Golden Globes 2025 winners as Demi Moore becomes first time winner
Zoe Saldana led the film Emilia Perez to top honors while Demi Moore became a first time winner at 62 at the Golden Globes 2025 on Sunday night where Shōgun and The Brutalist were also big winners. Zoe, 46, earned Best Supporting Actress - Musical or Comedy early in the night before the Netflix film earned top prize Best Film - Musical or Comedy on a night which featured a star-studded red carpet which took place at The Beverly Hilton hotel in Los Angeles on January 5.
Demi sent a powerful message with her acceptance speech as she took home Best Actress - Musical or Comedy for her work in The Substance. When it came to the film drama categories it was The Brutalist which earned top prize Best Film - Drama and a Best Actor - Drama gong for Adrien Brody who was emotional at the mention of the tragedy involving Aubrey Plaza's husband Jeff Baena earlier in the night. On the television side, it was Shōgun which swept the drama categories including Best TV Series and individual honors for Anna Sawai, Hiroyuki Sanada, and Tadanobu Asano. However, the most shocking moment certainly came when Brazilian actress Fernanda Torres triumphed over A-listers Angelina Jolie, Nicole Kidman, and Pamela Anderson in the Best Actress - Drama for I'm Still Here.
Emilia Perez earned the most awards on the night with four but truly had it's crowning moment at the end of the night as the film earned Best Film - Musical or Comedy over Anora, Challengers, A Real Pain, The Substance, and Wicked Leading actress Karla Sofia Gascon - who is a trans woman - gave a powerful speech to conclude the event as she said: 'Thank you so much. I chose these colors tonight because I have a message. The light always wins over darkness. I have a lot of things to say to you, because you can maybe put us in jail, you can beat us up, but you never can take away our soul, our existence, our identity. I want to say to you, raise your voice. And say, I am who I am. No who you are. Thank you so much.' In Emilia Perez, Zoe plays Rita Mora Castro who is a lawyer as the film is centered around four remarkable women pursuing their individual happiness in Mexico. Cartel leader Emilia (played by Karla Sofia Gascon) enlists Rita, an unappreciated lawyer, to help fake her death so that she can finally live authentically as her true self.
The 2025 Golden Globe Awards kicked off in fine form as Zoe upset Ariana Grande to take home the first award of the night. The 46-year-old actress was emotional as she earned Best Supporting Female Actor for her transcendent work in Emilia Perez. She triumphed over an impressive field which included the aforementioned Ariana for Wicked in addition to Selena Gomez for Emilia Pérez, Felicity Jones for The Brutalist, Margaret Qualley for The Substance, and Isabella Rossellini for Conclave. Zoe had tears running down her face as she accepted the honor as she took to the podium and said: 'I know I don't have much time, and I have dyslexia, so I tend to forget when I'm really anxious, and I'm filled with adrenaline, but my heart is full of gratitude. Thank you so much to the Golden Globes for celebrating our film, and honoring the women of Emilia Perez. Thank you so much. Oh, my god!'
She went on to thank her fellow nominees as she continued: 'This is a first time for me, and I'm just so blessed that I'm sharing this moment with Selena and Carla and Jack and all of my fellow nominees. I am in all of you. Your strength, your complexity, your undeniable talent. I know it's a competition, but all I have witnessed is just us showing up for each other and celebrating each other, and it is just so beautiful. Selena, Ariana, Margaret, Felicity, Isabella, I had lunch one time in your house and I thought I had made it already. You are magic. You're all magic.' Emilia Perez also earned the coveted Best Non-English Language Film award later in the night over All We Imagine as Light, The Girl with the Needle, I'm Still Here, The Seed of the Sacred Fig, and Vermiglio.
Meanwhile, Demi was left shocked as she earned Best Actress in Musical or Comedy for The Substance. The 62-year-old actress gave a riveting speech about the journey it took her to get to this crowning achievement. She won over a very impressive field including: Amy Adams for Nightbitch, Cynthia Erivo for Wicked, Karla Sofía Gascón for Emilia Pérez, Mikey Madison for Anora, and Zendaya for Challengers.
Demi began her acceptance speech by saying: 'Oh, wow! I really wasn't expecting that. I'm just in shock right now. I've been doing this a long time, like, over 45 years, and this is the first time I've ever won anything as an actor. And I am just so humbled and so grateful. 30 years ago I had a producer tell me that I was a popcorn actress, and at that time I made that mean that this is not something I was allowed to have. That I could do movies that were successful and made a lot of money, but that I couldn't be acknowledged, and I bought in and I believed that. That corroded me over time, to the point where I thought a few years ago that maybe this was it, maybe I was complete, maybe I had done what I was supposed to do.'
Demi credits her latest project to helping not only reinvigorate her career but also the artist within herself. She explained: 'And as I was at kind of a low point, I had this magical, bold, courageous, out-of-the-box, absently bonkers script come across my desk called The Substance. And the universe told me, you are not done, and I am so grateful to Coralie for trusting me to step in and play this woman.' She went on to thank her co-star Margaret Qualley in addition to her support system throughout her career.
Demi concluded: 'And I will just leave you with one thing that I think this movie is imparting. In those moments when we don't think we are smart enough or pretty enough or skinny enough or successful enough, or basically just not enough, I ha a woman say to me, just know you will never be enough, but you can know the value of your worth if you just put down the measuring stick. So today I celebrate this as a marker of my wholeness end of the love that is driving me, and the gift of doing something I love and being reminded that I do belong. Thank you so much.' In the film she plays a fading celebrity named Elisabeth who takes a black-market drug: a cell-replicating substance that temporarily creates a younger, better version of herself. The Brutalist was the big winner when it came to the drama side as it earned Best Film - Drama over a stacked field including: A Complete Unknown, Conclave, Dune: Part Two, Nickel Boys, and September 5.
Leading man of the film Adrien Brody was also recognized as he triumphed in the Best Actor - Drama category. The 51-year-old actor beat out a field including: Timothée Chalamet for A Complete Unknown, Daniel Craig for Queer, Colman Domingo for Sing Sing, Ralph Fiennes for Conclave, and Sebastian Stan for The Apprentice. He got personal toward the end of his acceptance speech as he said: 'You know, this story is really the character's journey is very reminiscent of my mother's and my ancestors journey of fleeing war and coming to this great country. 'I owe so much to my mother and my grandparents for their sacrifice, and although I do not know fully how to express all of the challenges that you have faced and experienced, and the many people who have struggled immigrating to this country, I hope that this work stands to lift you up a bit and to give you a voice. I'm so grateful. I will cherish this moment forever. Thank you.'
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