Via Variety:
There are those who win a second lead acting Oscar, but it happens only occasionally -- and not to many of those you might expect.
In the past 40 years, there have been 71 different lead actor/actress winners, highlighting how difficult it has been for anyone to return to the winner's circle, even through a storied career.
In recent years, lead actor winners Sean Penn and Daniel Day-Lewis have earned that Academy recognition a second time, for "Milk" and "There Will Be Blood," respectively, and in the last decade, "Boys Don't Cry" awardee Hilary Swank returned to the dais to accept lead actress Oscar No. 2 for "Million Dollar Baby."
Yet Meryl Streep -- often hailed as our finest living film actress -- has but one lead actress win, for 1982's "Sophie's Choice," and though she's made 11 more trips to the nominees' circle in that category, she hasn't repeated. Last year, the talk surrounding her performance as Julia Child was enough to suggest a second Oscar was coming, but Sandra Bullock won for "The Blind Side," her first Oscar nomination.
