Step 1 : Introduction to the question "Which legendary actress has lost the Best Actress Oscar a whopping 18 times?"
...Over the past five decades, Meryl Streep has amassed 21 Oscar nominations, more than any other performer in Academy Awards history. She has won three times—Best Supporting Actress for Kramer vs. Kramer (1979), and Best Actress for Sophie’s Choice (1982) and The Iron Lady (2011). Yet with 18 Oscar losses (14 for Best Actress, 4 for Supporting), she holds the record for most defeats as well. Her first loss came for The Deer Hunter (1978), setting the stage for a remarkable Oscar trajectory filled with both triumphs and heartbreaks.