Steven Spielberg has won three Academy Awards

For his work as a director, Steven Spielberg has received three Academy Awards, including the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award, which is given to someone for their service to the film industry. He received two Best Director awards, one in 1994 for Schindler's List and the other in 1999 for Saving Private Ryan. Seven times he has been nominated for the prize; his first nomination was for Close Encounters of the Third Kind back in 1978.

Only one of Spielberg's movies has received the Best Picture Oscar. In 1994, Schindler's List was released. Ten of his films have received Best Picture nominations as of this writing, ET: The Extra-Terrestrial being the first to do so in 1983. His films have earned a staggering 131 times in total and 34 different prizes over the years.

At the time, Schindler's List received seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director (Spielberg's first of two), and is regarded as the director's finest achievement. Jurassic Park was the highest-grossing film ever filmed at the time.