Karla Sofía Gascón made Oscar history on Thursday as the first openly transgender actor to receive an Oscar nomination.
Gascón scored her first career nomination Thursday morning in the Best Actress category for her lead role in Jacques Audiard’s Spanish-language opera musical “Emilia Pérez,” cementing her place in the Oscar history books.
The landmark Oscar nomination is groundbreaking for transgender people as it marks the first time an out trans actor has broken through in a major acting category with the Academy.
However, Gascón is not the first trans actor to be recognized by the Academy. Elliot Page, who was nominated for an Oscar in 2008 for his lead role in “Juno,” came out as a trance through a post on Instagram in December 2020, 12 years after being nominated.
The Academy has also previously nominated trans filmmakers and musicians. Composer Angela Morley was the first openly transgender Oscar nominee in 1975 for writing the score for “The Little Prince”, who later received a nomination in 1977 for making “The Slipper and the Rose”. — The story of Cinderella. “
In 2016, singer-songwriter Anohni became the first trans musician to be nominated for an original song Oscar when she received a nod for writing the lyrics to “Manta Ray” for the documentary “Racing Extinction.” Yance Ford became the first transgender filmmaker and producer in 2018 to be nominated for a documentary Oscar with “Strong Island.”
In “Emilia Pérez,” which received 13 Oscar nominations, including best picture and best supporting actress for Zoe Saldaña, Gascón portrays Mexican cartel leader Juan “Manitas” Del Monte, who undergoes gender reassignment surgery to transition to a woman with the help of a lawyer (played by Saldaña).
Depicting Emilia’s journey before and after her transition was a rewarding experience for Gascón, who was aware of her own life paralleling aspects of her character’s arc.
“This is something that has changed me a lot,” the Madrid-born actress told TheWrap through an interpreter. “It led to a lot of internal learning for myself. I left a lot of my personal darkness in Manitas and Emilia, and I got a lot of light back from those characters.”
Gascón has collected a number of accolades since last year Cannes Film Festivalwhere the female cast (including co-star Adriana Paz) won Best Actress. Gascón became the first trans woman to be honored with the prestigious award. She was also nominated for Golden Globes, Critics’ Choice and Screen Actors Guild Awards.
“My character in the film is this ray of hope. And personally I feel that I carry this message, said Gascón. “I have a social responsibility that goes beyond the creative achievement of the film. This is the kind of film that will make history, not just cinema but something that will be studied in books, that will be studied in universities.”
In an increasingly crowded landscape for the trans community, Gascón spoke about the platform she’s been given to give voice to the voiceless. “People commit acts of hatred, violence, even murder against people for being different and for the simple reason that they exist,” she said. “I know I’ve been given this responsibility for a reason.”
The 97th Annual Academy Awards, hosted by Conan O’Brien, will take place at the Dolby Theater on Sunday, March 2 and will be televised live coast-to-coast at 4pm PT/7pm ET on ABC.
