Karla Sofía Gascón Makes Oscar History as First Openly Trans Actress to Be Nominated

Karla Sofía Gascón made Oscar history on Thursday, becoming the first openly trans actress to be nominated for an Academy Award for her performance as the title character in “Emilia Pérez.”

In the Netflix musical directed by Jacques Audiard, Gascón plays a cartel boss who tries to atone for her past after transitioning in secret. She previously received best-actress nominations from the Golden Globes and Screen Actors Guild Awards for the role.

Born in Spain but primarily known until now for her work in Mexican telenovelas, Gascón came out as a trans woman in 2016. “When I finished my transition, I didn’t know if I was going to have a career after that,” she told The New York Times last year.

Still, when Audiard was casting “Emilia Pérez,” he was so taken with Gascón’s presence that he reconceived the role to suit her. “The minute I saw her, that was it,” he said.

Though the plan was to cast a cisgender male actor as the gruff, gold-toothed drug lord before transitioning, Gascón fought to appear in those scenes as well. “I can tell you that from an egocentric point of view, I’m mad that people don’t realize it’s me playing both,” she told The Times, “but at the same time, I feel very proud, too.”

While the 52-year-old Gascón is the first openly trans actress to be nominated for an Oscar, the first openly trans performer to be recognized by the academy was the singer Anohni, who was nominated for best song in 2016. Elliot Page, who was nominated for the 2007 film “Juno,” came out publicly as trans in 2020.

Two cisgender actors have won Oscars for playing trans roles, Jared Leto (“Dallas Buyers Club”) and Hilary Swank (“Boys Don’t Cry”), but if Gascón prevails, she will become the first trans actor to have done so. Still, she told The Times last fall that she was determined not to let Oscar buzz go to her head.

“At this age I am in balance,” she said. “Other people are thinking, ‘Wow, this is a special moment, you must be very nervous or very excited.’ No, I am normal. I prefer it that way.”