The Oscars is the annual climax of cinematic achievements, a glittering night where a whole year’s worth of the finest in filmmaking are celebrated and immortalized in Hollywood history. While many talented artists and filmmakers can get caught up in the whirlwind of red carpet rivalries, actress Lily Gladstone graciously showed how the Oscars are not just about the prized golden statuettes but a celebration of talent, camaraderie, and also one’s own roots.
This award season, Lily and actress Emma Stone were both standout contenders for the Best Actress award. While Emma secured the Bafta for her role in Poor Things, Lily bagged the Screen Actors Guild Award for her performance in Killers of the Flower Moon.
At the Golden Globes, both Emma and Lily were honored with awards, with Emma winning the title of Best Actress – Musical or Comedy while Lily was titled the Best Actress – Drama.
Lily became the first Native American to receive a Best Actress Oscar nomination this year and was on the cusp of making history as the first Indigenous woman to ever win Best Actress. However, Emma ultimately took home the award for Best Actress at the dazzling 2024 Oscars held on Sunday.
Lily Gladstone would have made history as the first Native American performer to win Best Actress if she won
Stone gave a shout-out to her fellow nominees in the category during her emotional acceptance speech.
“The women in this category, Sandra [Hüller], Annette [Bening], Carey [Mulligan], Lily — I share this with you. I’m in awe of you, and it has been such an honor to do all of this together,” Emma said during her speech. “I hope we get to keep doing more together.”
Lily eventually took to social media and showed that the Oscars is not just about racking up wins.
“Feeling the love big time today, especially from Indian Country. Kittō”kuniikaakomimmō”po’waw – seriously, I love you all,” she wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“(Better believe when I was leaving the Dolby Theater and walked passed the big Oscar statue I gave that golden booty a little Coup tap – Count: one),” she added.
She also took a moment to highlight the poignant moment when Scott George and the Osage Singers performed the Oscar-nominated song “Wahzhazhe (A Song For My People)” on stage during the Academy Awards.
“When watching the Osage Singers at the Oscars, my inner voice said ‘They’re the ones bringing us all up on stage tonight, that’s how it should be.’ The history in the film and of the moment rightfully belong to the Osage Nation. What an honor to be close enough to feel the drum,” Lily said in another Tweet.
Emma Stone, Lily Gladstone, and Annette Bening shared an embrace during the Academy Awards
EMMA STONE, LILY GLADSTONE AND ANNETTE BENING BEAR HUG 🤍 pic.twitter.com/52GSnbHBuU
— emma stone’s manager (@emmarstones) March 11, 2024
Fans who already have plenty of reasons to be in awe of Lily felt like she gave them one more reason through her heartfelt message after the Oscars.
“She continues to be grace personified,” one wrote on Reddit. “Throughout the awards campaign, she always made it about the Osage people. All the actresses were phenomenal, but I always noticed how much more she spoke about the subject matter of her film and made sure to center them even in conversations about her own performance.”
Another said, “Lily is exceptional and I hope she has a long and d thriving career. Shallowly, I also think she’s so beautiful that I want to see more of her red carpet looks.”
“I love her and i hope she has a long, storied, and successful career,” read a third comment on Reddit.
Reflecting on the surprise that many felt, one said, “I’m still in shock that she didn’t win.”
“She’s honestly wonderful, and I hope we see her get her deserved gold sooner rather than later,” another said.
Emma Stone gifted Lily Gladstone an “Infinity Stones ring,” and they became “fast friends”
Although Lily and Emma were contenders for Best Actress, they remained friends throughout this award season. Lily said in an interview with Vanity Fair that they both became “fast friends” and that Emma even gifted her an “Infinity Stones ring.”
“My Infinity Stones ring — Emma Stone has the same one,” Lily said. “She sent this to me yesterday, and then she sent me a picture of her wearing the same one because we became fast friends in this whole process. And that’s our thing. We call each other Infinity Stones.”
The nominees and winners of some of the 96th Academy Awards categories:
Best Picture:
Winner: Oppenheimer
American Fiction
Anatomy of a Fall
Barbie
The Holdovers
Killers of the Flower Moon
Maestro
Past Lives
Poor Things
The Zone of Interest
Best Actress:
Winner: Emma Stone – Poor Things
Annette Bening – Nyad
Lily Gladstone – Killers of the Flower Moon
Sandra Huller – Anatomy of a Fall
Carey Mulligan – Maestro
Best Actor:
Winner: Cillian Murphy – Oppenheimer
Bradley Cooper – Maestro
Colman Domingo – Rustin
Paul Giamatti – The Holdovers
Jeffrey Wright – American Fiction
Best Supporting Actress:
Winner: Da’Vine Joy Randolph – The Holdovers
Emily Blunt – Oppenheimer
Danielle Brooks – The Color Purple
America Ferrera – Barbie
Jodie Foster – Nyad
Best Supporting Actor:
Winner: Robert Downey Jr – Oppenheimer
Sterling K Brown – American Fiction
Robert De Niro – Killers of the Flower Moon
Ryan Gosling – Barbie
Mark Ruffalo – Poor Things
Best Director:
Winner: Oppenheimer – Christopher Nolan
Anatomy of a Fall – Justine Triet
Killers of the Flower Moon – Martin Scorsese
Poor Things – Yorgos Lanthimos
The Zone of Interest – Jonathan Glazer
Best Original Song:
Winner: What Was I Made For? – Barbie (Billie Eilish, Finneas O’Connell)
The Fire Inside – Flamin’ Hot (Diane Warren)
I’m Just Ken – Barbie (Mark Ronson, Andrew Wyatt)
It Never Went Away – American Symphony (Jon Batiste, Dan Wilson)
Wahzhazhe (A Song For My People) – Killers of the Flower Moon (Scott George)
