Jessica Chastain has won the coveted Best Actress award at the 2022 Oscars for her performance in The Eyes of Tammy Faye.
Chastain beat out fellow Academy Award nominees Olivia Colman (The Lost Daughter), Penélope Cruz (Parallel Mothers), Nicole Kidman (Being the Ricardos) and Kristen Stewart (Spencer).
The award is Chastain’s first win at the annual awards ceremony, after being nominated three times.
The actress used her acceptance speech to call on issues that are currently plaguing the world.
“We’re faced with discriminatory and bigoted legislation that is sweeping our country with the only goal of further dividing us. There’s violence and hate crimes being perpetrated on innocent civilians all over the world. And in times like this, I think of Tammy and I’m inspired by her radical acts of love,” she said.
“We’ve talked about love a lot. And I’m inspired by her compassion, and I see it as a guiding principle that leads us forward. And it connects us all in the desire that we want to be accepted for who we are, accepted for who we love, and to live a life without the fear of violence or terror. And for any of you out there who do in fact feel hopeless or alone, I just not you to know you are unconditionally loved for the uniqueness that is you.”
Last year, the top gong was taken out by Frances McDormand for her role as Fern in Chloé Zhao’s Nomadland. The stunning film also took out the Best Picture category with Zhao herself winning for Best Director.
The 94th Academy Awards were hosted by Amy Schumer, Regina Hall and Wanda Sykes, making it the first time the event has had a host since 2018, after comedian Kevin Hart stepped down.
Hart faced widespread backlash when old Tweets of his that were deemed offensive resurfaced in the lead up to the event. His decision to remove himself from the position prompted the Academy to experiment with going “hostless” for the first time since the awards began in 1929.
Presenters over the course of the evening included Lady Gaga, Chris Rock (who was slapped by Will Smith), Kevin Costner, Zoë Kravitz, Rosie Perez and last year’s best-supporting actress winner, Yuh-Jung Youn of Minari.
The 2022 version also marked a return to the Academy Awards traditional home of the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, after 2021’s bare-bones ceremony at Union Station in order to better follow COVID-19 health protocols.
The 2022 ceremony drew controversy earlier in the year when the Academy announced its decision to exclude a slew of creative awards from the live telecast of the show. Those categories include documentary short, film editing, makeup/hairstyling, original score, production design, animated short, live-action short and sound, with all eight nods being awarded in a pre-taped segment.
Check out all our Oscars coverage here.
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