Emma Stone on Sunday was awarded the best actress Academy Award for her portrayal of Bella Baxter in “Poor Things.” “The women in this category… I share this with you,” Stone said, through tears, during her acceptance speech. “I’m in awe of you and it has been such an honor to do all this together.”
She also thanked the film’s director Yorgos Lanthimos and the rest of the cast and crew, nodding to the effort they collectively put in to create the film. Stone also hilariously noted that the back of her gown was “broken,” which she said she thinks happened during Ryan Gosling’s performance of “I’m Just Ken.”
With a hoarse voice, Stone also gave a sweet shoutout to her daughter at the end of her speech, who she said was about to turn three.
Right after her award, the evening’s host Jimmy Kimmel came back out on stage and cracked an “Envelopegate” joke, a nod to the best picture envelope mixup between “La La Land” and “Moonlight” at the 2017 Oscars. This is Stone’s second Oscar for best actress in a leading role, after first winning the award in 2017 for “La La Land.”
Jennifer Lawrence, Michelle Yeoh, Sally Field, Charlize Theron and Jessica Lange – all previous best lead actress Oscar winners – appeared on stage to present the award, each delivering a poignant speech about one of the current nominees before Yeoh named Stone as the winner. When the stunned star got to the stage she hugged Lawrence, who is also her friend, as the pair were visibly tearing up.
In “Poor Things,” Stone plays a child-like woman who is reanimated by a mad professor-type using the brain of her unborn child. The bizarre and outlandish film was nominated for 11 Oscars total this year, including best picture, best supporting actor for Mark Ruffalo, best director for Lanthimos, adapted screenplay, cinematography and production design. The movie ended up taking home four awards total.
Stone and Lanthimos have previously collaborated in the director’s Oscar-winning 2018 film “The Favourite,” as well as a 2022 short film. They are working together on at least two future projects, including a film titled “Kinds of Kindness” costarring Margaret Qualley and “Euphoria” star Hunter Schafer.
In the 2024 lead actress category, Stone was up against Lily Gladstone for “Killers of the Flower Moon,” Annette Bening for “Nyad,” Sandra Hüller for “Anatomy of a Fall” and Carey Mulligan for “Maestro.”