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List of accolades received by Elaine May May in 1959
Accolades Award
Wins
Nominations
0
2
1
1
0
1
1
4
1
41
Wins 15 Nominations 29 Note
^ Certain award groups do not simply award one winner. They acknowledge several different recipients, have runners-up, and have third place. Since this is a specific recognition and is different from losing an award, runner-up mentions are considered wins in this award tally. For simplification and to avoid errors, each award in this list has been presumed to have had a prior nomination.
Elaine May British Academy Film Award , a Grammy Award , a Tony Award , and a Writers Guild of America Award as well as nominations for a competitive Academy Award and Golden Globe Award . She has received several honors including the National Medal of Arts in 2013, the Laurel Award for Screenwriting Achievement in 2016, and the Academy Honorary Award in 2021.
May began her career as a improvisational comedian where she was a founding member of the Compass Players . She often collaborated with Mike Nichols during the 1960s and together, they performed onstage from clubs in Greenwich Village to the Broadway stage. They released several comedy albums and won the Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album for An Evening with Mike Nichols and Elaine May Improvisations to Music Mike Nichols & Elaine May Examine Doctors
On film, she started her career as a comedic actress in a string of films including her black comedy film A New Leaf Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy . She expanded her career as a writer and directer and later received two Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay nominations for her work on Warren Beatty 's fantasy comedy-drama Heaven Can Wait Primary Colors BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay . She received the Laurel Award for Screenwriting Achievement in 2016 and the Academy Honorary Award in 2021.
On the Broadway stage, she portrayed an elderly woman with dementia in the revival of the Kenneth Lonergan memory play The Waverly Gallery Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play as well as a nomination for the Drama League Distinguished Performance Award . As a playwright and director, she previously won the Drama Desk Award for Most Promising Playwright and two Outer Critics Circle Awards for Special Theatrical Production and Best Direction for her play Adaptation (1969).
She was honored with the National Medal of Arts in 2013 from President Barack Obama in a ceremony in The White House . She was awarded for her "groundbreaking wit and a keen understanding of how humor can illuminate our lives, Ms. May has evoked untold joy, challenged expectations, and elevated spirits across our Nation."[ 1] A New Leaf Library of Congress for preservation in the United States National Film Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[ 2]
Miscellaneous awards [ edit ]
^ "President Obama to Award 2012 National Medal of Arts and National Humanities Medal" . whitehouse.gov . Retrieved February 1, 2016 – via National Archives .^ Chow, Andrew R. (December 11, 2019). "See the 25 New Additions to the National Film Registry, From Purple Rain to Clerks" . Time . New York, NY. Archived from the original on December 11, 2019. Retrieved December 11, 2019 . ^ a b c "Academy Awards Database Search - Elaine May" . Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . Archived from the original on October 19, 2023. Retrieved December 31, 2022 .^ "51st Academy Awards" . Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on April 28, 2024. Retrieved June 24, 2021 .^ "71st Academy Awards" . Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on April 9, 2024. Retrieved June 24, 2021 .^ Coyle, Jake (June 24, 2021). "Oscars to honor Elaine May, Danny Glover, Samuel L. Jackson" . Associated Press Archived from the original on November 24, 2023. Retrieved June 24, 2021 . ^ "BAFTA Awards - Adapted Screenplay in 1999" . British Academy of Film and Television Arts . Retrieved December 31, 2022 .^ "Golden Globes Awards - Elaine May" . Hollywood Foreign Press Association . Retrieved December 31, 2022 .^ "Artist: Elaine May" . The Recording Academy . Archived from the original on October 24, 2023. Retrieved April 8, 2020 .^ "4th Annual Grammy Awards" . Grammy Awards . Retrieved August 3, 2025 .^ "5th Annual Grammy Awards" . Grammy Awards . Retrieved August 3, 2025 .^ "Elaine May, a comedy great with Chicago roots, wins first Tony Award at 87" . Chicago Sun-Times Archived from the original on October 28, 2021. Retrieved April 8, 2020 .^ "2001, 7th Annual Awards" . Chlotrudis Society for Independent Films Archived from the original on November 9, 2019. Retrieved June 27, 2024 .^ Cardwell, Diane (January 7, 2001). "Critics Group Honors Quirky List of Film Favorites" . The New York Times Archived from the original on January 9, 2023. Retrieved January 2, 2018 . ^ "1998 Awards (2nd Annual)" . Online Film Critics Society . January 3, 2012. Retrieved November 21, 2021 .^ "2000 Awards (4th Annual)" . Online Film Critics Society. January 3, 2012. Retrieved November 21, 2021 .^ "Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films - 1979 Awards" . IMDb . Retrieved June 10, 2024 .^ "Past Scripter Awards" . USC Scripter Award . Retrieved June 27, 2024 .^ a b McNary, Dave (January 19, 2016). "Elaine May Honored by Writers Guild of America" . Variety Archived from the original on October 19, 2023. Retrieved April 8, 2020 . ^ a b c "Elaine May" . Playbill . Retrieved May 10, 2020 .^ "Oscars: Academy To Honor Danny Glover, Samuel L. Jackson, Elaine May & Liv Ullmann At 2022 Governors Awards" . Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved August 3, 2025 .^ Ramos, Dino-Ray (October 31, 2019). "LAFCA To Honor Elaine May With Career Achievement Award" . Deadline Hollywood Archived from the original on June 30, 2022. Retrieved April 8, 2020 . ^ "George Lucas, Tony Kushner, Elaine May Among National Medal Of Arts Honorees" . Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved August 3, 2025 .^ "WGA Awards: Elaine May to be Honored for Screenwriting Achievement" . The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved August 3, 2025 .
