Zoe Saldaña became the first Latina actress to win the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress at the 97th Academy Awards, taking home her first Oscar for her role in Emilia Pérez. But her tearful, behind-the-scenes celebration with her family and powerful acceptance speech was what got people talking.
Zoe Saldaña has captivated audiences for decades with her performances in significant franchise films like Avatar and Guardians of the Galaxy. But this win was a victory of a different kind. In Emilia Pérez, she played attorney Rita Mora Castro, a role that allowed her to show her range and emotional complexity in a film in which she spoke Spanish. Critics lauded her for bringing quiet strength to the role, and the Academy awarded her the golden statue she rightly deserved.
The moment she emerged onto the stage to accept her Oscar was pure emotion. Tears streaming down her face, she looked out at her mother in the audience and sobbed,
“Mami! Mami! My mom is here. My whole family is here. I am overwhelmed with this honor.”
She also remembered her late grandmother, Argentina Cesse, by talking about the sacrifices made by women in her family that made her path possible.
After the ceremony, social media was full of sweet and joyful moments between Saldaña and her family. A now-iconic photo captured her with her sisters, Cisely and Mariel, and their husbands, all beaming with pride. The photo pulled at people’s hearts, with many seeing it as a testament to the family’s role in standing by her during her journey.
This was far from the first time Saldaña had celebrated milestones with family members. Throughout the awards season, she included her three boys, Cy, Zen, and Bowie, in the celebrations. She FaceTimed them immediately after her Oscar win, drawing them in despite their young age. She also included her husband, Marco Perego-Saldaña, in a tongue-in-cheek shout-out during her acceptance speech by praising his “beautiful hair.”
Where this Oscar cements her status among serious actresses, Saldaña’s box-office superiority is arguably just as notable. With her movies grossing over $15 billion, she is the second highest-grossing lead actress in movie history. With her work as Neytiri in Avatar and Gamora in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, she has consistently proven that she can lead big franchises to the top.
Her ability to alternate between genres—sci-fi franchises and action films—has made her one of the most bankable actresses in Hollywood. With upcoming Avatar sequels and rumored Marvel cameos, her star power is by no means diminishing.
Apart from the numbers, Saldaña’s win is a victory for Latino visibility in Hollywood. At that moment, she was the first Dominican-American actress ever to win an Oscar, making it very clear that she would be far from alone.
“I am a proud child of immigrant parents from the Caribbean,”
She said, emphasizing the importance of more inclusive stories being told in films.
Through her production company, she has worked to bring more Latino stories to Hollywood so that future generations can have more opportunities in the industry.
Zoe Saldaña’s Oscar win was more than a personal victory—it was a cultural moment. It celebrated the power of family, determination, and visibility. With her continued challenge of demanding roles and testing the boundaries, one thing is sure: her journey is far from over. For now, though, she is soaking up the well-earned moment with her family. And from the viral photo, they’re just as proud as the rest of the world.
