97th Oscars: Zoe Saldana tears up at the stage as she bags Best Supporting Actress award

Los Angeles:  Hollywood actress Zoe Saldana is walking home with the Oscar trophy for Best Supporting Actress for her role as an attorney for a cartel leader in Jacques Audiard’s ‘Emilia Perez’.

As she took to the stage to receive the honour, she paid tribute to the cast and her own family in an emotional speech, reports ‘Variety’.

Saldana shouted out the ‘Emilia Perez’ cast in her Oscar acceptance speech, saying, “Thank you to the Academy, for recognising the quiet heroism and the power in a woman like Rita, and talking about powerful women. Jacques, you are a beloved character in my life. Thank you for taking the interest. Thank you for being so curious about these women to tell this story. To my cast and my crew of ‘Emilia Perez,’ I’m sharing this award with you”.

As per ‘Variety’, she then spoke emotionally about her family and her grandmother, tearing up during her speech. “My grandmother came to this country in 1961, I am a proud child of immigrant parents”, she said. “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’m 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”.

The actress also took home the SAG Award for Supporting Actress for ‘Emilia Perez’, as well as a BAFTA award, Golden Globe and Critics Choice award.

Last year, she shared the best actress award when the film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival with her co-stars Selena Gomez, Adriana Paz and Karla Sofia Gascon.

‘Emilia Perez’ was nominated for 13 Oscars at this year’s ceremony, the most of any film in the field. But despite Saldana’s numerous kudos, the Spanish language musical has had a rocky path this awards season. Gascon, who was nominated for best actress, came under fire for a series of offensive tweets, which led to a series of apologies from the Spanish performer. French filmmaker Audiard was criticized for saying Spanish was the language of “poor people and migrants”, and for failing to grasp the nuances of Mexican culture and of trans depictions.

At the Oscars, Saldana faced off against Monica Barbaro, who played Joan Baez in ‘A Complete Unknown’, Isabella Rossellini for ‘Conclave’, Felicity Jones for ‘The Brutalist’ and Ariana Grande for ‘Wicked’.

–IANS