Zoe Saldaña wins Oscar for best supporting actress in ‘Emilia Pérez’
Zoe Saldaña won the Academy Award for best supporting actress on Sunday night for her role in the Netflix film Emilia Pérez. Saldaña plays Rita Mora Castro, a lawyer who helps the title character, a trans cartel boss, undergo gender-affirming surgery and start a new life as a woman.
Zoe Saldaña wins Oscar for best supporting actress in ‘Emilia Pérez’
Zoe Saldaña accepts the best actress in a supporting role award for Emilia Pérez during the 97th Annual Oscars at Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Calif.
Kevin Winter/Getty Images
Zoe Saldaña won the Academy Award for best supporting actress on Sunday night for her role in the Netflix film Emilia Pérez. Saldaña plays Rita Mora Castro, a lawyer who helps the title character, a trans cartel boss, undergo gender-affirming surgery and start a new life as a woman.
This is Saldaña’s first-ever Oscar win and her first Oscar nomination. She is also the first Dominican American to win an Academy Award.
“I am a proud child of immigrant parents with dreams and dignity and hard-working hands,” she said in an emotional acceptance speech. “The fact that I’m getting an award for a role where I got to sing and speak in Spanish — my grandmother, if she were here, would’ve been so delighted.”
Emilia Pérez led the night in Academy Award nominations with 13 nods, including Saldaña’s.