Emma Stone wins best actress at 2024 Oscars, denying Lily Gladstone chance to be first Native American winner

Killers of the Flower Moon star watches on as rival nets her second best actress award for Poor Things
William Mata11 March 2024
The Weekender

Sign up to our free weekly newsletter for exclusive competitions, offers and theatre ticket deals

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

Emma Stone won the best actress honour at the 2024 Oscars, beating Lily Gladstone, so the wait for a first Native American winner will go on. 

Stone, 35, took the trophy on Sunday for her turn as Bella Baxter in Poor Things. The win follows her 2017 best actress Oscar for La La Land.

Attenders, including Jennifer Lawrence, reacted in apparent shock when Michelle Yeoh, last year’s winner, read Stone’s name out – many apparently expecting it to be Gladstone’s. 

Stone was in tears when she collected the award. She said: “It’s not about me – it’s about a team that came together to make something greater than the sum of its parts.” 

Lily Gladstone in custom Gucci x Joe Big Mountain of Ironhouse Quillwork and Bulgari jewels
Getty Images

Gladstone had been favourite for the award for her role as Mollie – a wronged and violated Native American heiress in Martin Scorsese’s western – as it had already won her the SAG Award. 

Hamish McBain, for the Evening Standard, said in his review: “As Mollie, Gladstone is the star of the show, taking by far the most interesting, conflicted character and turning in a performance of aloof, understated brilliance.”

Scorsese was later seen consoling the 37-year-old actress, giving her a hug after Stone beat her to the title. 

Gladstone is of Siksikaitsitapii/Nimíipuu heritage and would have been the first Native American win in the category. 

KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON2023de Martin ScorseseLeonardo DiCaprioLily Gladstone.d'apres le livre de "La Note americaine" David Grannbased on the
Leonardo Di Caprio and Lily Gladstone in Killers of the Flower Moon
Alamy Stock Photo

If nothing else, it shows that Hollywood has come a long way from 1973 when Sacheen Littlefeather declined the best actor award on behalf of Marlon Brando

The civil rights activist was booed and jeered at as she used the platform to draw attention to the Wounded Knee struggle as Native Americans fought for rights in the US. 

Stone’s win capped an eventful night, which was dominated by Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, which won seven Oscars including best picture. 

Barbie, the highest grossing film of 2023, took home best original song and its star Ryan Gosling provided a memorable moment when he performed I’m Just Ken with Slash. 

Attracting almost as much attention as the awards were the outfits: Gladstone, Stone and Barbie herself, Margot Robbie, were all winners on the red carpet for their choices of outfit.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in