Diane Warren holds the distinction of being the most Oscar-nominated woman never to have won a competitive Academy Award. Though she has since received an Honorary Oscar in recognition of her extraordinary career, a competitive win has remained elusive. Until I began following the Oscars closely more than 15 years ago, I might not have recognized her name—but her résumé is staggering. With Diane Warren: Relentless, she earns her seventeenth nomination, thanks to a new original song featured in the documentary about her life and work.

The film offers an intimate look at Warren’s surprisingly unpretentious existence. Despite her immense wealth and decades of success, she comes across as grounded, funny, and refreshingly authentic. The roster of artists for whom she has written iconic hits doubles as her inner circle, with Cher delivering some of the documentary’s most amusing moments. Cher recounts how Warren routinely declares each new composition “the best song I’ve ever written”—a claim Warren herself proudly repeats throughout the film. The documentary also explores her upbringing, including a visit to her childhood home, where she reflects on her supportive father and a more complicated relationship with her mother.

One of the film’s most affecting passages revisits the year Warren was nominated for her collaboration with Lady Gaga on a song about surviving sexual assault—an experience both women share. Warren speaks candidly about how deeply she invests in each nomination, and the footage of Gaga performing the song at the Oscars, surrounded by survivors, underscores just how emotionally charged that loss was for her.

This year’s Best Original Song race, however, appears largely sewn up. “Golden” from KPop Demon Hunters has become a cultural phenomenon and feels like the clear frontrunner. If an upset were to occur, “I Lied to You” from Sinners seems the most plausible alternative. That leaves Warren’s latest anthem—written as a message to her younger self and powerfully performed by Kesha—as a long shot. The documentary captures Kesha recording the track, adding another layer of emotional resonance to the song’s inclusion.

Win or lose, the nomination further solidifies Warren’s singular place in Oscar history. Seventeen nominations is no small feat, and her relentless drive—aptly reflected in the documentary’s title—remains as compelling as ever. If nothing else, this latest chapter adds another memorable entry to an already legendary catalog. And if history is any indication, she’s far from finished.