Academy Awards archive
The Color Purple Oscar Nominations & Wins
The Color Purple has 11 Academy Award records in the AwardWentTo archive, including 0 wins.
Wins recorded in the archive
No winning records for The Color Purple are represented in this archive. Its recorded nominations are listed below.
All 11 award records
Counts reflect film-linked records in this archive. Historical, special and honorary awards may be included; these are not a verified competitive-award total. Years identify the source film eligibility year.
| Film year | Category / credited nominee | Recorded result |
|---|---|---|
| Film year1985 | Best Actress Credited nominee / recipientWhoopi Goldberg Celie | Nomination recorded |
| Film year1985 | Best Supporting Actress Credited nominee / recipientMargaret Avery Shug Avery | Nomination recorded |
| Film year1985 | Best Supporting Actress Credited nominee / recipientOprah Winfrey Sofia | Nomination recorded |
| Film year1985 | Art Direction Credited nominee / recipientArt Direction: J. Michael Riva, Robert W. Welch; Set Decoration: Linda DeScenna | Nomination recorded Recorded winner in this categoryOut of Africa Art Direction: Stephen Grimes; Set Decoration: Josie MacAvin |
| Film year1985 | Cinematography Credited nominee / recipientAllen Daviau | Nomination recorded |
| Film year1985 | Costume Design Credited nominee / recipientAggie Guerard Rodgers | Nomination recorded |
| Film year1985 | Makeup and Hairstyling Credited nominee / recipientKen Chase | Nomination recorded |
| Film year1985 | Original Score Credited nominee / recipientQuincy Jones, Jeremy Lubbock, Rod Temperton, Caiphus Semenya, Andrae Crouch, Chris Boardman, Jorge Calandrelli, Joel Rosenbaum, Fred Steiner, Jack Hayes, Jerry Hey, Randy Kerber | Nomination recorded |
| Film year1985 | Original Song Credited nominee / recipientMusic by Quincy Jones and Rod Temperton; Lyric by Quincy Jones, Rod Temperton and Lionel Richie Miss Celie's Blues (Sister) | Nomination recorded |
| Film year1985 | Best Picture Credited nominee / recipientSteven Spielberg, Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall and Quincy Jones, Producers | Nomination recorded |
| Film year1985 | Adapted Screenplay Credited nominee / recipientMenno Meyjes | Nomination recorded |
Who else was nominated?
Compare The Color Purple with the film-linked nominees recorded in the same category and ceremony. Each performance or song keeps its own credit; winners are marked in gold.
Comparisons are shown only for unambiguous competitive results. Honorary awards, ties and groups with unresolved source notes remain in the award history above.
Best Actress 1985 film year · Ceremony 58
- Nominee
- Nominee
- Nominee
- ★ Winner
- Nominee
Best Supporting Actress 1985 film year · Ceremony 58
- Nominee
- ★ Winner
- Nominee
- Nominee
- Nominee
Art Direction 1985 film year · Ceremony 58
- BrazilNomineeArt Direction: Norman Garwood; Set Decoration: Maggie Gray
- The Color Purple This filmNomineeArt Direction: J. Michael Riva, Robert W. Welch; Set Decoration: Linda DeScenna
- Out of Africa★ WinnerArt Direction: Stephen Grimes; Set Decoration: Josie MacAvin
- RanNomineeArt Direction: Yoshiro Muraki, Shinobu Muraki
- WitnessNomineeArt Direction: Stan Jolley; Set Decoration: John Anderson
Cinematography 1985 film year · Ceremony 58
- The Color Purple This filmNominee
- Nominee
- ★ Winner
- RanNomineeTakao Saito, Masaharu Ueda, Asakazu Nakai
- Nominee
Costume Design 1985 film year · Ceremony 58
- The Color Purple This filmNominee
- Nominee
- Nominee
- Nominee
- ★ Winner
Makeup and Hairstyling 1985 film year · Ceremony 58
- The Color Purple This filmNominee
- Mask★ WinnerMichael Westmore, Zoltan Elek
- Nominee
Original Score 1985 film year · Ceremony 58
- Nominee
- The Color Purple This filmNomineeQuincy Jones, Jeremy Lubbock, Rod Temperton, Caiphus Semenya, Andrae Crouch, Chris Boardman, Jorge Calandrelli, Joel Rosenbaum, Fred Steiner, Jack Hayes, Jerry Hey, Randy Kerber
- ★ Winner
- Nominee
- Nominee
Original Song 1985 film year · Ceremony 58
- The Color Purple This filmNominee
Miss Celie's Blues (Sister)
Music by Quincy Jones and Rod Temperton; Lyric by Quincy Jones, Rod Temperton and Lionel Richie - Nominee
- ★ Winner
- Nominee
- Nominee
Best Picture 1985 film year · Ceremony 58
- The Color Purple This filmNomineeSteven Spielberg, Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall and Quincy Jones, Producers
- Kiss of the Spider WomanNomineeDavid Weisman, Producer
- Out of Africa★ WinnerSydney Pollack, Producer
- Prizzi's HonorNomineeJohn Foreman, Producer
- WitnessNomineeEdward S. Feldman, Producer
Adapted Screenplay 1985 film year · Ceremony 58
- The Color Purple This filmNominee
- Nominee
- ★ Winner
- Prizzi's HonorNomineeRichard Condon, Janet Roach
- Nominee
About these award records
This independent archive groups film-linked award records by film, credited name, category and eligibility year. The film year can differ from the year the ceremony took place. Ceremony numbers are shown where supplied by the records.
Each distinct performance, song or award credit remains a separate record, even when it belongs to the same film. Shared credits stay together. A person's page covers the name shown, without combining aliases or shared credits into a complete career total.
Totals can include honorary, special and historical awards alongside competitive nominations. Awards without a linked film are outside these page totals. Source notes and uncertain records are retained; category comparisons omit groups with unresolved notes, ties or conflicting identities.
For the official record, search the Academy Awards Database (opens in a new tab). Award Went To is an independent exploration tool and is not affiliated with the Academy.