Photo: Getty Images
Several Black stars are celebrating their Oscar nominations.
On Thursday (January 23), the nominees for the 97th annual Academy Awards were unveiled, and several Black stars, including Wicked's Cynthia Erivo, Emilia Pérez's Zoe Saldaña, and Sing Sing's Colman Domingo earned nods.
Erivo, who was nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role, shared an Instagram post where she expressed her "gratitude" to the Academy for her nod. If she takes home an Academy Award, The Wicked star would join the less than 30 individuals who have achieved EGOT status, earning honors at the Oscars, Grammys, Tonys, and Emmys.
"Moments like this don’t come along very often, and when they do, it is sacrilege to let them pass by without a moment of gratitude," Erivo wrote on Instagram. "I am grateful, grateful to @theacademy, grateful to be a part of something that makes people feel seen, grateful to be a cog in the wheel of a piece that makes us believe in magic, grateful to have experienced a dream come true, and deeply deeply grateful for this unbelievable recognition."
Erivo said her younger self would be "smiling, beaming, glowing from ear to ear" at her accomplishment. She also praised her co-star Ariana Grande for her first Oscar nomination.
"To my sister, @arianagrande, what a joy it is to be here with you watching as you ascend and amaze and become the actress you were meant to be. Congratulations first time nominee, I’m so so proud of you!! There is no one in the world I would have wanted to do this with more than you."
On Thursday, Saldaña took to Instagram to celebrate her first-ever Oscar nomination. The Emilia Pérez star is up for Best Actress in a Supporting Role.
"I am truly honored and grateful for the nomination. Thank you so much for considering me for this award. I am thrilled to be among such talented company. Emilia Pérez was made with love. Thank you to @theacademy and its members for recognizing our work. Jacques!!!!! BINGO!" Saldaña wrote.
Domingo, who earned an Oscar nomination for his leading role in Sing, Sing, also celebrated his achievement as the first person to earn back-to-back Best Actor nods since Denzel Washington in 2017 and 2018. Domingo was a Best Actor nominee last year for Rustin.
"2nd time around. Grateful about it all," Domingo wrote on Instagram. "The whole journey to make @singsingmovie No one does this alone. I have so much love and faith and human beings around me. I am in gratitude for all. To be recognized with my brothers that I admire. Made with love. Made with hope. Made for the love of art and all the healing powers that it can possess. A toast to our BELOVED company. Sing Sing is in theaters now. Go and see the love that we made."
Composer Kris Bowers also earned an Oscar nomination for Best Original Score for his work in Wild Robot. Bowers expressed his gratitude for the nomination and thanked his "strong, loyal team" for helping him "operate as a young Black composer in Hollywood." The composer noted that got news of his nomination shortly after his family returned home amid the Los Angeles wildfires.
"I am profoundly humbled this morning by the Academy’s decision to nominate my original score for THE WILD ROBOT," Bowers said in an Instagram post.
"It was the little boy beaming inside of me who wrote THE WILD ROBOT. And this morning, I am thinking of him, and all the young people who dream to express their heart through music on the grandest scale," he added.
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