Karla Sofía Gascón has made history by becoming the first openly transgender actor to receive an Oscar nomination! This Spanish actress is famous for her role in the movie Emilia Pérez, where she plays a powerful drug lord who needs help to fake her death and get gender-affirming surgery. She was nominated for Best Actress, and this amazing news was announced as part of the 2025 Oscars nominations.
Karla was born on March 31, 1972. She decided she wanted to act when she was a teenager. After studying acting, she worked on children’s shows for the BBC in London. In the early 2000s, she appeared in Spanish TV shows and then moved to Mexico in 2009 to act in telenovelas. After completing her transition in 2018, she published a book and announced her new name, Karla. She is married to Marisa Gutiérrez, and they have a daughter born in 2011.
In 2024, Karla achieved worldwide fame when Emilia Pérez premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, where she won the Best Actress award, making her the first openly transgender person to win at Cannes! She also received the Chevalière title from the French Ordre des Arts et des Lettres and was the first transgender woman nominated for a Golden Globe.
In the past, some transgender individuals have been nominated for Oscars, but Karla is the first actor. Other actors like Jared Leto and Hilary Swank won Oscars for playing transgender roles. Alongside Karla in the Best Actress category are Cynthia Erivo for Wicked, Mikey Madison for Anora, Demi Moore for The Substance, and Fernanda Torres for I’m Still Here
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