Karla Sofía Gascón has become the first openly transgender actor to receive an Academy Award nomination. She is nominated for Best Actress for her performance in Emilia Pérez, a French-Spanish musical crime drama directed by Jacques Audiard.
The film follows Gascón’s character, a powerful Mexican crime boss who hires a lawyer, played by Zoë Saldaña, to help her transition and start a new life as a woman. Emilia Pérez has emerged as one of the most recognized films this awards season, leading the Oscar nominations with 13 nods, including Best Picture. The film also earned nominations for Best Supporting Actress (Saldaña) and Best Original Song, with two tracks from the film making the final list.
Gascón’s nomination is part of a historic awards run. She previously won Best Actress at the Cannes Film Festival, sharing the prize with her co-stars Saldaña, Selena Gomez, and Adriana Paz. She has also been nominated for a Golden Globe, a BAFTA, and a Screen Actors Guild Award for her role in the film.
Her Oscar nomination is a significant milestone in the history of transgender representation in Hollywood. Before Gascón, only three openly transgender individuals had been nominated for an Academy Award: English composer Angela Morley, musician Anohni, and documentarian Yance Ford. Actor Elliot Page was nominated for Juno in 2007 before coming out as transgender in 2020.
This year’s Best Actress category includes Demi Moore (The Substance), Cynthia Erivo (Wicked), Fernanda Torres (I’m Still Here), and Mikey Madison (Anora). If Gascón wins, she will be the first openly trans performer to take home an Oscar, marking a major step forward for transgender representation in the film industry.
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