Mikey Madison won the best actress Oscar on Sunday (Monday in Manila) for her role in Anora, a breakthrough for the 25-year-old American in her first major film.
In the low-budget film, she played a sex worker who marries a Russian oligarch’s son and confronts the realities of class divides. Her win was one of the night’s biggest surprises, as she edged out favorite Demi Moore (The Substance), Cynthia Erivo (Wicked), Fernanda Torres (I’m Still Here), and Karla Sofia Gascon (Emilia Perez), who had faced controversy during the awards season.
“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, reading nervously from a piece of paper. She also expressed support for the sex worker community, vowing to remain an ally.
Born in California on March 25, 1999, to two psychologists, Madison grew up in the greater LA area, with no dreams of making it big in Hollywood.
The homeschooled horse lover trained as an equestrian before being bitten by the acting bug in her teens.
“I thought that looks fun or that looks like a safe place to explore all of those things without having to do it in real life,” she told The New York Times in an interview published in January.
Still in her teens, she made her breakthrough as Pamela Adlon’s rebellious daughter in television’s Better Things. The show ran from 2016 to 2022.
She shot Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood between seasons, and then got the surprising role in Scream. Madison is also part of the Apple TV+ mini-series Lady in the Lake starring Natalie Portman.
Madison is close to her parents and twin brother, and eschews social media.
“I would understand a curiosity toward a character in film, but that’s never been something I’ve really understood — like, the curiosity towards the actor themselves,” she told the Times.
Anora, directed by Sean Baker, premiered at the Cannes film festival, where it won the Palme d’Or. The film follows Ani, a Brooklyn sex worker working in high-end Manhattan clubs, whose life takes a turn when she meets Ivan, the heir to a Russian fortune.
Baker, known for chronicling the lives of sex workers and marginalized communities, won best director for Anora, his first Oscar victory. He prevailed over Brady Corbet (The Brutalist), James Mangold (A Complete Unknown), Jacques Audiard (Emilia Perez), and Coralie Fargeat (The Substance).
Adrien Brody completed his Hollywood comeback with a second best actor Oscar for The Brutalist, in which he plays a Hungarian architect who emigrates to the United States after World War II. His first Academy Award came in 2003 for The Pianist, making him the youngest-ever winner in the category at 29.
Brody outperformed heavy favorite Timothée Chalamet (A Complete Unknown), Ralph Fiennes (Conclave), Sebastian Stan (The Apprentice), and Colman Domingo (Sing Sing).
Meanwhile, I’m Still Here won best international feature, securing Brazil’s first Oscar in the category. The film, based on true events, explores a family’s struggles during the country’s military dictatorship. It triumphed over The Girl With the Needle (Denmark), Emilia Perez (France), The Seed of the Sacred Fig (Germany), and Flow (Latvia). AFP
