She was one of the first five women to be nominated for an Academy Award in the newly created category of "Best Supporting Actress" for her work in "The Gorgeous Hussy", although she lost the award to Gale Sondergaard. Two years later she was nominated again for "Of Human Hearts" and lost again, but her reputation as a character actress kept her employed. She would most often be seen in the role of the mother of the star of the film for the rest of her career, with the exception of "Make Way for Tomorrow" (1937) as the abandoned Depression-era 'Ma' Cooper. She often played mature roles in her early film career even though she was only in her early 40s. In 1940 Bondi played Mrs. Webb in "Our Town" and Granny Tucker in "The Southerner", directed by Jean Renoir and released in 1945.