Mikey Madison has won her first Academy Award for her title role of Anora. The Best Actress winner of the 2025 Oscars is only 25 years old, but — as she joked in a Screen Actors Guild Award bit — she made her breakthrough in Quentin Tarantino’s two-time Oscar winner Once Upon A Time In Hollywood as a Manson girl who gets a brutal comeuppance in the movie’s history-revising climax.
Since then, Madison wowed horror fans with her role in Scream V, catching the eye of acclaimed indie auteur Sean Baker. The Florida Project director reached out to her about his next project, which followed a Brooklyn sex worker named Anora through a tumultuous marriage with a young Russian heir.
Critics have raved about Madison’s performance since its premiere at the Cannes International Film Festival last May. In our Anora review for Mashable, I cheered, “Madison isn’t performing Ani; she’s bringing to life a woman in full, from her carefully lacquered pedicure to her tinsel hair extensions. Ani might not be like someone you know, but by the end of the movie you will know her intimately.”
Madison’s Oscar win follows her victory Spirit Awards and the BAFTAs.
In her speech, Madison thanked the sex worker community, just as Baker did in his speech for Best Original Screenplay.
“I also just want to recognize again and honor the sex worker community,” Madison said. “I will continue to support and be an ally. All of the incredible people, the women that I’ve had the privilege of meeting from that community has been one of the highlights of this incredible of this entire incredible experience.”
How to watch: Anora is available on Prime Video for rent or purchase.
Additional reporting by Belen Edwards.
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The 25-year-old ingenue Mikey Madison beat out Demi Moore of “The Substance” to win Best Actress for her performance in “Anora.”
