It has been a week since Mikey Madison’s Best Actress win at the 97th Academy Awards. Ever since the awards ceremony, several thought pieces have been written about the significance of this win and a lot of people have given their two cents on it. Reactions have been polarizing.
Every Best Actress Oscar Win tells about Hollywood, what the industry prioritizes, and what an award-winning performance looks like. So, even after a week, I can’t help but think about what Mikey Madison’s Oscars 2025 win might mean about Hollywood and stardom in general.
A Silent Newcomer
Mikey Madison has had a quiet rise to fame prior to her star-making role in Anora.
She first became known for her role as moody eldest daughter Max on the FX cult-favorite comedy drama Better Things, which ran for five seasons.
@watchmojo Anora star Mike Madison was in the star-making casts of Scream & One Upon a Time… in Hollywood. Where did you first see her? #filmtok #actor #oscars ♬ original sound - watchmojo
Over the years, she then had a few prominent roles in film including a Manson Family member in Quentin Tarantino’s star-studded Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood in 2019 and a vital role in the fifth installment of the Scream franchise in 2022.
It’s these two performances that caught the attention of director Sean Baker, thinking she has “the range, the intensity, the attitude” to lead his next film project.
In 2024, Mikey Madison starred in Anora where she plays a sex worker from Brooklyn named Ani, who gets caught up with a Russian Oligarch when she marries the family’s son. Their whirlwind romance faces turmoil as his powerful family intervenes to annul their marriage.
Anora went on to win the Palme d’Or, the highest prize at the 77th Cannes Film Festival. Since its release, critics lauded Madison’s performance, considering it a breakthrough for the budding actress. They mention her “vivacious” portrayal of the titular role, and how she was able to lead the chaotic and comedic narrative of the film.
Oscar buzz and awards nominations soon came along. Madison won the BAFTA for Best Actress, and then she went on to win Best Actress at the 97th Academy Awards, beating an award season favorite.
Is Mikey “Sue” or is “Sue” Mikey?
Mikey Madison’s Best Actress has not always been a shoe-in.
Many people predicted a Demi Moore Oscars 2025 win for her role in the horror film The Substance, where she plays a has-been Academy-award winning actress who injected “The Substance” after being fired from her aerobics show to create a younger version of herself.
Moore had a strong chance of winning come Oscars night, having won many precursor awards including the Golden Globe, Critic’s Choice, and SAG Awards. Madison, on the other hand, won the BAFTA prior to the Oscars.
She also started a strong awards season narrative with her Golden Globe speech. “I’ve been doing this for over 45 years. And this is the first time I’ve ever won anything and I’m so humbled and grateful,” she said, mentioning an experience with a producer calling her a “popcorn actress” who’s not meant to receive awards.
@varietymagazine Demi Moore accepts her #GoldenGlobe ♬ original sound - Variety
So, many fans considered it an upset when Mikey Madison won the Best Actress Oscar over Demi Moore. Many were quick to draw parallels between the moment and The Substance: the industry choosing the young star over the industry veteran.
Even after a week of mulling over this sentiment, I don’t necessarily agree with this take. It feels like it undermines the great work that these two actresses have done.
It would have been amazing to see Moore win. An actress that felt underappreciated and has been in the industry for a long time, finally getting her flowers is such an amazing story to see. That’s why people were so behind Michelle Yeoh’s win for Everything Everywhere All at Once a couple of years back.
People bringing up similarities to The Substance to this Oscar win speaks to Hollywood’s relation with age, specifically towards women. A quick scroll through the list can tell you that there is a younger age average across the Best Actress winners compared to Best Actor. It emphasizes how, for years, bankable roles in movies have been given to younger newer actresses compared to older actresses- although change has happened if Michelle Yeoh and France McDormand is anything to go by (both won in their 60s).
It may also speak to the Academy’s aversion to the horror genre. Only a few women have been nominated for roles in horror films. Many actresses were considered “snubbed” of a Best Actress Nomination in previous years for their outstanding performances in horror thrillers, Toni Colette in Hereditary and Lupita Nyong’O in Us being recent examples.
At the same time, awards season have been criticized the past few years for giving awards as “Career Awards” instead of the best performance that year – ie. Jamie Lee Curtis winning the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for Everything Everywhere All at Once.
That’s why it’s exciting to see a fresh face like Mikey Madison win Best Actress, in her first nomination for a breakout role. She is also the first Gen Z winner of the Best Actress Oscar, making her the second Gen Z winner after Billie Eilish winning Best Original song in 2022 and 2024.
Once Upon a Time… A Star was on the Rise
Mikey Madison’s Best Actress win might signal a new chapter in Hollywood.
People are talking about how many of the actors featured in Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood have gone on to have great careers: Margaret Qualley, Austin Butler, Maya Hawke, Sydney Sweeney, and Victoria Pedretti. It got me thinking if Hollywood has the desire to bring its tradition of star system back?
@sensacinelatam Quentin Tarantinotiene talento para para elegir elenco. 🤌 #quetintarantino #onceuponatimeinhollywood #magaretqualley ♬ sonido original - SensaCine Latam
In the earlier years of Hollywood, studios each had their own roster of actors who star in the movies. They craft personas and market these movie stars to draw the audience to go to the cinema to see their pictures. The system has since lost favor among audiences and the industry itself, although do these new stars signal the formation of a new star system in film?
If it does, I think it will be more akin to that of the new crop of actors that burst into the scene in the 50s to 60s. During the press tour for Anora, Madison talked about the preparation she did for the role, from immersing herself in strip clubs, observing and talking to real-life sex workers, and learning pole dancing.
It feels similar to how the old Hollywood actors that came up from the Actor Studio talked about their process. The Actor Studio is a membership organization for professional actors, theatre directors and playwrights that is known to pioneer the process of method acting, where actors do exercises to immerse themselves in their work.
In the 50s and 60s, stars like Marlon Brando, Anne Bancroft, James Dean, and Geraldine Page came out of the Actors’ Studio who had a more realistic approach to acting than previous movie stars. They were considered the new Hollywood stars at that time.
So, while it may come as a surprise, Mikey Madison’s Best Actress win did not happen without a cause. It’s the results of the industry’s constant search for its new star and its notion of what a prestigious performance looks like.
Is this win ushering in the new generation of movie stars? Only time can tell.
Last Updated: August 28, 2025
