Cannes 2024: ‘Emilia Pérez’ Ensemble, Including Selena Gomez, Wins Best Actress at Gala Ceremony

The female ensemble of Jacques Audiard’s crime musical Emilia Pérez — Selena Gomez, Zoe Saldaña, Karla Sofía Gascón and Adriana Paz — received the best actress honor at the prestigious 2024 Cannes Film Festival gala ceremony Saturday night (May 25).

“Women together — that’s something we wanted to honor when we made this award,” Cannes jury president and Barbie director Greta Gerwig said of the shared win, according to The Hollywood Reporter. “Each of them is a standout, but together transcendent.”

In a groundbreaking moment for the trans community, Emilia Pérez star Gascón, who accepted the ensemble cast’s award with a tearful speech, is the first transgender actress to win at Cannes. The Spanish-language musical/crime pic about a Mexican drug lord (Gascón) embracing her true identity as a woman also received the jury prize at this year’s festival.

Gomez was in Cannes for the film’s premiere, press and photo calls earlier in the week, but not in attendance at Saturday’s gala. She portrays the wife of Gascón’s character in the film.

The singer-actress got the news of the win through a phone call from co-star Saldaña. “When @zoesaldana told me we all won best actress!!” Gomez captioned an Instagram Story reaction video, in which she’s seen sitting outdoors, and in which her excitement is palpable.

The Palme d’Or, the festivals’s top honor, was given to Sean Baker’s Anora. The Grand Prix went to Payal Kapadia’s All We Imagine As Light. Mohammad Rasoulof’s The Seed of the Sacred Fig received a special award from the jury, and Jesse Plemmons won best actor for his work in Yorgos Lanthimos‘ Kinds of Kindness.

George Lucas was presented with an honorary Palme d’Or on Saturday, for his contribution to cinema since 1971, when his directorial debut, THX-1138, received a nod in the Directors’ Fortnight section at Cannes.

Cannes 2024 Winners List:

Palme d’Or

Sean Baker, Anora

Grand Prix

All We Imagine As Light

Jury Prize

Emilia Pérez

Best Director

Miguel Gomez, Grand Tour

Best Screenplay

Coralie Fargeat, The Substance

Best Actress

Adriana Paz, Zoe Saldaña, Karla Sofía Gascón, Selena Gomez, Emilia Pérez

Best Actor

Jesse Plemons, Kinds of Kindness

Honorary Palme d’Or

George Lucas

Special Award

Mohammad Rasoulof, The Seed of the Sacred Fig

Camera d’Or for Best First Film

Halfdan Ullman Tondel, Armand

Palme d’Or for Best Short Film

Nebojsa Slijepcevic, The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent