Academy Awards: What 10 of This Year’s Nominees Wore to Their First Oscars

Vanity Fair

Joanna Robinson

It's the first Academy Awards for many of this year's nominees, and as the saying goes, you never forget your first. From newcomers like 12 Years A Slave's Lupita Nyong'o, to veterans like Nebraska's June Squibb, the red carpet is going to be packed with performers trotting out their first Oscar gown or tux. That's a lot of pressure. Years from now, when those Oscar freshmen have become veterans, we'll look back at these first steps they took. What were they wearing? What were they thinking? Who were they dating? How nervous did they look? Sarah Jessica Parker recently spoke to us about her first, DIY red carpet Oscar experience and fondly recalled her date back in 1989.

"I found a local dressmaker [in Pittsburgh] to make me a dress for the Oscars. And I guarantee you I wore a pair of Manolo Blahnik shoes. And I did my own hair and makeup. [...] I went with a young man named Robert Downey Jr., because we were courting at the time, and I'm sure I have the dress. It was a simple, black velvet dress. [...] If only it was that simple today."

Actress Ellen Burstyn (who has been nominated for an Oscar six times and won in 1975 for Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore), explains that the red carpet pressure is a little more intense these days.

"Oh, well, those fans outside of the red carpet have just gotten to be so big. I mean, when I first started attending, it wasn't like that. It reminds me a little bit of the Christians and the lions, in the arena, cheering. It's got an incredible energy to it. It's bigger than it used to be, much bigger."

For a little perspective, and some fun fashion flashbacks, we took a look at what this year's crop of returning nominees looked like the first time they walked the Oscar red carpet. Some were so young, some were so nervous, and some just hadn't figured out their hair yet. Take a look at these ten nominees, then and now.

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What 10 of This Year's Nominees Wore to Their First Oscars
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