After winning the Golden Globe, Bafta and SAG award for best supporting actress in Emilia Pérez, Zoe Saldaña has finished award season on an all-time high as she went onto win the Oscar, too. 

The 97th Academy Awards were a momentous night for the 46-year-old actor, who is best known for her roles in James Cameron’s Avatar and the Guardians Of The Galaxy franchise, as she took home her first Oscar for her portrayal as Rita Mora Castro in the Spanish-language musical crime drama. 

Taking to the stage in her beautiful burgundy Saint Laurent dress, Saldaña called out to her mother in the audience and became profoundly emotional as she dedicated the award to her late grandmother and her co-stars. 

Holding back tears, Saldaña began: “I am floored by this honour. Thank you to the Academy for recognising the quiet heroism and the power in a woman like Rita.”

She went onto praise her fellow nominees, including Wicked’s Ariana Grande, A Complete Unknown’s Monica Barbaro, The Brutalist’s Felicity Jones and Conclave’s Isabella Rossellini, by adding: “And talking about powerful women, my fellow nominees: the love and community that you have offered me is a true gift, and I will pay it forward.”

She also thanked her husband, Marco Perego-Saldaña, her family and said she is “sharing” the award with the rest of her cast and crew of Emilia Pérez.

“Thank you so much, Jacques Audiard, you are forever a beloved character in my life,” she told her director, “Thank you for taking the interest. Thank you for being so curious about these women, to tell this story.” 

“To my mom, my dad, and my sisters, everything brave, outrageous, and good that I’ve ever done in my life is because of you,” she added, “Thank you so much — and to my husband… the biggest honour of my life is being your partner.” 

Saldaña also received rave applause for acknowledging that she is the “first American of Dominican origin” to win an Academy Award and added: “I will not be the last.”

“My grandmother came to this country in 1961,” the actor continued, “I am a proud child of immigrant parents with dreams and dignity and hard-working hands, and I am the first American of Dominican origin to accept an Academy Award. And I know I will not be the last. I hope!”

“The fact that I am getting an award for a role where I got to sing and speak in Spanish—my grandmother, if she were here, she would be so delighted. This is for my grandmother, Argentina Cesse. Thank you so much. Muchas gracias.”

Emilia Pérez is available to stream now on Netflix. 

Images: Getty