Newly released Oscar winner Jamie Lee Curtis broke down in tears watching video footage of her acceptance speech for the first time since winning Best Supporting Actress at Sunday night’s ceremony.
The 64-year-old, who claimed the award for her role in Everything Everywhere All at Once, began sobbing uncontrollably during a morning appearance on the Today show on Tuesday, before revealing to hosts Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb that she was the first time. The time she had seen herself accepting the Academy Award from her.
“I hadn’t seen that,” she said as she wiped away her tears. ‘So, that was the first time I saw him.’
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’s decided her statue is non-binary and will refer to it as ‘they/them’ in honor of her transgender daughter, Ruby.
Newly minted Oscar winner Jamie Lee Curtis broke down in tears upon seeing a video of her acceptance speech for the first time.
The 64-year-old, who claimed the award for her role in Everything Everywhere All at Once, began sobbing uncontrollably during a morning appearance on the Today show.
Jamie (pictured during her acceptance speech) revealed that she will refer to her Oscar as “they” after her transgender daughter Ruby.
‘Are here!’ she said as she patted the prize and held it against her face.
‘In support of my daughter Ruby, I will make them be them/them. I’m just going to call them ‘they’, they/they. And they are doing great. They are installing.
Jamie, who shares two children with husband Christopher Guest, first revealed to the world that her daughter Ruby was transgender in July 2021, proudly telling AARP magazine that she and her spouse had “watched in awe and pride as our son became our daughter. Ruby’.
In tribute to her son, the actress also spoke about the need for genderless acting categories shortly after her victory at Sunday night’s ceremony, telling reporters backstage: “Obviously, I’d like to see many more women nominated for gender parity in all areas and all branches, and I think we’re getting there.
We are not near there. And of course, the inclusiveness that implies the bigger question, which is, how do you include everyone when there are binary options, which is very difficult?
“As the mother of a trans daughter, I completely understand.”
However, he noted that removing gender from the acting categories could have the unintended effect of significantly reducing the number of female winners, as voters are more likely to be concentrated around males.
“And yet removing gender from the category also worries me (that) it will lessen opportunities for more women, which is something I’ve also been working hard to try to promote,” she continued. “So it’s a tricky question, but I think the most important thing is inclusion and more women.”
Jamie (seen with Ruby in 2022), who shares two children with husband Christopher Guest, first revealed to the world that her daughter was transgender in July 2021.
“In support of my daughter Ruby, I will ask you to be them/them,” she said while holding up her Oscar. ‘I’m just going to call them ‘they’, they/them. And they’re doing great’
Jamie has been candid about her daughter’s transition since revealing her to the world two years ago, admitting in October 2021 that she had initially struggled to stop using the dead name Ruby.
Speaking to People, the actress said there were “tears involved” when Ruby came out, but added that she was “a grateful student” when it came to supporting her daughter.
“It’s speaking a new language,” he said. ‘It’s learning new terminology and words. I’m new to it. I’m not someone who pretends to know much about it. And I’m going to screw it up, I’m going to make mistakes. I would like to try to avoid making big mistakes.’
Ruby was recognized at Jamie’s acceptance speech on Sunday, along with her sister, Annie, and the actress’ husband, Christopher.
In his interview with Today, Jamie admitted that he 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) this couple of days. “.
I am very touched 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 all my life,’ she said, as she began to cry again.
The actress, who has jokingly referred to herself as a ‘nepo baby’ on multiple occasions during awards season, explained that she never saw her parents’ fame as anything more than a blessing.
“It was always (that) they entered the room before me, every time I went somewhere, and I always understood it and accepted it graciously… I tried,” he continued.
“Both were nominated for Oscars and never won one.”
Jamie’s mother, Janet Leigh, who died in 2004, received a 1961 nomination for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for her role in 1960’s Psycho, but Elmer Gantry actress Shirley Jones was named the winner.
Meanwhile, his father Tony, who died in 2010, was nominated in 1959 for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his performance in 1958’s The Defiant Ones, however David Niven took the award that year for his role in Separate Tables. .
While Jamie took the opportunity during his speech to thank his parents, his family, and the cast and crew of Everything Everywhere All at Once, he admitted that there was a very important group of people he didn’t get a chance to mention.
“The truth of the matter is that the people I really wanted to thank, and didn’t, are my friends,” he explained. ‘My friends who wanted this for me more than I ever dreamed of wanting it.’
During her speech at the ceremony on Sunday night, Jamie noted that she could have been named an Oscar winner, but acknowledged that the honor belonged to “hundreds of people” who helped her achieve the wine.
‘I know it looks like I’m standing here alone, but I’m not, I’m hundreds of people. I am hundreds of people,’ she said.
“To all the people who have supported the genre films I’ve made over the years, the thousands and hundreds of thousands of people, we just won an Oscar together!”
