Accepting the award, Saldaña thanked her mom and fellow nominees through tears before taking a moment to highlight the historical significance of the win. “My grandmother came to this country in 1961,” Saldaña said. “I am a proud child of immigrant parents with dreams and dignity and hardworking hands. I am the first American of Dominican origin to accept an Academy Award and I know I will not be the last,” she continued, expressing particular gratitude that she won the award for a Spanish-speaking role. Notable, Saldaña did not mention the film’s star.
The road to an Oscar for the Netflix movie musical was an infamously rocky one. Despite leading the night with 13 nominations, Emilia Perez‘s awards campaign was derailed by resurfaced tweets from the film’s lead Karla Sofía Gascón. Saldaña admitted she was “sad” and “disappointed” by the scandal, but said in an interview with Variety that “I’m allowing myself to still experience that joy because we did come together as a team.”
Nevertheless, Saldaña—a former ballet dancer—picked up most of the major lead-up trophies she was nominated for, including the BAFTA, Critics Choice, Golden Globe, and Screen Actors Guild awards. The hot streak goes all the way back to the film’s premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, when Saldaña jointly won the fest’s Best Actress Award with her co-stars Gascón, Selena Gomez, and Adriana Paz. “I don’t think I can properly express the deep levels of gratitude and joy I feel for the recognition EMILIA PÉREZ has been given,” Saldaña said in a statement to Good Morning America upon receiving her Oscar nomination in January. “Every single person involved poured their love into telling this powerful story.”
