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MIKEY MADISON HAS won the best actress Oscar for her performance in Anora.
The 25-year-old newcomer plays the title character in the Cinderella story black comedy that sees a sex worker fall in love with and marry the son of a Russian oligarch.
While Madison was somewhat of a dark horse at the beginning of awards season to favourite comeback queen Demi Moore, she emerged as a strong contender after her victory at the Baftas last month, making tonight’s win less of an upset.
“I grew up in Los Angeles, but Hollywood always felt so far away from me. So to be here standing in this room today is really incredible,” Madison said as she accepted her award.
Repeating remarks she made during her Bafta acceptance speech tonight, she once again recognised and honoured the sex worker community as she accepted her Oscar, saying: “I will continue to support and be an ally.
Mikey Madison accepts the #Oscar award for best actress for starring in #Anora pic.twitter.com/P1BgZQAcd6
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) March 3, 2025
“All of the incredible people, the women that I’ve had the privilege of meeting from that community have been one of the highlights of this entire incredible experience,” she said.
Madison also paid tribute to the “thoughtful, intelligent, beautiful, breathtaking” work of her fellow nominees Demi Moore, Fernanda Torres, Cynthia Erivo and Karla Sofía Gascón.
“I’m honoured to be recognised alongside all of you. This is a dream come true. I’m probably gonna wake up tomorrow.”
Adrien Brody took home the best actor Oscar for his performance in The Brutalist.
The epic drama sees Brody play Hungarian-Jewish architect László Toth, who escapes post-war Europe to rebuild his life in America.
The win came as no surprise, with the US actor having been long tipped to take home the award. He has collected the Golden Globe, Bafta and Critics Choice Award for his performance.
It is Brody’s second Oscar win, after he took home the best actor award for the 2002 film The Pianist.
He began his acceptance speech by expressing how fortunate he felt, before stating that acting is “a very fragile profession”.
“It looks very glamorous and in certain moments it is, but the one thing that I’ve gained in having the privilege to come back here is to have some perspective,” he said.
No matter where you are in your career, no matter what you’ve accomplished, it can all go away.
“I think what makes this night most special is the awareness of that and the gratitude that I have to still do the work that I love.”
After thanking his family, his fellow nominees and all those who worked alongside him on The Brutalist, Brody had more to say and asked the showrunners to stop the music that had started to play him off the stage. “It’s not my first rodeo,” he said.
He concluded his speech by saying that he was there “to represent the trauma” of war and said he prayed “for a happier and more inclusive world”.
“If the past teaches us anything, it’s to let hate not go unchecked.”
Earlier in the ceremony, Kieran Culkin scooped the best supporting actor Oscar for his performance in A Real Pain.
The film sees Culkin play Benji opposite Jesse Eisenberg’s David, a pair of mismatched cousins who reunite for a tour through Poland in honour of their late grandmother.
The award marked his first win and nomination.
Accepting the Oscar, Culkin gave a nod to Jeremy Strong, his Succession co-star and fellow nominee in the supporting actor category for his role in The Apprentice.
“I’ve already lost whatever speech I prepared,” he said. ”I have no idea how I got here. I’ve just been acting my whole life.”
He also thanked Eisenberg, who also wrote the film, his parents and his wife, who he said had promised that they could have two more children.
“She said to me ‘I will give you four if you win an Oscar’. I held my hand out, she shook it, and I have not brought it up once until just now,” he said. “I love you. I’m really, really sorry I did this again, and let’s get cracking on those kids.”
Culkin has been the frontrunner throughout awards season, winning the Golden Globe, Bafta and Critics Choice Award for his performance in A Real Pain.
Yura Borisov (Anora), Edward Norton (A Complete Unknown) and Guy Pearce (The Brutalist) were also nominated for best supporting actor.
Zoe Saldana, who has also been the frontrunner in her category and bagged all of the prizes all season, has won the best supporting actress Academy Award for her performance in Emilia Pérez.
The Spanish-language crime musical, which received 13 nominations at this year’s awards, follows the story of a Mexican cartel leader who aims to retire and transition into a woman with the help of a lawyer, played by Saldana.
The film has experienced some fallout in recent months after controversial tweets from its star Karla Sofía Gascón resurfaced.
Despite this, Saldana has continued to garner acclaim for her performance in the film. She also won the best supporting actress awards at the Golden Globes, Baftas and the Critics Choice Awards.
“Thank you to the Academy for recognising the quiet heroism and the power in a woman like Rita,” Saldana said during her emotional acceptance speech.
Talking about powerful women my fellow nominees, the love and community that you have offered me is the true gift, and I will pay it forward.
Saldana also paid tribute to her grandmother, who she said came to the United States in 1961.
“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” she said.
“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.”
The other best supporting actress nominees were Ariana Grande for her role in Wicked, Felicity Jones for The Brutalist, Isabella Rossellini for Conclave and Monica Barbaro for A Complete Unknown.
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