Oscar winner Zoe Saldaña? Yes, yes, yes, yes.
The Emilia Pérez star triumphed in the Best Supporting Actress category at the 2025 Academy Awards for her role as Rita Mora Castro in the movie musical—which also starred Selena Gomez and Karla Sofía Gascón—making history in the process. (Find out all the 2025 Oscar winners here.)
“My grandmother came to this country in 1961,” the 46-year-old said tearfully as she accepted her statuette at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles March 2. “I am a proud child of immigrant parents with dreams and dignity and hard working hands, and I am the first American of Dominican origin to accept an Academy Award. And I know I will not be the last.”
And while the actress is the first Dominican-American to win, she’s not the first Afro-Latina to take home gold as Ariana DeBose won in the same category for her role in West Side Story in 2022.
Zoe—who was nominated alongside Monica Barbaro (A Complete Unknown), Ariana Grande (Wicked), Felicity Jones (The Brutalist) and Isabella Rossellini (Conclave)—also thanked her fellow nominees, calling them “powerful women.”
“The love and community that you have offered me is a true gift,” she continued, “and I will pay it forward.”
The Oscar victory marked the latest accolade for Zoe’s performance in the Netflix film, which earned a leading 13 nominations at this year’s ceremony. Prior to the event, she won a Golden Globe, a Critics Choice Award, a BAFTA Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award for her critically-acclaimed role.
But as awards season wraps up, Zoe still has several projects on the horizon to keep her busy. In addition to lending her voice to the upcoming Pixar film Elio, she’s set to return to Pandora later this year in Avatar: Fire and Ash, the third of an expected five films in the Avatar franchise since her 2009 debut.
“I was 28 when I did the first movie,” she told Deadline in February, “and I think, if all goes to plan, I’m gonna be 53, 54 for the very fifth one and last one.”
But the mom of three—who shares 10-year-old twin sons Cy and Bowie as well as son Zen, 8, with husband Marco Perego—certainly isn’t complaining.
“It’s a gift to be able to revisit a character that has given me so much, to revisit a place that has been so magical,” she went on. “Not just for me, but for so many people in the world.”
To keep track of all the winners at the 2025 Oscars, read on.
Best Picture
WINNER: Anora
The Brutalist
A Complete Unknown
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Emilia Pérez
I’m Still Here
Nickel Boys
The Substance
Wicked
Best Actress in a Leading Role
Cynthia Erivo – Wicked
Karla Sofía Gascón – Emilia Pérez
WINNER: Mikey Madison – Anora
Demi Moore – The Substance
Fernanda Torres – I’m Still Here
Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Monica Barbaro – A Complete Unknown
Ariana Grande – Wicked
Felicity Jones – The Brutalist
Isabella Rossellini – Conclave
WINNER: Zoé Saldaña – Emilia Pérez
Best Actor in a Leading Role
WINNER: Adrien Brody – The Brutalist
Timothée Chalamet – A Complete Unknown
Colman Domingo – Sing Sing
Ralph Fiennes – Conclave
Sebastian Stan – The Apprentice
Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Yura Borisov – Anora
WINNER: Kieran Culkin – A Real Pain
Edward Norton – A Complete Unknown
Guy Pearce – The Brutalist
Jeremy Strong – The Apprentice
Best Directing
WINNER: Sean Baker – Anora
Brady Corbet – The Brutalist
James Mangold – A Complete Unknown
Jacques Audiard – Emilia Pérez
Coralie Fargeat – The Substance
Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Mike Marino, Dave Presto and Crystal Jurado – A Different Man
Julia Floch Carbonel & Simon Livet – Emilia Pérez
Traci Loader, Suzanne Stokes-Munton & David White – Nosferatu
WINNER: Pierre-Olivier Persin – The Substance
Frances Hannon, Sarah Nuth, Laura Blount – Wicked
Best Live Action Short
A Lien
WINNER: I’m Not a Robot
Anuja
The Last Ranger
The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent
Best International Feature Film
WINNER: I’m Still Here
The Girl with the Needle
Emilia Pérez
The Seed of the Sacred Fig
Flow
Best Film Editing
WINNER: Anora
The Brutalist
Conclave
Emilia Pérez
Wicked
Best Costume Design
Arianne Phillips – A Complete Unknown
Lisy Christy – Conclave
Janty Yates – Gladiator II
Linda Muir – Nosferatu
WINNER: Paul Tazewell – Wicked
Best Original Screenplay
WINNER: Sean Baker – Anora
Brady Corbet & Mona Fastvold – The Brutalist
Jesse Eisenberg – A Real Pain
Tim Fehlbaum & Moritz Binder – September 5
Coralie Fargeat – The Substance
Best Adapted Screenplay
Jay Cocks & James Mangold – A Complete Unknown
WINNER: Peter Straughan – Conclave
Jacques Audiard, Thomas Bidegain, Nicolas Livecchi – Emilia Pérez
Joslyn Barnes & RaMell Ross – Nickel Boys
Clint Bentley & Greg Kwedar – Sing Sing
Best Visual Effects
Alien: Romulus
Better Man
WINNER: Dune: Part Two
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
Wicked
Best Sound
A Complete Unknown
WINNER: Dune: Part Two
Emilia Pérez
Wicked
The Wild Robot
Best Production Design
Judy Becker – The Brutalist
Suzie Davies & Roberta Federico – Conclave
Zsuzsanna Sipos, Shane Vieau & Patrice Vermette – Dune: Part Two
Beatrice Brentnerova, Paul Ghirardani & Craig Lanthorp – Nosferatu
WINNER: Nathan Crawley – Wicked
Best Original Song
WINNER: “El Mal” written by Clement Ducol, Camille & Jacques Audiard, performed by Zoé Saldaña and Karla Sofía Gascon – Emilia Pérez
“The Journey” written by Diane Warren, performed by H.E.R. – The Six Triple Eight
“Like a Bird” written by Adrian Quesada and Abraham Alexander- Sing Sing
“Mi Camino” written by Clement Ducol & Camille, performed by Selena Gomez & Edgar Ramirez – Emilia Pérez
“Never Too Late” written by written by Elton John, Brandi Carlile, Bernie Taupin, and Andrew Watt, performed by Elton John – Elton John: Never Too Late
Best Original Score
WINNER: The Brutalist
Conclave
Emilia Pérez
Wicked
The Wild Robot
Best Cinematography
WINNER: Lol Crawley – The Brutalist
Greig Fraser – Dune: Part Two
Paul Guilhaume – Emilia Pérez
Edward Lachman – Maria
Jarin Blaschke – Nosferatu
Best Animated Feature Film
WINNER: Flow
Inside Out 2
Memoir of a Snail
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
The Wild Robot
Best Animated Short Film
Beautiful Men
WINNER: In the Shadow of the Cypress
Magic Candies
Wander to Wonder
Yuck!
Best Documentary Feature Film
Black Box Diaries
WINNER: No Other Land
Porcelain War
Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat
Sugarcane
Best Documentary Short Film
I Am Ready, Warden
Death By Numbers
Incident
Instruments of a Beating Heart
WINNER: The Only Girl in the Orchestra
