Fernanda Torres‘ mom must be so proud.
On Thursday, the star of Walter Salles‘ period drama I’m Still Here, repeated her mother Fernanda Montenegro’s historic achievement from 1999 (for Central Station) becoming only the second Brazilian to be nominated by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences in the best actress category. (Ms. Montenegro lost out to Gwyneth Paltrow for Shakespeare in Love.)
Torres is up against Emilia Pérez star Karla Sofía Gascón, Wicked‘s Cynthia Erivo, Mikey Madison for Anora, and Demi Moore for The Substance in the category. Earlier this month, the 59-year-old was the surprise winner of the best actress Golden Globe in the drama category, beating out boldface names including Angelina Jolie, Nicole Kidman, Tilda Swinton, Pamela Anderson, and Kate Winslet.
She’s an underdog in the Oscar race as well, but her performance in I’m Still Here — as Eunice Paiva, the wife turned activist of a Brazilian politician “disappeared” during the country’s military dictatorship — has been universally praised. The Hollywood Reporter‘s review singled out her turn as Paiva, noting she played a “woman of quiet strength and resistance” with “extraordinary grace and dignity in the face of emotional suffering.”
Torres dedicated her Golden Globe to her mother and, should she also hoist the Academy statuette on March 2, you can be sure mom Fernanda, aged 95, will get another shout-out. In a nice bit of cinematic symmetry, Fernanda Montenegro has a cameo in I’m Still Here, playing Eunice Paiva in the film’s final scenes when she has become nonverbal and largely disabled due to Alzheimer’s.
But whatever happens at the 97th Academy Awards, Fernanda Torres has already made history.
English (US) ·