In the first big win of the night, Da’Vine Joy Randolph bagged herself an Oscar for her standout turn in The Holdovers.

“I didn’t think I was supposed to be doing this as a career,” the actor – whose portrayal of Mary, a grieving cafeteria manager at a New England prep school has been lauded by film critics – said tearfully.

“I started off as a singer, and my mother said to me, ‘Go across that street to that theatre department. There’s something for you there.’ I thank my mother for doing that. I thank all the people who have been there for me, ushered me and guided me.”

Randolph went on to thank her Yale School of Drama professor Ron Van Lieu. “When I was the only Black girl in that class, when you saw me and you told me I was enough. And when I told you, I don’t see myself, he said, ‘That’s fine. We’re going to forge our own path. You’re going to lay a trail for yourself.’”

“I thank you to all the people who have stepped in my path and been there for me, who have ushered me and guided me,” she continued.

“I am so grateful to all you beautiful people out here. For so long, I’ve always wanted to be different, and now I realise I just need to be myself.”

Watch Da’Vine Joy Randolph’s Oscars 2024 speech below:

Finishing with a shoutout to her publicist, Randolph added: “I pray to God that I get to do this more than once. Thank you for seeing me.”

Backstage, Randolph described her win as a “love letter to Black women”, noting: “It’s imperative [to feel heard and seen] because the people who’ve done it before me allow me to be in this position now, and so the type of work I do, my strive for authenticity, for quality, allows there to be a new standard set where we can tell universal stories in Black and brown bodies, and it can be accepted and enjoyed among the masses.

“It’s not just Black TV or Black movies for Black people, instead of a universal performance that can be enjoyed by all,” she told Deadline.

Congratulations to Da’Vine Joy Randolph once again.

Images: Getty