Hollywood's biggest night is right around the corner! In honor of Women's History Month, we are taking a look at some of the pioneers who blazed a trail for female filmmakers and entertainers. In part I, we highlighted women who made history in the first 50 ceremonies (1929-1978). Now, let's take a look at the achievements of women over the last 44 years.

At the 54th annual Oscars ceremony held in 1982, the academy began honoring makeup artists with the competitive award Best Makeup (now called Best Makeup and Hairstyling). Previously, only two makeup artists had been recognized for the work, with the academy issuing two Special Achievement Awards in the 1960s. Two women, Sarah Monzani and Michèle Burke, won the award for Best Makeup in its second year of existence (1983) for their work on the prehistoric fantasy film "Quest for Fire." Burke won a second Oscar a decade later as part of the makeup team behind "Bram Stoker's Dracula." Women have historically fared well in this category, as the last five winning teams have included women.

Best Makeup and Hairstyling is not the only Oscar category that has changed its name or focus over the years. The category currently called Best Original Score was first awarded in 1935 under the name Best Scoring, and it has split into separate categories and reconsolidated multiple times since. The first woman to win an Oscar for her work on a film score was Marilyn Bergman, who won in the category Best Original Song Score or Adaptation Score for "Yentl" at the 56th annual ceremony held in 1984. She won as part of a team that included her husband Alan Bergman and composer Michel Legrand. The first woman to win solo was Rachel Portman, who won in the category Best Original Musical or Comedy Score for "Emma" at the 69th ceremony held in 1997.

The category currently known as Best Sound also has a long and complicated history. The academy first issued an award for sound technicians called Best Sound Recording at the third ceremony held in 1930. In the years since, the category has continuously evolved, split into separate Sound and Sound Effects categories, then consolidated, then split again into Editing and Mixing categories, then consolidated yet again, with several Special Achievement Awards added along the way. At the 57th ceremony held in 1985, Kay Rose became the first female sound editor to take home an Oscar, winning a Special Achievement Award for Sound Effects Editing for the drama "The River." Because she won a Special Achievement Award, Rose was the first female winner but technically not the first nominee. At the 59th ceremony held in 1987, Cecelia Hall became the first woman to be nominated for an Academy Award in a sound category (Best Sound Effects Editing) for "Top Gun." Several years later, the academy recognized her work in "The Hunt for Red October," and she became the first woman to win a competitive Oscar in a sound category at the 63rd ceremony held in 1991.

Best Visual Effects has existed as a competitive category since the 50th ceremony held in 1978. The category was originally conceived as "Best Engineering Effects" at the first ceremony in 1929, and over the years it became known as "Best Special Effects" and "Best Special Visual Effects" (to differentiate from sound effects) before its current name was settled upon. The first woman to win an Oscar for special effects work was Suzanne M. Benson, who won for her work "Aliens" at the 59th ceremony held in 1987.

One major category that has existed from the very beginning and eluded women for more than eight decades is Best Director. In 1977, Italian filmmaker Lina Wertmüller became the first female director to be nominated in this category at the 49th annual ceremony for her film "Seven Beauties." More than three decades later, at the 82nd annual ceremony held in 2010, Kathryn Bigelow became the first woman to win in this category. Since that groundbreaking win, two more women have won the award – Chloé Zhao for "Nomadland" and Jane Campion for "The Power of the Dog." They won back-to-back in 2021 and 2022 respectively. Campion is also the only woman to be nominated twice for Best Director, and she is the first woman to win Academy Awards for both directing and screenwriting (Best Original Screenplay for 1993's "The Piano").

One of the last milestones for women filmmakers has been winning in the category Best Animated Feature. The academy first began recognizing animated features at the 74th ceremony held in 2002. More than a decade later, Brenda Chapman became the first woman to win this award for the Disney/Pixar film "Brave" at the 85th ceremony held in 2013.

Be sure to watch the Oscars on Sunday night, March 13 to see if Mandy Walker can become the first female cinematographer to win an Academy Award. She is nominated for her work on "Elvis." And check out the rest of our blog posts celebrating Women's History Month.