Emilía Perez is a musical crime drama centered around a cartel leader (Karla Sofía Gascón) who hires a lawyer named Rita (Zoe Saldaña) to help her disappear and start a new life as a woman. After settling into her life as Emilía Perez, the former crime boss attempts to right some of her past wrongs and reconnect with her wife (Gomez) and children.
Despite various controversies, Emilía Perez scored 13 total Oscar nominations, the most of any film this year. Gomez’s costar Zoe Saldaña is a front-runner in the race for best supporting actress, while Karla Sofía Gascón made history as the first out trans woman to be nominated for best actress.
Following her history-making nomination, Gascón came under fire for a slew of resurfaced offensive tweets that cast an ever darker cloud over Emillía Perez, which was already facing criticism for poor representation of the LGBTQ+ and Mexican communities. Even so, Gascón is expected to attend this evening’s awards ceremony.
Gomez herself is not up for an Oscar this year, but earned nominations for her role at the Golden Globes, Screen Actor’s Guild Awards, and British Academy Film Awards. She also shared the Cannes Film Festival award for best actress with Saldaña and Gascón back in March 2024.
“Some of the magic has disappeared, but I choose to continue to be proud of what I’ve done, and I’m just—I’m just grateful. I live with no regrets.” Gomez said of the controversy at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival in February, per Vanity Fair. “I would do this movie over and over again if I could.”
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