America Ferrera Nominated for Best Supporting Actress in “Barbie”
(CNN) — While there has been some question about some overlooked contenders not getting Oscar nominations for the movie “Barbie” this Tuesday morning, America Ferrera’s wonderfully unexpected nod for best supporting actress is certainly something to behold.
“I am stunned and very moved to be nominated among the brilliant artists who produced beautiful and important work this year,” Ferrera said in a statement sent to CNN later Tuesday.
Her statement continued: “I am very proud to be able to bring Latino representation to this year’s Academy Awards, alongside my fellow Latino nominees. May the diversity of voices recognized by the Academy continue to grow!” (Latiné is a gender-neutral identifier used in the Latin American LGBTQ+ community, similar to “Latinx.”)
Born in the United States to parents who emigrated from Honduras, Ferrera was one of three people of color nominated in the supporting actress category, alongside Da’Vine Joy Randolph for “The Holdovers” and Danielle Brooks for “The Color Purple.”
Emily Blunt of “Oppenheimer” and Jodie Foster in “Nyad” round out the nominee category. This is Ferrera’s first Oscar nomination.
The “Ugly Betty” star delivered one of the most empowering movie monologues of the year when her “Barbie” character Gloria gave a passionate feminist talk about the very relatable and conflicting expectations of being a woman.
Her recognition this Tuesday is just more proof that her message resonated beyond the mass audience that saw the film, which was the highest-grossing domestic film of 2023 and grossed more than $1 billion worldwide.
“I’m thrilled to celebrate my phenomenal Barbie family and all of their accomplishments,” Ferrera said, adding that director Greta Gerwig and producer and star Margot Robbie “made history and raised the bar with Barbie.”
Gerwig was nominated in the best adapted screenplay category and Robbie was recognized in the best picture category as the film’s producer. But, to the chagrin of many, they did not receive nominations in the categories of best director and leading actress, respectively.
Their contribution to the enormous global success of “Barbie,” however, has not gone unnoticed by Ferrera, who said Tuesday that “the cultural and industrial impact they have achieved will be felt for generations.”
“I’m very grateful to them for asking me to be a part of this,” she added.