The Spanish actress has made history as the first openly trans actress to land an Oscar acting nod…
On Thursday, January 23, 2025 Karla Sofía Gascón made history when she became the first openly trans person ever to be nominated in an acting category at the Academy Awards. The 52-year-old Spanish actress is recognized for her leading role in Emilia Pérez, in the category of Best Actress.
(Though Gascón is the first openly trans actress recognized by the Oscars in an acting category, the first openly trans performer to receive any nomination was the singer Anohni, who was up for best song in 2016 but boycotted the ceremony. Elliot Page, who was nominated for the 2007 film Juno, came out publicly as trans in 2020.)
Gascón was recognized alongside Cynthia Erivo(Wicked), Mikey Madison (Anora), Demi Moore (The Substance) and Fernanda Torres (I’m Still Here).
Jacques Audiard’s genre-blending queer crime musical Emilia Pérez is nominated for several Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director (Jacques Audiard), Best Supporting Actress (Zoe Saldaña), Best Adapted Screenplay and Best International Feature.
Gascón has been a staple on award-show nominee lists this season. Ahead of her Academy Award nod, she was also the first out transgender woman to be nominated in a film category at the 2025 Golden Globe Awards. Before that Gascón made history in spring 2024 when she became the first transgender woman to win Best Actress at the annual Cannes Film Festival, alongside co-stars Zoe Saldaña and Selena Gomez.
Emilia Pérez follows a high-powered lawyer named Rita (Saldaña), who is hired by a Mexican cartel leader (Gascón) to help them fake their death and undergo gender-affirming procedures so that they can transition into life as a woman.
Now streaming on Netflix, Emilia Pérez has been applauded for bending genre limits. “You have an action movie that’s not an action movie, a drama that’s not a drama, a comedy that’s not a comedy,” Gascón told Tudum in November 2024. “It is such a great gift, and I’m so proud to be part of it.”
The 97th annual Academy Awards ceremony will take place on Sunday, March 2, 2025, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
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