Emma Stone’s Best Actress Oscars Win Shines Light on Brilliant Performance in a Clichéd Character at Age 35

A stunned Emma Stone has won the best actress Oscar for “Poor Things,” her second career victory in the category

Jessica Lange, left, and Emma Stone appear during the Oscars on Sunday, March 10, 2024, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.

A stunned Emma Stone won the best actress Oscar for “Poor Things,” her second career victory in the category.

She triumphed over Lily Gladstone of “Killers of the Flower Moon” on Sunday night in a race most pundits said was too close to call. Gladstone would have been the first Native American to win a competitive Oscar.

Stone appeared shocked when last year’s winner, Michelle Yeoh, announced her name. She hugged and kissed her husband, Dave McCary, before moving into the aisle to hug co-star Mark Ruffalo and director Yorgos Lanthimos.

“I think I blacked out,” she said backstage. “Yes, I was very shocked. I still feel like I’m spinning a little bit.”

Stone hugged each of the five previous best actress winners who introduced the nominees.

Stone was honored for her tour-de-force performance as Bella Baxter, a childlike woman in Victorian London who comes to life through a brain transplant and begins a journey of self-discovery. The film is chock full of black humor set against steampunk visual design.

“It’s not about me. It’s about a team that came together to make something greater than the sum of its parts and that is the great thing about making movies,” Stone said onstage. “I am so deeply honored to share this with every cast member and every crew member. Yorgos, thank you for the gift of a lifetime in Bella Baxter.”

Stone pointed to the back of her dress as she came onstage and told the crowd that it was broken. By the time she came backstage to speak with media repairs had been made.

“They sewed me back in, which was wonderful,” she said. “I genuinely do think I blew it during ‘I’m Just Ken,’” she said, referring to the original song nominee performed by actor Ryan Gosling. “I was so amazed by Ryan and that number just blew my mind.”

Stone is the 13th woman to win two best actress trophies. Her first came in 2017 for the romantic musical “La La Land.” She was nominated for supporting actress in 2015 and 2019.

She also was nominated this year in the best picture category for producing “Poor Things,” which lost to “Oppenheimer.” She was the second woman to be nominated for acting and best picture for the same film after Frances McDormand, who earned both trophies for “Nomadland” in 2021.

Stone and Gladstone traded wins on the way to an Oscar showdown. Stone won at the BAFTA Film Awards and the Golden Globes, while Gladstone scored at the Screen Actors Guild Awards and in a different category at the Globes.

Stone broke through in 2010 with a starring role in the teen comedy “Easy A.” The 35-year-old actor from Scottsdale, Arizona, went on to major roles in “The Help,” multiple “Spider-Man” movies, “Birdman,” “The Battle of the Sexes” and “The Favourite.”

The other leading actress nominees were Annette Bening for “Nyad,” Sandra Hüller for “Anatomy of a Fall” and Carey Mulligan for “Maestro.”