Karla Sofía Gascón Just Made History as the First Openly Trans Actress to be Nominated for an Oscar

The 2025 Oscar nominations are out, and we already have something to celebrate. Karla Sofía Gascón, who played the titular role in Emilia Pérez, was nominated for best lead actress, making her the first openly trans actress to receive the honor. She is up against Cynthia Erivo for Wicked, Mikey Madison for Anora, Demi Moore for The Substance, and Fernanda Torres for I’m Still Here.

Gascón is not the first trans person who’s been nominated by the Academy ever. Before coming out and before his transition, Elliot Page was nominated in the same category for his work in Juno, and the singer Anohni was nominated for Best Original Song in 2016, but she decided to skip the ceremony after not being invited to perform, per NPR. Still, if Gascón wins (and she has a good chance!), she will make history as the first openly trans Oscar winner ever.

In an interview with the New York Times, Gascón said, “When I finished my transition, I didn’t know if I was going to have a career after that.” She also said that playing Emilia required her to tap into some difficult periods of her own life. “There were two moments in particular when I went to the depth of darkness in my own life,” she told the newspaper. “My brain didn’t want to go back to that place.”

Karla Sofía Gascón, along with her costars Selena Gomez and Zoe Saldaña, won the joint best actress award at Cannes film festival, where Gascón accepted the prize on behalf of all three. “This award is not just for me. It’s for all people who are fighting for themselves and their rights,” she said. “We’ve been insulted, denigrated, subjected to a lot of violence without even knowing why. I think this is award is so much more than anyone could imagine.”