The 2025 Academy Awards nominees include Emilia Pérez star Karla Sofía Gascón and I’m Still Here’s Fernanda Torres as history-making nominees. Find out how.

The 2025 Academy Awards are set to be a historic night.

Bowen Yang and Rachel Sennott announced the nominations across 23 categories on live stream Jan. 23, and some names are making waves in Hollywood. Emilia Pérez leads the pack, picking up a total of 13 nominations across the board, with nominations for cinematography, film editing, directing and Best Picture.

But it was show-stopping star Karla Sofía Gascón who made history as the first openly trans actress to be nominated for an Oscar.

The Spanish actress was nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her portrayal of the titular character in the film. Karla has already made history this awards season, becoming the first trans woman to win the best actress award at the Cannes Film Festival.

Prior, the Academy has recognized cisgender actors who have portrayed transgender characters with Jared Leto’s Best Supporting Actor win for Dallas Buyers Club, Hilary Swank’s Best Actress win for Boys Don’t Cry and Eddie Redmayne’s Best Actor win for The Danish Girl.

The music and the history didn’t stop for the Emilia Pérez. The film as a whole made history as the most nominated non-English film beating Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and Roma, two non-English films that had 10 nominations each, with its 13 nods.

The Spanish-language film, which was directed by French filmmaker Jacques Audiard and is  representing France at the Oscars, also stars Zoe Saldaña—who was nominated for Best Actress—and Selena Gomez.

Another show-stopping actress who made history was Fernanda Torres. The 59-year-old became the second Brazilian actress to be nominated in the Best Actress category. The I’m Still Here star follows in the footsteps of her mother, Fernanda Montenegro who became the first Brazilian woman nominated in the category in 1998 for her role in Walter Salles‘ Central Station. 

Meanwhile, Timothée Chalamet, 29, who snagged a Best Actor nomination for his role as Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown, could make history as the youngest winner in the categories history if he takes home the statue. The honor has been held by Adrien Brody—who is also in the running in this year’s Best Actor category for The Brutalist—when he took home the award for his role in The Pianist in 2002 at the age of 29. 

Wicked‘s Cynthia Erivo‘s Best Actress nominations makes her only the second Black woman to be nominated for the category multiple times. Cynthia was previously nominated for her role in Harriet. Viola Davis became the first (and only Black woman) before with her nominations for The Help and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.

And then there’s The Substance, which stars Demi Moore, which became just the seventh horror film to be nominated in the Best Picture category. 

The 97th Academy Awards ceremony, which will be hosted by Conan O’Brien, and will air March 2. 

Keep reading to see all of the snubs and surprises from this year’s nominations…

Snub: Selena Gomez

While the Emilia Pérez star has enjoyed positive reception for her work as Jessi Del Monte—including a Golden Globe nomination—the Disney Channel alum did not find herself among the nominees for the Best Supporting Actress.

Surprise: Monica Barbaro

One who did find themselves on the coveted list was Monica Barbaro.

And don’t get us wrong—Monica’s nomination for her work as Joan Baez in A Complete Unknown comes as a pleasant surprise after not being nominated for a Golden Globe. Her performance did, however, earn a nod for the 2025 SAG Awards.

Snub: Angelina Jolie

While Maria marked the 49-year-old’s first major role since 2021’s The Eternals, and despite being nominated for a Golden Globe, Angelina was not nominated for an Oscar. 

Surprise: Some of the First-Time Nominees

While it doesn’t come as a surprise that they were nominated, you might be surprised to learn that the following Hollywood veterans have not been nominated for an Academy Award before this year.

Among those celebrating their first nominations amid enduring careers include Demi Moore (The Substance), Guy Pearce (The Brutalist), Isabella Rossellini (Conclave), Zoe Saldaña (Emilia Pérez), Kieran Culkin (A Real Pain) and Brazil’s Fernanda Torres (I’m Still Here). 

Snub: Jon M. Chu

Despite the box office success and critical acclaim of Wicked, the 45-year-old was not recognized in the Directing category.

Surprise: The Substance

While the body horror film—which stars Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley—earning a Best Picture nod doesn’t come as an outright surprise given the project’s positive reception, it does buck a longtime trend of horror movies being omitted from the top category.

Among the handful of previous films in the genre to have earned a Best Picture nomination are Get Out, SIlence of the Lambs, The Sixth Sense and The Exorcist. 

Snub: Nicole Kidman

While the Babygirl star—who has been nominated for five Academ Awards throughout her career—earned a nod at the Golden Globes, she was not among the list of nominees for this year’s Oscars. 

Snub: Challengers

While the tennis-centric film—starring Zendaya, Mike Faist and Josh O’Connor—didn’t earn a single Oscars nomination, perhaps the most surprising category in which it did not feature was Music (Original Score). 

Afer all, the electronica, bass-heavy background almost became a character itself throughout the film, making it one of the most unique scores of the last year. 

A (Future) Surprise: The TBD Nominees

Eagle-eyed fans tuned into the announcement may have noticed that under certain titles read, “Nominees to be determined.”

Accordng to the Academy, producers need to be determined eligible by the Producers Guild of America, meaning in this case the names under certain nominees are still pending. 

The announcements, coming in early February, therefore promise to be a surprise for all. 

Snub: Pamela Anderson

While the 57-year-old’s performance in The Last Showgirl received critical acclaim and earned her a Golden Globe nomination, Pamela—and the entire film, including fellow cast member Jamie Lee Curtis—were shut out of the Oscar nominations. 

Surprise: Mindy Kaling

Yes, indeed, the Mindy Project alum has her hands in Live Action Short Film nominee Anuja after helping produce the project. 

Source: www.eonline.com