Karla Sofia Gascon, a Spanish actress, was awarded Best Actress at the Cannes Film Festival, making her the first trans woman to receive this honor.
Gascon, 52, who played in Jacques Audiard’s musical comedy Emilia Perez earned the award on Saturday night, along with the film’s female cast.
The female stars of the Spanish-language film, including Zoe Saldana (45), Selena Gomez (31), and Adriana Paz (44), did not attend the final night of the coveted awards event on the French Riviera.
During her acceptance speech, a teary-eyed Gascon said: ‘To every trans person suffering every f***** day with hate…This is for you,’ The Telegraph reported.
Addressing critics in her speech, she said: ‘We all have the opportunity to change for the better, to be better people. If you have made us suffer, it is time for you also to change,’ she added.
Commenting on the jury’s decision to split the best actress award four ways, jury president Greta Gerwig said: ‘Women together – that’s something we wanted to honour when we made this award. Each of them stand out, but together transcendent’.