Alicia Vikander to Receive Rising Star Award From Palm Springs Fest

Alicia Vikander has been named recipient of the Rising Star Award at the 2016 Palm Springs International Film Festival, PSIFF organizers announced on Tuesday.

Vikander joins previously announced honorees Cate Blanchett, Johnny Depp, Michael Fassbender, Brie Larson, Tom McCarthy and Saoirse Ronan.

Vikander, who appeared in five different films in 2015, was recently named the year’s best supporting actress by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association for her role as a cyborg in “Ex Machina.”

She is receiving the Palm Springs award for her performance in Tom Hooper‘s “The Danish Girl,” which has been considered a far likelier awards contender for her, and will receive it at PSIFF’s annual Awards Gala, a black-tie fundraiser that doubles as a campaign stop during the final days of Oscar voting.

“In ‘The Danish Girl,’ Alicia Vikander delivers a superb performance as Gerda Wegener, the wife of transgender pioneer Lili Elbe,” said festival Chairman Harold Matzner in a statement. “She projects so much love and pain as she goes on a journey with Lili during an era when there was no precedent for it. Gerda’s own transformation as a character speaks to the story’s themes of courage and self-acceptance.”

Past recipients of the Rising Star Award include Jennifer Lawrence, Scarlett Johansson, Anna Kendrick, Dakota Fanning and Terrence Howard.

The Palm Springs International Film Festival begins on Jan. 1 and runs through Jan. 11 in the desert resort town east of Los Angeles.