Zoe Saldaña Becomes First Dominican to Win Best Supporting Actress at SAG Awards
Zoe Saldana poses in the press room with the award for outstanding performance by a female actor in a supporting role in a motion picture for "Emilia Perez" during the 31st annual Screen Actors Guild Awards on Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025, at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
Zoe Saldaña has won Best Supporting Actress for her performance as Rita in Emilia Pérez at the 2025 SAG Awards. The win makes her only the second Afro-Latina ever to win the SAG Award, after Ariana DeBose for West Side Story. She’s also the first Dominican to win this award. She has won supporting actress prizes from all the major pre-Oscar Awards: Golden Globes, Critics’ Choice, BAFTAs, and SAG, making her the frontrunner to win the Oscar.
“To be in this room…this is my community, this is my circus,” Saldaña said during her acceptance speech. “Thank you to SAG-AFTRA. I got my first SAG card in 1998. I didn’t even know what SAG was. I am grateful that my mother and father and sisters looked it up and helped me educate myself to know what it means to be a part of a union that protects me so I can make a living out of this crazy industry.”
The actress continued saying, “I am proud to be a part of a union that allows me to be who I am. I’ve never been questioned for where I come from or judged for how I speak or what my pronouns are. Everyone has the right to be who they are. Emilia Pérez is about truth and love and us actors really have to tell stories that are thought-provoking and beautiful and live within the spectrum of artistic freedom.”
Saldaña was nominated in a category that included Monica Barbaro for A Complete Unknown, Jamie Lee Curtis for The Last Showgirl, Danielle Deadwyler for The Piano Lesson, and Ariana Grande for Wicked.
Only Murders in the Building, starring Selena Gomez, won the SAG Award for Best Ensemble in a Comedy Series.