Cannes awards best actress award to trans star Karla Sofia Gascon as ‘ensemble female performance’ wins: Artist tells critics about decision to ‘change, you bas****s’ as she collects the trophy
- Cannes awards the prize for best actress to a trans woman for the first time
- Karla Sofia Gascon stars in the Mexican musical comedy Emilia Perez
Actress Karla Sofia Gascon has become the first trans woman to receive the Best Actress award at the Cannes Film Festival.
Madrid-born Gascon, 52, who starred in Jacques Audiard’s musical comedy Emilia Perez, delivered an acceptance speech on behalf of the film’s female cast, which won best actress as an ensemble on Saturday evening.
Female stars in the Spanish-language film included Zoe Saldana, 45, Selena Gomez, 31, and Adriana Paz, 44, who were not present at the closing night of the prestigious awards ceremony on the French Riviera.
Emilia Perez, who was considered Cannes’ most divisive movie, is about a lawyer who is recruited by a Mexican drug lord to help him undergo gender reassignment surgery to become a woman.
During her acceptance speech, a teary-eyed Gascon said: “To every trans person who suffers hate every day… This is for you,” The Telegraph reported.
Karla Sofia Gascon gets emotional as she receives the Best Actress award for Emilia Perez.
Gascon is the first trans woman ever to win the title of Best Actress at Cannes.
The Best Actress award was awarded to Gascon and her co-stars Zoe Saldana, Selena Gomez and Adriana Paz as an ensemble.
Selena Gomez reacts to winning best actress alongside her Emilia Perez co-stars.
Addressing potential critics in her speech, she said: “We all have the opportunity to change for the better, to become better people. If you have made us suffer, it is time for you to change too,” she added.
In response to the jury’s decision to divide the award for best actress into four parts, the jury chairman said Greta Gerwig said: “Women together – that’s something we wanted to honor when we presented this award. Each one of them is distinctive, but together they are transcendent.’
In addition to the Best Actress award, Emilia Perez also won the Cannes Jury Prize.
It marked an unprecedentedly rare moment in which not one, but two awards were earned, when awards are usually spread out.
Actresses Uma Thurman, Audrey Plaza and Emma Stone were also up for Best Actress.
Last week the film received a nine-minute standing ovation at its premiere in Cannes.
Gomez, who was joined by co-stars Saldana and Edgar Ramirez, wiped away tears as the audience cheered.
The actress was not present at the closing evening of the film festival, but celebrated her victory via Instagram.