Zoe Saldaña Says Her 'Heart Is Full of Gratitude' as She Cries Through First Golden Globes Win: 'Oh My God'

Mar. 15, 2025

Zoe Saldaña at the 82nd Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, California, on Jan. 5, 2025.Photo:CBS

CBS

“Oh my God,” said theEmilia Pérezactress as she emerged onstage to tearfully accept the award from presentersDwayne JohnsonandAuliʻi Cravalhoat The Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles on Sunday, Jan. 5.

“I’m filled with adrenaline, but my heart is full of gratitude,” she continued.

After speaking more about how much the award meant to her and praising her costars, Saldaña, 46, shouted out her family, saying, “I love you — you guys are everything.”

The other nominees in Saldaña’s category included herEmilia PérezcostarSelena GomezplusAriana Grande(Wicked),Felicity Jones(The Brutalist),Margaret Qualley(The Substance) andIsabella Rossellini(Conclave).

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Zoe Saldaña inEmilia Pérez(2024).Shanna Besson/PAGE 114

Shanna Besson/PAGE 114

InEmilia Pérez, which wasnominated for 10 Golden Globes, the most for any film this year, Saldaña plays a lawyer helping Mexican drug lord Manitas, who has always privately identified as a woman, fake their death and undergo gender-affirming surgery. Years later, now known as Emilia Pérez (Karla Sofía Gascón), the former drug lord hopes to reunite with wife Jessi (Gomez) and their children.

This marked the first Golden Globe nomination and win for Saldaña, who has starred in some of the highest-grossing movie franchises of all times, likeAvatarand Marvel’sGuardians of the Galaxy.

Saldaña previously told PEOPLE in September 2024 about the “wonderful"bond she formed with herEmilia Pérezcostars.

“There’s so much love. There’s so much respect. We’re rooting for each other. We’re happy for each other. We’re fixing each other’s makeup and wardrobes,” she said. “We knew what it meant to us. And knowing that it’s becoming something special to so many people is impactful.”

Selena Gomez inEmilia Pérez(2024).Shanna Besson/Pathé

Shanna Besson/Pathé

In the Spanish-language French musicalEmilia Pérez,Gomez plays Jessi.

Director Jacques Audiard toldPalm Springs Lifemagazine that the singer told him the film “changed her life.”

“I thinkEmilia Pérezhas been a useful experience for Selena,” said Audiard. “Are her followers going to follow her into this experience? I don’t know, because I don’t know them. But she told me just yesterday that this film has changed her life. … I think it’s going to affect her choices going forward.”

Ariana Grande inWicked(2024).Giles Keyte/Universal Pictures

Giles Keyte/Universal Pictures

Pop star Grande, 31, charmed critics with her turn as bubbly Glinda, the future Good Witch, in theWizard of OzprequelWicked, directorJon M. Chu’s adaptation of the smash Broadway musical. She stars oppositeCynthia Erivo, who is nominated in the lead actress category, as Elphaba.

Earlier on Sunday, Grande wrote to her fans on her Instagram Stories: “All i can think about this afternoon and all morning is how deeply grateful i am to have been able to do this work and to have spent these years with Galinda.”

“I’m floating with gratitude today and cannot wait to celebrate all of the beautiful art that was made this year with my Ozian family and with all of our new friends,” she continued. “Happy Golden Globes day.”

Margaret Qualley inThe Substance(2024).MUBI/Youtube

MUBI/Youtube

The body-horror movieThe Substancefeatures Qualley, 30, in the daring role of Sue, the younger and unpredictable version of faded star Elisabeth Sparkle (Demi Moore), who generates Sue from her own body after injecting a mysterious serum.

She added, “I guess, for me, it’s something I’ve really never done. I think I’ve intentionally gone the other direction throughout my career.”

Adrien Brody and Felicity Jones inThe Brutalist(2024).Lol Crawley

Lol Crawley

Jones, 41, earned her nomination for playing a pivotal role inThe Brutalist: Erzsébet, the wife of architect László (Adrien Brody), who survived the horrors of the Holocaust and comes to the U.S. in search of the American dream.

“I couldn’t put the script down,” she toldVarietyof the film. “I just loved the intelligence and thought the ideology of the film was intriguing, this idea of fleeing fascism and falling straight into the arms of capitalism.”

Jones was nominated for leading actress in a drama 10 years ago for her role in theStephen HawkingbiopicThe Theory of Everything.

Isabella Rossellini inConclave(2024).Courtesy of Focus Features

Courtesy of Focus Features

“[Director Edward Berger] kept me in total silence until I have one pivotal scene, which I think underlined so well the patriarchal society of the Vatican and women’s subservient roles,” she toldTown & Countrymagazine.

“They’re present but never speaking — like shadows. I am circulating through the film never saying anything, but when she speaks, she speaks so powerfully. I love that,” Rossellini added.

SeePEOPLE’s full coverageof the 82nd annual Golden Globes ceremony, broadcasting live from The Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles on CBS and Paramount+.

source: people.com