Oscar winner Zoe Saldaña? Yes, yes, yes, yes.
The Emilia Pérez Star won in the category best actress on 2025 Academy Awards For his role as Rita Mora Castro in the film musical – who also played the lead Selena Gomez and Karla Sofía Gascón—Gilling history in the process. (Find out all 2025 Oscar winners here.)
“My grandmother came to this country in 1961,” said the 46-year-old tearfully as she accepted her figurine at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles on March 2. “I am a proud child of immigrants with dreams and dignity and hard -working hands, and I am the first American in the 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 is not the first Afro-Llatina to take home gold to Ariana -debose won in the same category for one’s role in West Side Story 2022.
Zoe – that was nominated at the side of Monica Barbaro (A complete unknown, Ariana Grande (Evil, Felicity Jones (Brutalist) and Isabella Rossellini (Conclave) – also thanked their nominees with and called them “powerful women.”
“The love and society that you have offered me is a real gift,” she continued, “and I will pay it forward.”
The Oscar victory marked the latest award for Zoe’s performance in the Netflix movie, which received a leading 13 nominations at this year’s ceremony. Before the event, she won a Golden Globe, a Critics Choice Award, A BAFTA Award and A Screen Actors Guild Award for their critically acclaimed role.
