Frances McDormand is a three-time Best Actress winner! The Nomadland star took home the Best Actress in a Leading Role award at the 93rd Annual Academy Awards on Sunday for her work in the film, which she produced and starred in. She also took home the honor in the same category for Fargo in 1997 and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri in 2018.
McDormand began her acceptance speech by suggesting the Academy add a karaoke bar to the ceremony.
“Look, they didn’t ask me but if they had, I would have said karaoke,” she suggested, “because when you have voices like Leslie [Odom Jr.] and Marcus [Mumford], we should add a karaoke bar!”
The actress went on to say that she’s speechless, but shared how much she loves her work.
“I have no words. My voice is in my sword. We know the sword is our work. And I like work,” she shared, quoting Shakespeare’s play “Macbeth” in part. “Thank you for knowing that. And thanks for this.”
In Nomadland, McDormand stars as Fern, a woman in her sixties who decides to take on odd jobs on the road after losing everything in the Great Recession. The film was up for six awards at this year’s Oscars, and, in addition to Best Actress, it also won Best Picture and Chloé Zhao won for Best Director.
The wins made Oscars history, as Nomadland became only the second-ever Best Picture winner directed by a woman. Zhao marked her own first, as the first woman of color to win Best Director, and only the second female director to do so. During the historic win, McDormand took the mic after Zhao to advocate for a return to movie theaters.
“One day very, very soon, take someone you know into a theater, shoulder-to-shoulder in that dark space, and watch every film recognized here tonight,” she said. “We give this one to our wolf,” she concluded with a howl.
The film previously won the Venice Film Festival’s Golden Lion, TIFF’s People’s Choice Award and top awards from the Golden Globes and Producers Guild Awards.
