Gascón previously picked up best actress nominations at the Critics Choice, Golden Globes, and the Screen Actors Guild Awards for her role in Emilia Pérez
Emilia Pérez first picked up Oscar buzz when it premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May, where film pundits praised the musical-drama-comedy’s leading lady, Karla Sofía Gascón’s performance. Gascón received her flowers Thursday morning making history as the first openly trans actress to earn an Oscar nomination.
Jacques Audiard’s Emilia Perez, follows a cartel leader, played by Gascon, who is in search of gender affirming surgery and seeks help from a Mexico city lawyer Rita, played by Zoe Saldaña. After becoming Emilia Perez, the former drug boss returns to Mexico, reunites with her estranged wife Jessi (Selena Gomez) and kids, under the guise of “Aunt Emilia,” and kickstarts a nonprofit for victims of drug violence.
Gascón previously won the best actress award alongside her Emilia Pérez stars Gomez, Saldaña, and Adriana Paz at Cannes. She’s also picked up best actress nominations at the Critics Choice, Golden Globes, and the Screen Actors Guild Awards.
As Emilia Perez won the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture in a Musical or Comedy category, Gascón stood before the microphone, highlighting the importance of representation and self-actualization.
“You can maybe put us in jail,” Gascón said to the Globes audience. “You can beat us up, but you never can take away our soul, our existence, our identity.”
Although Gascón is the first openly trans actress to receive a nomination, the first Oscar nomination for a performer went to the singer Anohni in 2016 for best song. Anohni later boycotted the award ceremony. Elliot Page also received a nomination for the 2007 film Juno, and came out as trans in 2020.
Before Gascón’s transition, she starred in Mexican telenovelas like 2009’s Corazón Salvaje and the 2013 film Nosotros los Nobles. She announced her transition in 2018 autobiography, Karsia, Una Historia Extraordinaria, and picked up roles in MasterChef Celebrity Mexico and Netflix’s Rebelde.
Despite online critics bashing the film’s portrayal of transness and lack of Mexican born protagonists, Emilia Pérez picked up a leading 13 Oscar nominations including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Original Score.