Actor and activist Zoë Saldaña paid tribute to her immigrant roots during an emotional Oscar acceptance speech Sunday night, honoring the hard work of her immigrant parents and dedicating her win to her immigrant grandmother.
“My grandmother came to this country in 1961,” she said during remarks that drew rousing applause. “I am a proud child of immigrant parents, with dreams and dignity and hardworking hands.” Saldaña, who won Best Supporting Actress for her role as an attorney in the French film ”Emilia Pérez,” also made history as the first Dominican American actor to win an Oscar. She said she hoped it would only light the way for others to follow.
“And I am the first American of Dominican origin to accept an Academy Award,” she continued, “and I know I will not be the last.”
Saldaña saved some of her most poignant words when speaking about her immigrant grandmother, saying that winning Hollywood’s top movie prize for a role where she got to speak Spanish would have made her especially proud.
“I hold the fact that I’m getting an award to a role where I got to sing and speak in Spanish — my grandmother, if she were here, she would be so delighted,” Saldaña continued. “This for my grandmother, Argentina Cesse. Thank you so much. Muchas gracias.” Watch her speech in its entirely below:
Adrien Brody, who won Best Actor for his performance as a Holocaust survivor in “The Brutalist,” also lifted up his immigrant heritage during his Best Actor win at January’s Golden Globes, saying that his character’s journey was “very reminiscent of my mother’s and my ancestors’ journey of fleeing war and coming to this great country.”
“I owe so much to my mother and my grandparents for their sacrifice,” he said, “and although I do not know fully how to express all of the challenges that you have faced and experienced, and the many people who have struggled immigrating to this country, I hope that this work stands to lift you up a bit and to give you a voice. I’m so grateful. I will cherish this moment forever.”
The Oscars have been criticized in the past for a lack of diversity among nominees and winners, making messages like that of Saldaña and “Everything Everywhere All At Once” star Ke Huy Quan all the more crucial. “My journey started on a boat,” he said following his win for Best Supporting Actor in 2023. “I spent a year in a refugee camp, and somehow I ended up here, on Hollywood’s biggest stage. They say stories like this only happen in the movies – I cannot believe it’s happening to me. This is the American dream.” And during the Grammy Awards last month, Shakira dedicated her win for Best Latin Pop Album for “Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran” to her “immigrant brothers and sisters.”
“I want to dedicate this award to all my immigrant brothers and sisters in this country,” said the Colombian-born singer-songwriter, who ranks as one of the world’s best-selling artists. “You are loved, you are worth it, and I will always fight with you.”
