10 Famous People You May Have Forgotten Were Oscar Winners

3. Lionel Richie

At first glance, it may be surprising to find out that Lionel Richie is an Oscar winner. You're probably saying to yourself: "Isn't that the guy who sang "Hello"? He has an Oscar too?" Yes, he absolutely does. Richie won his Oscar in 1986 for the song "Say You, Say Me," which was featured in the Taylor Hackford movie White Nights. The movie starred famous Russian dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov and was a substantial box office success, but it received mixed reviews from critics at the time. Meanwhile, Lionel Richie's song was a massive hit. It climbed to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts and it was one of the top selling singles of 1985. So perhaps it's not that surprising that it found success at the Oscars, then? Interestingly enough, Lionel Richie was nominated twice that year and in the same category. His other nomination was for a song he did with Quincy Jones called "Miss Celie's Blues (Sister)" which was featured on The Color Purple soundtrack. Richie received his first Oscar nomination back in 1982 for his song "Endless Love." Needless to say, the '80s were very kind to Lionel Richie.