The acting nominations contains two real-life couples: Penélope Cruz (nominated Best Actress for Madres paralelas (2021)) and Javier Bardem (nominated for Best Actor for A proposito dei Ricardo (2021)) as well as Kirsten Dunst (nominated for Best Supporting Actress for Il potere del cane (2021)) and Jesse Plemons (nominated for Best Supporting Actor for Il potere del cane (2021)).
With his nods for Belfast (2021), Kenneth Branagh is the first filmmaker to earn nominations in seven different Oscar categories.
With his Best Picture nod, Steven Spielberg is the most nominated individual in the category with eleven films. Spielberg's Best Director nomination also makes him the first filmmaker to be nominated in that category in six consecutive decades.
Having starred in Don't Look Up (2021) and La fiera delle illusioni - Nightmare Alley (2021), Cate Blanchett is the first actress in history to have credited roles in nine Best Picture nominees, surpassing Olivia de Havilland's record of eight.
CODA - I segni del cuore (2021) is the first film from Apple Original Films, as well as the first starring a predominantly deaf cast in leading roles, to be nominated for Best Picture; among the cast, Troy Kotsur is the first deaf male actor to receive a nomination for an acting award (in the category of Best Supporting Actor). He is the second deaf actor overall to receive an acting nomination, after CODA co-star Marlee Matlin, who won in the Best Actress category for Figli di un dio minore (1986).