And while Daniela Vega didn’t pick up a nomination for her much praised performance in A Fantastic Woman (although the movie is nominated for Best Film Not In The English Language), she will make history as the first trans actress to be an Oscar presenter. Vega was included on the list of people the Academy says will present awards on March 4th, although it hasn’t been revealed which category she will hand out the statuette for.
Vega is part of one of the most diverse lists of presenters ever, with Viola Davis, Margot Robbie, Mahershala Ali, Greta Gerwig, Chadwick Boseman, Tiffany Haddish, Tom Holland, and Laura Dern also amongst those handing out gongs. While the previous year’s Best Actor winner traditionally presents the next year’s Best Actress award, it’s already been announced that Casey Affleck will not do so this year. In the wake of the #metoo movement he has faced renewed scrutiny over allegation of sexual harrassment and assault. While the accusations were first made several years ago, they werelargely ignored by Hollywood until now.
While this year has the first trans director nominee and the first trans Oscar presenter, perhaps surprisingly the first openly trans Oscar nominee was Angela Morley way back in 1974. She was nominated for ‘Best Music, Scoring Original Song Score and/or Adaptation’ for The Little Prince, and again in 1977 for The Slipper and the Rose: The Story of Cinderella. Sadly though, no trans person has ever been nominated in any of the acting categories, and no openly trans person has ever won an Oscar (although visual effects artist Paige Warner and software engineer Abigail Brady have won Scientific and Technical Awards from the Academy).
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