Karla Sofía Gascón makes Oscar history as first openly trans actress to be nominated

Karla Sofía Gascón made Oscar history on Thursday, becoming the first openly trans actress to be nominated for an Oscar for her portrayal of the title character in “Emilia Pérez.”

In the Netflix musical directed by Jacques Audiard, Gascón plays a cartel leader who tries to atone for his past after secretly transitioning. She previously received Best Actress nominations at the Golden Globes and Screen Actors Guild Awards for this role.

Born in Spain but best known until now for her work in Mexican telenovelas, Gascón came out as trans in 2016. “When I finished my transition, I didn’t know if I was going to have a career after that,” she said. told the New York Times last year.

Yet when Audiard chose “Emilia Pérez,” he was so taken with Gascón’s presence that he redesigned the role to suit her. “As soon as I saw her, that was it,” he said.

Although the plan was to cast a cisgender male actor to play the gruff, gold-toothed drug lord before transitioning, Gascón also fought to appear in those scenes. “I can tell you that from a selfish point of view, I’m angry that people don’t realize that it’s me who plays both,” she told the Times, “but at the same time, I feel very proud too.”

While Gascón, 52, is the first openly trans actress to be nominated for an Oscar, the first openly trans artist to be recognized by the academy was singer Anohni, nominated for best song in 2016. Elliot Page, who was nominated for the 2007 film “Juno,” and publicly came out as trans in 2020.

Two cisgender actors have won Oscars for their trans roles, Jared Leto (“Dallas Buyers Club”) and Hilary Swank (“Boys Don’t Cry”), but if Gascón wins, she will become the first trans actor to win. have done. Still, she told The Times last fall that she was determined not to let Oscar buzz go to her head.

“At this age, I’m in balance,” she says. “Other people think, ‘Wow, this is a special moment, you must be very nervous or very excited.’ No, I’m normal. I prefer it like this.