With the awards season underway, the 95th Academy Award nominations announcements have seen the women of the box office making history!
The nominations announcements were hosted by Riz Ahmed and actor Allison Williams. All 23 Oscar categories were revealed in a live presentation from the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.
Meet the women making Oscar nominations history
Angela Bassett
Angela Bassett just made a triple mark in Oscars history with her nomination for Best Supporting Actress earned by her role in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
The nominations for Actress in a Supporting Role go to… #Oscars #Oscars95 pic.twitter.com/woIyaGXaEg
— The Academy (@TheAcademy) January 24, 2023
Not only does this nomination make Oscars history because it is the first time that a woman and a person of colour has been nominated for a superhero role, but this is also the first time a Marvel Studios actor has been nominated for an Academy Award for their performance in a comic book adaptation, in any acting category.
Although the movie missed a Best Picture nomination, we will still be glued to our screens to see the results of all the categories.
Bassett tells E! News: “This morning is a little extra special in the Bassett Vance household with news of my Oscar nomination. What has drawn me to each of the women I’ve portrayed throughout my career is their strength, compassion, resilience, and power. Wakanda Forever‘s Queen Ramonda is a character that touched my spirit because she is a mother and a leader who must care for her grieving nation as much as she cares for her family in mourning. Ramonda is a love letter that reflects and acknowledges what we women do everyday. There was so much to unpack as an actress because it’s brilliant storytelling, alongside a wealth of talent in front of and behind the camera.”
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Bassett said playing Ramonda was “a whole, rich meal,” and that she had no problem drawing from her own grief over Chadwick Boseman’s death – the actor of her son, T’Challa in the original movie.
Wakanda Forever will be available to watch on Disney Plus from February 1, just in case you skipped it in cinemas.
Having already won the Golden Globe and Critics’ Choice awards, among being nominated for several others (including the NAACP Image Award, the SAGs and the BAFTAs) Bassett is a proven force to be reckoned with.
Although there is some stiff competition, bets are on that she is the frontrunner in winning this award. This is also Bassett’s second Oscar nomination; her first came 29 years ago for best actress for 1993’s Tina Turner biopic What’s Love Got to Do With It?
Michelle Yeoh
Malaysian icon Michelle Yeoh has made history with a nomination for her star-studded performance in Everything Everywhere All at Once. She is the first Academy Award best actress nominee to identify as Asian. This is Yeoh’s first Oscar nomination.
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It might’ve taken Yeoh 59 years to land a lead role in a Hollywood film but, it’s also taken 95 years for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize a woman who identifies as Asian in its best actress category.
She told Hollywood Reporter after the announcement: “It’s taken a long time. But I think this is more than me. At the present moment, constantly, all the time, having Asians walking up to me saying, ‘You can do it, you’re doing it for us.’ It’s like, ‘I understand. I totally understand.’ All this time, they’ve not been recognized, they’ve not been heard.”
This is a historic category but until today, not a single woman who identifies as Asian—incidentally, the largest racial group on the planet has been recognized at this level.
Everything Everywhere All at Once— a twisty sci-fi adventure, dominated the nominations for the 95th Academy Awards, picked up 11 nominations including Best Picture
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Michelle also won the award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture—Musical/Comedy at the Golden Globes earlier this month.
The 95th Academy Awards will take place on Sunday, March 12 at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood and air live on ABC, hosted by Jimmy Kimmel. See the full list of nominees here.
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Featured Image: @theacademy/Instagram
