Charlie Chaplin, Howard Hawks, Alfred Hitchcock, Orson Welles, Stanley Kubrick, Greta Garbo, Harrison Ford, Marilyn Monroe... These icons never received Oscars. Here are just five luminaries with rich contributions to cinema, who remain without the most desired laurel.

Kirk Douglas

He is the quintessential Hollywood actor, veritably embodying every role he takes on. He is perhaps best known for the leader of a slave revolt in "Spartacus" (1960).

In 1956, his portrayal of Van Gogh in "Lust for Life" was remarkable, but the Oscar jury chose to reward Anthony Quinn, who appeared in the same film but in the category of supporting actor.

Douglas has been nominated four times.

Marilyn Monroe

The bombshell never seduced the Oscar committee, but she was amazing in her own right. For most, though, she is perceived as Hollywood's foremost sex symbol.

Marilyn Monroe died at the age of 36

Her career peaked with memorable classics like "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" (1953) and "The Seven Year Itch" (1955), but her success could not stop her personal agony. She committed suicide on August 5, 1962, at the age of 36, under vague circumstances.

Stanley Kubrick

Kubrick was not just a director - he was also a cameraman, director of photography, screenwriter and producer. He brought us "Spartacus" (1960), "2001" (1968), and the controversal fims "Clockwork Orange" (1971) and "Eyes Wide Shut." (1999). Orson Welles once called him a "giant" of cinema.

Greta Garbo

She was known as "the Divine." She was nominated for four Oscars, finally winning one for a lifetime achievement.

Born in Stockholm in 1905, Garbo made the leap between silent films and talkies, where some of her fellow actors had failed. The American Film Institute dubbed her the fifth greatest actress in the history of film.

Alfred Hitchcock

Alfred Hitchcock with his 'birds'

"Psycho", "The Birds", "The Man Who Knew too Much": Hitchcock is the undisputed master of suspense. Despite five Oscar nominations, he left empty-handed each time, as if Hollywood had cursed him.