Karla Sofía Gascón made Oscar history Thursday as the first openly transgender actor to land an Academy Award nomination.
Gascón scored her first career nomination Thursday morning in the Best Actress category for her lead role in Jacques Audiard’s Spanish-language operatic musical, “Emilia Pérez,” cementing her place in the Oscar history books.
The landmark Oscar nomination is groundbreaking for the transgender community as it marks the first time an out trans actor has broken through in a major acting category with the Academy.
Gascón isn’t the first trans actor to be recognized by the Academy, however. Elliot Page, who was nominated for an Oscar in 2008 for their leading role in “Juno,” came out as trans through an Instagram post in December 2020, 12 years after being nominated.
The Academy has also previously nominated trans filmmakers and musicians. Composer Angela Morley was the first openly transgender Oscar nominee in 1975 for co-writing the score for “The Little Prince,” later earning a nomination in 1977 for scoring “The Slipper and the Rose — The Story of Cinderella. “
In 2016, singer-songwriter Anohni was the first trans musician to be nominated for an original song Oscar when she received a nod for penning the lyrics to “Manta Ray” for the documentary, “Racing Extinction.” Yance Ford became the first transgender filmmaker and producer in 2018 to be nominated for a documentary Oscar with “Strong Island.”
In “Emilia Pérez,” which earned 13 Oscar nominations, including Best Picture and Best Supporting Actress for Zoe Saldaña, Gascón portrays Mexican cartel leader Juan “Manitas” Del Monte, who undergoes gender-affirming surgery in order to transition to a woman with the help of a lawyer (played by Saldaña).
Depicting Emilia’s journey before and after her transition was a cathartic experience for Gascón, who was cognizant of her own life paralleling aspects of her character’s arc.
“This is something that has changed me a lot,” the Madrid-born actress told TheWrap through an interpreter. “It led to a lot of internal learning for myself. I left a lot of my own personal darkness in Manitas and Emilia, and I got a lot of light in return from these characters.”
Gascón has collected a slew of accolades since last year’s Cannes Film Festival, where the female cast (including co-star Adriana Paz) won the best actress prize. Gascón became the first trans woman to be honored with the prestigious award. She was also nominated at the Golden Globes, Critics’ Choice and the Screen Actors Guild Awards.
“My character in the film is this ray of hope. And personally, I do feel like I am carrying this message,” Gascón said. “I have a social responsibility that goes beyond the creative achievement of the film. This is the type of movie that will make history, not just the cinema but something that will be studied in books, that will be studied in universities.”
In an increasingly fraught landscape for the trans community, Gascón spoke of the platform she has been given to give voice to the voiceless. “People are committing acts of hate, violence, even murder against people for being different and for the simple reason of existing,” she said. “I know I’ve gotten this responsibility for a reason.”
The 97th annual Academy Awards, hosted by Conan O’Brien, will take place at the Dolby Theatre on Sunday, March 2, and will be broadcast live coast-to-coast at 4 p.m. PT/7 p.m. ET on ABC.
