2024 will go down as the year of Da’Vine Joy Randolph.
The actor took home the first award of the night at the 96th Academy Awards on Sunday, winning for Actress in a Supporting Role for her performance as Mary Lamb in Alexander Payne’s The Holdovers. Randolph’s win was not exactly a surprise, however, considering she’s swept the award circuit this year, winning the supporting actress categories at the Golden Globes, SAG Awards, and Critics Choice Awards.
Before her win was announced, she was introduced by Academy Award winner Lupita Nyong’o, who described Randolph’s performance as “a tribute to those who have helped others heal in spite of their own pain.”
Wearing a gorgeous powder-blue sequin gown and feathered boa courtesy of Louis Vuitton, Randolph began her emotional speech by thanking her mother, who encouraged her to pursue acting.
“My mother said to me: Go across that street to that theater department, there’s something for you there. I thank my mother for doing that. I thank all the people who have stepped in my path and have been there for me and ushered me and guided me. I am so grateful for all you beautiful people out there,” she said. “I prayed for so long … I always wanted to be different, but now I realize that I just need to be myself. I thank you for you seeing me.”
Bianca Betancourt is the culture editor at HarpersBAZAAR.com, where she covers all things film, TV, music, and more. When she’s not writing, she loves impulsively baking a batch of cookies, re-listening to the same early-2000s pop playlist, and stalking Mariah Carey’s Twitter feed.