Mikey Madison has taken house the gold.
In the course of the 2025 Oscars ceremony in Los Angeles on Sunday, March 2, the 25-year-old Anora star appeared surprised as she nabbed her first-ever Academy Award, in a stunning win over frontrunner and fellow first-time nominee Demi Moore.
After taking the stage on the Dolby Theatre and accepting the Finest Actress statuette from final yr’s winner Emma Stone, Madison started her emotional speech by reflecting on the “surreal” expertise and rising up in Los Angeles, although “Hollywood at all times felt so distant for me. So to be right here standing on this room at present is absolutely unbelievable.”
She went on to shout out her crew, these behind the movie, her household in attendance, the sex-worker group and her fellow Finest Actress nominees: Cynthia Erivo for Depraved, Karla Sofía Gascón for Emilia Pérez, Moore for The Substance and Fernanda Torres for I’m Nonetheless Right here.
“This can be a dream come true; I am most likely gonna get up tomorrow,” Madison added, referencing how this felt like a dream, earlier than thanking her Anora director Sean Baker: “I am keen on you. That is all due to you.”
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Madison leads writer-director Baker’s Anora within the titular position, a intercourse employee experiencing a whirlwind Cinderella story. The breakthrough star earned nods at a number of precursor ceremonies, ultimately successful at this yr’s BAFTA Awards ceremony.
She lately spoke with ipromiseyoumedia in an unique interview for the 2025 Oscar Portfolio and mentioned she’s “undoubtedly” been getting some thrilling gives for the reason that movie debuted final yr to nice acclaim.
“There are some issues that I’m actually enthusiastic about and have my fingers crossed,” shared the L.A. native and first-time Oscar nominee.
The opposite nominees had been extremely deserving and delivered nice performances this yr.
Moore’s efficiency as actress Elisabeth Sparkle in The Substance, Coralie Fargeat’s body-horror satire hit, earned wins all through awards season, together with on the Golden Globes, Critics Alternative Awards and extra.
In her Globes acceptance speech, the 62-year-old actress mentioned she was “in shock,” “humbled” and “grateful” upon successful, explaining, “I’ve been doing this a very long time, like over 45 years, and that is the primary time I’ve ever gained something as an actor.”
Erivo, 38, netted her third nomination with the Academy (making the Harriet star the one earlier nominee within the class), in addition to nods from a number of different voting our bodies, for her work as Depraved‘s Elphaba a.okay.a. the so-called Depraved Witch of the West.
Director Jon M. Chu’s adaptation of the hit Broadway musical will proceed with Depraved: For Good, flying into theaters Nov. 21.
For her efficiency because the titular Mexican kingpin-turned-activist in Emilia Pérez, Gascón, 52, made historical past on the Oscars and different awards as the primary overtly transgender performer nominated.
After the Jacques Audiard-directed musical-thriller led this yr’s record of Oscar nods, outdated social-media posts from the Spanish star resurfaced, inflicting her to deactivate her X account, give a number of statements and interviews addressing the controversy and later apologize, vowing silence.
Torres, 59, made Oscars historical past as solely the second Brazilian actress to be nominated for greatest actress — after her mom, Fernanda Montenegro, who was the primary in 1999.
An award winner in her native nation for many years of highly effective performances, she leads the Walter Salles-directed I am Nonetheless Right here, about Brazil’s 1971 army dictatorship, because the real-life Eunice Paiva.
Earlier within the night, the movie gained Finest Worldwide Function.
See ipromiseyoumedia’s full protection of the 97th annual Academy Awards, hosted by Conan O’Brien and airing on ABC.