Yes. Karla Sofía Gascón was nominated for Actress in a Leading Role at the 97th Academy Awards for Emilia Pérez. She was the first out transgender woman nominated in an Oscar acting category—a distinction narrower than being the first transgender person nominated for an Academy Award in any category.
What was Karla Sofía Gascón nominated for?
The Academy’s official 97th Oscars ceremony record lists Gascón as a nominee for Actress in a Leading Role for Emilia Pérez. The ceremony, honoring films released in 2024, took place on March 2, 2025. Her fellow nominees were Cynthia Erivo, Mikey Madison, Demi Moore, and Fernanda Torres.
Emilia Pérez received 13 Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture and Gascón’s lead-actress nomination, according to the Associated Press’s January 23, 2025 report.
What does “first openly trans Oscar-nominated actress” mean?
The phrase can sound as though Gascón was the first transgender person ever nominated for an Oscar. That is not the precise record. The Los Angeles Times described her milestone as the first out transgender woman nominated in an acting category. The AP used the broader description “first openly trans actor ever nominated for an Oscar”; the acting-category wording clarifies the scope.
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“Out” or “openly” refers to a nominee being publicly transgender. “Acting category” limits the claim to awards for acting, rather than every category recognized by the Academy. The Academy’s ceremony page confirms Gascón’s nomination and category; the historical-first description comes from reporting by the AP and the Los Angeles Times.
Who were the transgender Oscar nominees before Gascón?
Transgender people had been Oscar nominees in other categories before Gascón’s acting nomination. The Los Angeles Times identifies several earlier examples:
- English composer Angela Morley received Oscar nominations for music contributions to The Little Prince (1974) and The Slipper and the Rose: The Story of Cinderella (1976).
- Musician Anohni was nominated for the original song “Manta Ray” from Racing Extinction (2015).
- Documentarian Yance Ford became the first out trans man to receive an Oscar nomination, for Strong Island (2017).
These precedents do not contradict Gascón’s acting-category milestone: they were nominations in music and documentary filmmaking, not acting.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What is Emilia Pérez about?
The Los Angeles Times describes Emilia Pérez as a French-produced, Netflix-distributed musical thriller centered on a Mexican cartel boss who undergoes gender transition. That is a description of the film, not an explanation of the Academy’s nomination decision. The director, Jacques Audiard, said the recognition was “a celebration of the global world we live in,” according to the AP’s January 2025 coverage.
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