Zoe Saldaña Wins Best Supporting Actress at the Oscars 2025, Triumphing Over ‘Emilia Pérez’ Scandal

When Zoe Saldaña took the stage to accept the best-supporting-actress Oscar, it was the final stop on a long and somewhat tumultuous journey. “My mom is here. My whole family is here. I am floored by this honor,” the Emilia Pérez star said onstage as she accepted her award. She also noted how meaningful it was for her to win this award for this performance: “My grandmother came to this country in 1961. I am a proud child of immigrant parents with dreams, dignity, and hardworking hands. I am the first American of Dominican origin to accept an Academy Award. And I know I will not be the last. The fact that I am getting an award for a role where I got to sing and speak in Spanish—my grandmother, if she were here, she would be so delighted. This is for my grandmother.”

Saldaña won after earning her first-ever Oscar nomination for her work in French filmmaker Jacques Audiard’s bold crime musical, where she stars as a lawyer recruited by a cartel boss who wants lend a hand transitioning. Saldaña was previously best known for her roles in blockbuster films, after starring in the Avatar, Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, and Star Trek franchises. Though her movies have earned more than $15 billion worldwide, Emilia Pérez allowed her to show more of her range as an actor: She shed the sci-fi makeup and costumes, and delivered a demanding performance in which she had to act, dance, and sing. “Looking at the movie, I think it’s the first time in a very, very long time that I just feel like I held my own,” Saldaña previously told Vanity Fair. “I’m proud of the decisions that I made and how I brought her to life.”

Saldaña first grabbed attention for her Emilia Pérez performance when the Netflix film debuted at the Cannes Film Festival, where she and her costars—Adriana Paz, Karla Sofía Gascón, and Selena Gomez—won the best actress prize. Saldaña went on to win an individual award at the Golden Globes, where she gave an emotional speech, praising her director and cast. “I experienced this kind of magic on the set of Emilia Pérez, and it’s thanks to you, thank you, merci beaucoup, Jacques Audiard. Thank you so much for trusting me to play Rita,” she said.

Emilia Pérez earned 13 Oscar nominations, the most of any film that year. It seemed that Saldaña would easily coast to the Oscar before a controversy erupted that put the film’s fortunes in jeopardy. In January, Gascón’s ancient racist and Islamaphobic tweets were brought to lithe, forcing the actress—the first openly trans performer nominated for an acting Oscar—to apologize. When Gascón continued making comments in press interviews, the harsh spotlight only grew. Soon, it seemed it was not just Gascón’s nomination that was in peril, but all of the film’s nominations.

Saldaña spoke about the controversy early on during a panel in London. “I can only attest to the experience that I had with each and every individual that was a part, that is a part, of this film, and my experience and my interactions with them was incredibly about inclusivity and collaboration and racial, cultural, and gender equity,” she said. “And it just saddens me. It saddens me that we are having to face this setback right now.”

Saldaña weathered the storm, and voters didn’t penalize her for the behavior of her costar, giving her additional awards at the Critics Choice Awards, the BAFTA Awards, and the Screen Actors Guild Awards. Emilia Pérez allowed her to return home in many ways—to her roots as a dancer and her native Spanish language—while opening a fresh chapter in her career, one that’s topped with an Oscar statuette.

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