Zoe Saldaña gained the Supporting Actress trophy on the 2025 BAFTA Awards for Emilia Pérez and devoted the award to a particular individual in her life—her nephew, Eli. On February 16, after successful the distinguished British Movie Award, the actress attended a press convention within the winners’ room and revealed the heartwarming purpose that led her to signal on for the movie.
Saldaña shared that she took on the position of Rita Mora Castro in honor of her nephew, who’s transgender. “He’s the explanation—they’re the explanation—I signed up to do that movie within the first place,” she admitted.
The proud aunt declared that each award she wins for her position within the musical thriller is devoted to Eli greater than anybody else. “So, as a proud aunt of a trans life, I’ll all the time stand with my neighborhood of trans individuals,” she mentioned.
The Jacques Audiard-helmed film acquired 11 nominations on the BAFTAs. Along with Saldaña’s achievement, the movie gained the award for Finest Movie Not within the English Language. The actress portrayed Rita Mora Castro, a lawyer who helps a famed drug cartel chief pretend his dying and transition into a girl, Emilia Pérez (Karla Sofía Gascón).
This 12 months’s awards season has been a blessing for Saldaña! Along with clinching the BAFTA award as a first-time nominee, she additionally gained the Golden Globe and Critics Alternative Awards in the identical class.
Gascón, who portrayed the title character within the movie, acquired vital popularity of her efficiency. Nevertheless, she didn’t win any awards and was even faraway from BAFTA’s visitor record amid controversy over resurfaced offensive tweets.
The actress, who made historical past as the primary overtly trans performer to earn nominations at a number of esteemed award reveals, deactivated her X (Twitter) account and issued statements to the press following the backlash. Sadly, her response solely intensified the controversy, additional diminishing any probabilities of injury management for now.