American actress Zoe Saldana declared she is a “proud child of immigrant parents” as she gave a tearful acceptance speech after winning the best supporting actress Oscar.
Saldana, 46, was named the winner in the category over stars including Ariana Grande, Felicity Jones, Monica Barbaro and Italian stalwart Isabella Rossellini.
She won the Oscar, her first, for her role in Netflix’s Spanish-language film Emilia Perez, in which she plays a lawyer called Rita, who helps a Mexican drug lord change gender.
Taking to the stage, Saldana was emotional as she shouted out “mummy”, saying her “whole family is here”, and adding that “everything brave, outrageous and good in my life was because of you”.
She also thanked the film’s French director Jacques Audiard for “being so curious about these women to tell these stories”, and added that the prize was for the cast of the film.
“My grandmother came to this country in 1961. I am a proud child of immigrant parents with dreams and dignity and hard-working hands…”, she said, adding: “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, she would be so delighted. This is for my grandmother.”
Earlier in the evening, Succession star Kieran Culkin, 42, was named the winner of the best supporting actor category, beating Edward Norton, Guy Pearce and his Succession co-star Jeremy Strong in the category as the 97th awards show got under way in Los Angeles.
He scooped the gong for A Real Pain, the Jesse Eisenberg-directed film about two cousins who go to their grandmother’s home country of Poland to trace their roots.
Culkin, who has also won a Bafta and a Golden Globe for the role, started his speech by hailing his fellow nominee Strong, saying: “I loved your work in The Apprentice.”
Paying tribute to Eisenberg, he said: “Thank you for this movie, you are a genius, I will never say this again, so soak it up.”
Culkin also said that his wife, Jazz Charton, promised him a fourth child if he won an Oscar he said.
The US actor said that she told him “I will give you four (children) when you win an Oscar”.
He added: “I held my hand and you shook it … I brought it up now – I owe you, no pressure, I love you, I am sorry I did this again, let’s get cracking on those kids.”
The event opened with a video showing well-known places in California and the Hollywood Hills sign in what appeared to be a tribute to the Los Angeles wildfires.
It ended saying: “We love LA.”
Wicked star Ariana Grande opened the show singing The Wizard Of Oz song Somewhere Over The Rainbow, and was later joined by her co-star Cynthia Erivo for a duet of Defying Gravity from Wicked.
Another musical tribute saw singers Raye, Blackpink member Lisa, and US rapper and singer Doja Cat perform a dramatic James Bond tribute.
The performance was in honour of James Bond producers Michael G Wilson and Barbara Broccoli who were announced as winners of the Academy’s Irving G Thalberg Memorial Award in 2024 and given Oscar statuettes at the Governors Awards.
The tribute followed the announcement last month that Amazon MGM Studios are taking creative control over the 007 character with a new venture that will see them co-own the franchise rights with Wilson and Broccoli.
Oscar winner Morgan Freeman introduced the In Memoriam segment and paid tribute to actor Gene Hackman, who was last month found dead along with his wife, Betsy Arakawa and their dog, at their home in New Mexico.
Freeman said that “this week our community lost a giant and I lost a dear friend”, before the segment went on to pay tribute to other names including Dame Maggie Smith, Donald Sutherland and Dame Joan Plowright.
US comedian Conan O’Brien, who is hosting this year, kicked off the ceremony with a recreation of a gruesome scene from body horror The Substance, which stars Demi Moore.
During his opening monologue he referenced the controversy surrounding Emilia Perez and actress Karla Sofia Gascon.
O’Brien said if Gascon wanted to tweet about the awards on Sunday, she should “remember my name is Jimmy Kimmel”.
The musical leads this year’s nominations with 13, but has also hit the headlines after social media posts made by Gascon about Islam, the death of George Floyd and diversity at the Oscars resurfaced following the film’s release.
The Spanish language movie, which also stars actress and singer Selena Gomez, tells the story of a Mexican cartel boss who enlists the help of a lawyer to assume a new identity as a woman.
Wicked picked up its first win of the night as American costume designer Paul Tazewell won the costume design Oscar.
Tazewell made Oscars history by becoming the first black man to win the prize and during his speech thanked “everyone in the UK” who helped on the musical production as he received a standing ovation from the attendees.
The Oscar for animated short film went to the Iranian film In The Shadow Of The Cypress, after the team behind it almost missed the ceremony because of visa issues, which they referenced in their speech.
British writer Peter Straughan won the Oscar for adapted screenplay for papal drama Conclave, while the award for original screenplay went to Anora, a film about a stripper who falls in love with the son of a Russian oligarch.
Kill Bill star Daryl Hannah referenced the war in Ukraine, saying “Slava Ukraini”, the country’s salute, as she presented the film editing award at the Oscars, which was won by Anora.
Honouring the Californian firefighters, who tackled the wildfires, O’Brien brought the emergency service workers on stage where they received applause and a standing ovation.
Science fiction film Dune: Part Two, starring Timothee Chalamet and directed by Denis Villeneuve, won the Oscar for sound and best visual effects, while The Brutalist took home the award for cinematography and best original score.
