Newly-minted Oscar winner Jamie Lee Curtis broke down in tears as she watched video footage of her acceptance speech for the first time since claiming the award for Best Supporting Actress at Sunday night’s ceremony.
The 64-year-old, who claimed the prize for her role in Everything Everywhere All at Once, began sobbing uncontrollably during an early morning appearance on the Today show on Tuesday, before revealing to hosts Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb that it was the first time she had actually seen herself accepting her Academy Award.
‘I hadn’t watched that,’ she said while wiping away her tears. ‘So, that was the first time I’ve seen it.’
Jamie – who appeared on the show via video link from Los Angeles – then held up her Oscar to show the camera, before revealing that she has decided her statue is non-binary and will be referred to as ‘they/them’ in honor of her transgender daughter, Ruby.
Newly-minted Oscar winner Jamie Lee Curtis broke down in tears as she watched video footage of her acceptance speech for the first time
The 64-year-old, who claimed the prize for her role in Everything Everywhere All at Once , began sobbing uncontrollably during an early morning appearance on the Today show
Jamie (pictured during her acceptance speech) went on to reveal that she will refer to her Oscar as ‘they/them’ in honor of her transgender daughter Ruby
‘Here they are!’ she said while stroking the award and holding it up against her face.
‘In support of my daughter Ruby, I’m having them be a they/them. I’m just going to call them ‘them’, they/them. And they are doing great. They are settling in.’
Jamie, who shares two children with her husband Christopher Guest, first revealed to the world that her daughter Ruby was transgender back in July 2021, proudly telling AARP magazine that she and her spouse had ‘watched in wonder and pride as our son became our daughter Ruby’.
In tribute to her child, the actress also spoke out about the need for genderless acting categories shortly after her win at Sunday night’s ceremony, telling backstage reporters: ‘Obviously I would like to see a lot more women be nominated so that there’s gender parity in all the areas and all the branches, and I think we’re getting there.
‘We’re not anywhere near there. And of course, the inclusivity then that involves the bigger question, which is, how do you include everyone when there are binary choices, which is very difficult.
‘As the mother of a trans daughter I completely understand that.’
However, she noted that removing gender from the acting categories could have the unintended effect of significantly cutting down on women winners, as voters might be more likely to consolidate around men.
‘And yet, to de-gender the category, also, I’m concerned [that] will diminish the opportunities for more women, which is something I also have been working hard to try to promote,’ she went on. ‘So it’s a complicated question, but I think the most important thing is inclusivity and more women.’
Jamie (seen with Ruby in 2022), who shares two children with her husband Christopher Guest, first revealed to the world that her daughter was transgender back in July 2021
In her interview with Today, Jamie admitted that she is still reeling from the events of Sunday night, telling Savannah and Hoda: ‘In my life, I never thought in a million years that I would have [had] this couple of days.
‘I’m very moved by the whole thing.’
She also took the opportunity to pay tribute to her late parents, Janet Leigh and Tony Curtis, whom she honored during her acceptance speech.
‘You know, they’ve been my beautiful shadow my whole life,’ she said, while tearing up again.
The actress, who has jokingly referred to herself as a ‘nepo baby’ on multiple occasions during awards season, went on to explain that she never saw her parents’ fame as anything but a blessing.
‘It was always [that] they walked in the room before I did, any time I went anywhere, and I always understood it and accepted it with grace… I tried to,’ she continued.
‘They were both nominated for Oscars and never won one.’
Although Jamie took the opportunity during her speech to thank her parents, her family, and the cast and crew on Everything Everywhere All at Once, she admitted that there was one very important group of people she didn’t get the opportunity to mention.
‘The truth of the matter is that the people I really wanted to thank – and didn’t – are my friends,’ she explained. ‘My friends who wanted this for me more than I ever, ever would have dreamt of wanting it.’
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