By Mary Milliken
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -Zoe Saldana won the Oscar for best supporting actress on Sunday for her role as a Mexico City lawyer and fixer for a former drug lord in the crime drama and musical “Emilia Perez.”
It was the first Oscar win for the 46-year-old Saldana and was preceded by wins at the Golden Globes and BAFTA and SAG awards this year for the same role.
“Thank you to the Academy for recognizing the quiet heroism and the power in a woman like Rita,” said Saldana with tears in her eyes as she accepted her Oscar.
“And talking about powerful women, my fellow nominees, the love and community that you have offered me is a true gift and I will pay it forward.”
She also thanked “Emilia Perez” director Jacques Audiard, whom she called “forever a beloved character in my life.”
Saldana helps the drug lord fake his death and then get gender-affirming surgery so that Emilia Perez can become a woman, played by Spain’s Karla Sofia Gascon. In return, she is given a large sum of money.
She also sings the song “El Mal” in which she criticizes the rich at a charity gala.
Saldana has starred in some of the highest-grossing films, including “Avatar” and “Guardians of the Galaxy.”
((Reporting by Mary Milliken; Editing by Howard Goller and Nick Zieminski)
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