Emilia Pérez Takes Center Stage at the 2025 Golden Globes

Emilia Pérez Takes Center Stage at the 2025 Golden Globes
Netflix took home seven awards, with the musical crime drama winning four awards.
BY JENNY CHANGNON
JAN. 5, 2025

The start of the year also happens to be the opening of awards season, with the 82nd annual Golden Globes kicking off a whole new period of celebration and excitement in the world of television and cinema. The filmmakers and cast of Emilia Pérez had much to fete at the Jan. 5 ceremony, taking home four awards including Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy.

Written and directed by Jacques Audiard and starring Karla Sofía Gascón, Zoe Saldaña, and Selena Gomez, Emilia Pérez follows a menacing cartel boss (Gascón) who seeks the help of a disaffected defense attorney (Saldaña) to complete a gender transition and live life as her true self, leaving behind a drug empire and a wife (Gomez) and family. For her performance as Rita, Saldaña was recognized in the Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture category, marking her first Golden Globe win. “I’m just so blessed that I’m sharing this moment with Selena and Karla and Jacques … I experienced this kind of magic on the set of Emilia Pérez and it’s thanks to you,” said Saldaña. The musical crime drama was also awarded Best Motion Picture – Non-English Language and Best Original Song for “El Mal,” by singer-songwriter Camille and composer Clément Ducol.

On the series side of things, the Emmy-winning Baby Reindeer continued earning high marks, with the breakthrough limited series about a struggling comedian (Richard Gadd) and his unrelenting stalker (Jessica Gunning) winning two of the night’s awards. “We need stories that speak to the complicated and difficult nature of our times. Any story when done right is universal, and all the weird idiosyncratic struggles we go through on a daily basis are just as worthy of being committed to screen as any,” said Gadd — who both stars in and created the deeply personal project — in his acceptance speech for Best Television Limited, Anthology Series, or Motion Picture Made for Television. “I can’t believe this is happening to me, and I know that 8-year-old me wouldn’t either,” said Gunning as she collected the award for Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role on Television. “She’d be absolutely chuffed to bits.”

Ali Wong also remembered her younger self as she accepted the award for Best Performance in Stand-Up Comedy on Television for her latest special, Ali Wong: Single Lady. “I come from San Francisco and that’s where I started doing stand-up. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for all the stage time that I got there and all the practice I got to become a stand-up comedian.” And we’re so lucky she did.