
1983	Best Score for a Film	E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial	Won	[45]
1989		Empire of the Sun	Won	[46]
1994		Schindler's List	Won	[47]
1999	Anthony Asquith Award for Original Film Music	Saving Private Ryan	Nominated	[48]
2003		Catch Me If You Can	Nominated	[49]
2006		Memoirs of a Geisha	Won	[50]
2012	Best Original Music	War Horse	Nominated	[51]
2013		Lincoln	Nominated	[52]
2014		The Book Thief	Nominated	[53]
2016		Star Wars: The Force Awakens	Nominated	[54]
2020	Best Original Score	Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker	Nominated	[55]

Emmy Awards

Year	Category	Nominated work	Result	Ref.
Primetime Emmy Awards
1962	Outstanding Music Composition for a Series	Alcoa Premiere	Nominated	[56]
1963	Outstanding Achievement in Composing Original Music	Alcoa Premiere	Nominated	[57]
1969	Outstanding Achievement in Musical Composition	Heidi	Won	[58]
1972	Outstanding Music Composition for a Series	Jane Eyre	Won	[59]
2002	Outstanding Music Direction	The 74th Annual Academy Awards	Nominated	[60]
2009	Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music	Great Performances	Won	[61]

Golden Globe Awards

Year	Category	Nominated work	Result	Ref.
1973	Best Original Score – Motion Picture	The Poseidon Adventure	Nominated	[62]
1974		Cinderella Liberty	Nominated	[63]
1975		Earthquake	Nominated	[64]
1976		Jaws	Won	[65]
1978		Close Encounters of the Third Kind	Nominated	[66]
		Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope	Won
1979		Superman	Nominated	[67]
1981		Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back	Nominated	[68]
1983		E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial	Won	[69]
	Best Original Song – Motion Picture	"If We Were in Love" (from Yes, Giorgio)	Nominated
1985	Best Original Score – Motion Picture	The River	Nominated	[70]
1988		Empire of the Sun	Nominated	[71]
1989		The Accidental Tourist	Nominated	[72]
1990		Born on the Fourth of July	Nominated	[73]
1994		Schindler's List	Nominated	[74]
1996	Best Original Song – Motion Picture	"Moonlight" (from Sabrina)	Nominated	[75]
1998	Best Original Score – Motion Picture	Seven Years in Tibet	Nominated	[76]
1999		Saving Private Ryan	Nominated	[77]
2000		Angela's Ashes	Nominated	[78]
2002		A.I. Artificial Intelligence	Nominated	[79]
2006		Memoirs of a Geisha	Won	[80]
2012		War Horse	Nominated	[81]
2013		Lincoln	Nominated	[82]
2014		The Book Thief	Nominated	[83]
2018		The Post	Nominated	[84]
2023		The Fabelmans	Nominated	[85]

Grammy Awards

Year	Category	Nominated work	Result	Ref.
1962	Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media	Checkmate	Nominated	[86]
1976	Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media	Jaws	Won	[87]
1977	Best Instrumental Arrangement	"The Disaster Movie Suite"	Nominated	[88]
1978	Best Instrumental Composition	"Star Wars – Main Title"	Won	[89]
	Best Pop Instrumental Recording	Star Wars	Won
	Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media		Won
	Album of the Year		Nominated
1979	Best Instrumental Composition	"Theme from Close Encounters of the Third Kind"	Won	[90]
	Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media	Close Encounters of the Third Kind	Won
	Best Pop Instrumental Performance		Nominated
1980	Best Instrumental Composition	"Superman Main Title Theme"	Won	[91]
	Best Pop Instrumental Performance		Nominated
	Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media	Superman	Won
1981	Best Pop Instrumental Performance	"Yoda's Theme"	Nominated	[92]
	Best Instrumental Composition		Nominated
		"Imperial March (Darth Vader's Theme)"	Nominated
		The Empire Strikes Back	Won
	Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media		Won
1982		Raiders of the Lost Ark	Won	[93]
1983		E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial	Won	[94]
	Best Pop Instrumental Performance		Nominated
	Best Instrumental Composition	"Adventure on Earth"	Nominated
		"Flying" (Theme from E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial)	Won
	Best Arrangement on an Instrumental Recording		Won
1984	Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media	Return of the Jedi	Nominated	[95]
1985	Best Instrumental Composition	"Olympic Fanfare & Theme"	Won	[96]
1986	Best Recording for Children	Prokofiev: Peter and the Wolf	Nominated	[97]
1988	Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media	The Witches of Eastwick	Nominated	[98]
1989		Empire of the Sun	Nominated	[99]
	Best Instrumental Composition	"Olympic Spirit"	Nominated
1990	Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media	Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade	Nominated	[100]
1991	Best Arrangement on an Instrumental Recording	Born on the Fourth of July	Nominated	[101]
1992	Best Pop Instrumental Performance	John Williams Conducts John Williams: The Star Wars Trilogy	Nominated	[102]
	Best Song Written for Visual Media	"Somewhere in My Memory" (from Home Alone)	Nominated
1993	Best Pop Instrumental Performance	Hook	Nominated	[103]
	Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media		Nominated
1994		Jurassic Park	Nominated	[104]
1995		Schindler's List	Won	[105]
1997	Best Song Written for Visual Media	"Moonlight" (from Sabrina)	Nominated	[106]
1998	Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media	The Lost World: Jurassic Park	Nominated	[107]
		Seven Years in Tibet	Nominated
1999		Saving Private Ryan	Won	[108]
		Amistad	Nominated
	Best Classical Crossover Album	Gershwin Fantasy	Nominated
2000	Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media	Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace	Nominated	[109]
	Best Instrumental Arrangement	"Stella by Starlight (from The Uninvited)"	Nominated
2001	Best Instrumental Composition	"Theme from Angela's Ashes"	Won	[110]
2002	Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media	A.I. Artificial Intelligence	Nominated	[111]
2003	Best Instrumental Composition	"Hedwig's Theme"	Nominated	[112]
	Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media	Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone	Nominated
2004		Catch Me If You Can	Nominated	[113]
		Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets	Nominated
2005		Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban	Nominated	[114]
2006		Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith	Nominated	[115]
	Best Instrumental Composition	"Anakin's Betrayal"	Nominated
		"The Ferry Scene"	Nominated
2007	Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media	Memoirs of a Geisha	Won	[116]
		Munich	Nominated
	Best Instrumental Composition	"A Prayer for Peace"	Won
		"Sayuri's Theme and End Credits"	Nominated
2009	Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media	Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull	Nominated	[117]
	Best Instrumental Composition	"The Adventures of Mutt"	Won
2013	Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media	The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn	Nominated	[118]
2014		Lincoln	Nominated	[119]
2015	Best Instrumental Composition	"The Book Thief"	Won	[120]
2017	Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media	Star Wars: The Force Awakens	Won	[121]
2018	Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella	"Escapades for Alto Saxophone and Orchestra from Catch Me If You Can"	Won	[122]
2019	Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media	Star Wars: The Last Jedi	Nominated	[123]
	Best Instrumental Composition	"Mine Mission"	Nominated
2020		"Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge Symphonic Suite"	Won	[124]
	Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella	"Hedwig's Theme"	Nominated
2021	Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media	Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker	Nominated	[125]
2023	Best Orchestral Performance	"The Berlin Concert" (John Williams, conductor, Berliner Philharmoniker)	Nominated	[126]
2024	Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media	The Fabelmans	Nominated	[127]
		Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny	Nominated
	Best Instrumental Composition	"Helena's Theme", Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny	Won

Miscellaneous

Saturn Awards

Year	Category	Nominated work	Result
1978	Best Music	Star Wars	Won
		Close Encounters of the Third Kind	Won
1979		Superman	Won
1981		The Empire Strikes Back	Nominated
1982		Raiders of the Lost Ark	Won
1983		E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial	Won
1984		Return of the Jedi	Nominated
1988		The Witches of Eastwick	Nominated
1994		Jurassic Park	Nominated
2002		A.I. Artificial Intelligence	Won
2003		Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones	Nominated
		Minority Report	Nominated
2005		Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban	Nominated
2006		War of the Worlds	Nominated
		Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith	Won
2012		War Horse	Nominated
		The Adventures of Tintin	Nominated
2014		The Book Thief	Nominated
2016		Star Wars: The Force Awakens	Won
2017		The BFG	Nominated
2018		Star Wars: The Last Jedi	Nominated
2021		Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker	Won
2024		Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny	Won

Honorary awards

Year	Association	Award	Ref.
1998	Songwriters Hall of Fame	Inductee	[128]
1999	BMI Film and TV Awards	Richard Kirk Award	[129]
2000	Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame	Inductee	[130]
2003	International Olympic Committee	Olympic Order	[131]
2004	American Classical Music Hall of Fame	Inductee	[132]
2004	Kennedy Center Honor	Medal
2005	Classic Brit Award	Award
2009	National Medal of Arts	Award	[133]
2012	Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music	Composer of the Year
2013	Ken Burns Lifetime Achievement Award	Career award	[134]
2016	AFI Life Achievement Award	Honorary Award	[135]
2020	Royal Philharmonic Society	The Gold Medal	[136]
2020	Princess of Asturias Award for the Arts	Award	[137]
2022	Honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE)	Honorary Knighthood
2024	Disney Legends	Recipient	[138]

Academic awards

Year	University	Honor	Ref.
1988	Boston University	Kappa Kappa Psi	[139]
1993	Boston College	Honorary Doctor of Music	[140]
2017	Harvard University	Honorary Doctorate	[141]
2019	Berklee College of Music	Honorary Doctorate of Music	[142]
2021	University of Pennsylvania	Honorary Doctorate	[143]

Special recognition

• In 2005 the American Film Institute selected Williams's score to 1977's Star Wars as the greatest American film score of all time. His scores for Jaws and E.T. also appeared on the list, at No. 6 and No. 14, respectively.^[144] He is the only composer to have three scores on the list. Williams received the AFI Life Achievement Award in June 2016, becoming the first composer to receive the award.^[145]
• Since 1988, Williams has been honored with 15 Sammy Film Music Awards, the longest-running awards for film music recordings.^[146]
• In 2018 the Broadcast Music, Inc. created The John Williams Award and awarded Williams with the inaugural award.^[147]
• In 2020, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra honored Williams with a commission to compose a new procedural for their annual Philharmonikerball,^[148] to complement or replace their hitherto used 1924 fanfare composed by Richard Strauss.
• In 2022 British media company Global awarded Williams with one of their 2022 Global Awards, in the Best Classical Artist category.^[149]
• In 2023, Williams was made an honorary marine after conducting his fifth concert with the United States President's Own Marine Band at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington D.C.