Zoe Saldaña has been a bonafide star for the better part of the past two decades, but on Sunday night, she won her very first Golden Globe. The actress beat out Ariana Grande (“Wicked”), Felicity Jones (“The Brutalist”), Margaret Qualley (“The Substance”), Isabella Rossellini (“Conclave”), and her “Emilia Pérez” co-star Selena Gomez for Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role, honoring each of her fellow nominees as she tearfully accepted the award.
“I’m filled with adrenaline, but my heart is full of gratitude,” said Saldaña as she took the stage, delivering an emotional speech that highlighted her reverence for the women in her cast and category.
“I’m in awe of you — your strength, your complexity, your undeniable talent,” she said. “I know that it is a competition, but all that I have witnessed is just us showing up for each other and celebrating each other, and it’s just so beautiful.”
The nomination was Saldaña’s first for a Golden Globe, earned for a role in which she not only acted but also sang and rapped. In the innovative musical, which is told in both Spanish and English, she portrayed a lawyer who assists a Mexican drug lord (played by fellow nominee Karla Sofía Gascón) in faking their death and achieving their true identity through gender-affirming surgery.
“I experienced this kind of magic on the set of ‘Emilia Pérez,’ and it’s thanks to you,” said Saldaña as she shouted out the cast and crew of the film, which led this year’s Golden Globes nominations with 10 nods. Soon after, the acclaimed film also won the award for Best Motion Picture, Non-English Language, and is expected to garner an Academy Award nomination in the coming weeks.
As Saldaña continues to wind — and possibly win — her way through awards season, her bond with her fellow actresses in Emilia Pérez is clearly at the forefront of her mind.
“There’s so much love. There’s so much respect. We’re rooting for each other. We’re happy for each other. We’re fixing each other’s makeup and wardrobes,” said Saldaña at an event in September, per People magazine. “We knew what it meant to us. And knowing that it’s becoming something special to so many people is impactful.”
