Da’Vine Joy Randolph accepts her Best Supporting Actress Oscar with a rousing speech

96th annual academy awards show
Da’Vine Joy Randolph Wins Best Supporting ActressKevin Winter - Getty Images

This year will certainly go down as the year of Da’Vine Joy Randolph.

The actress took home the first award of the night at the 96th Academy Awards on Sunday, winning for Actress in a Supporting Role for her performance as Mary Lamb in Alexander Payne’s The Holdovers. Randolph’s win was not exactly a surprise, however, considering she’s swept the award circuit this year, winning the supporting actress categories at the Golden Globes, SAG Awards, and Critics Choice Awards.

Before her win was announced, she was introduced by Academy Award winner Lupita Nyong’o, who described Randolph’s performance in the film as “a tribute to those who have helped others heal in spite of their own pain. Your performance is… also in tribute to your grandmother whose glasses you wore in the film,” she said. “What an honour to see the world through her eyes, and yours.”

Wearing a gorgeous powder-blue sequin gown and feathered boa courtesy of Louis Vuitton, Randolph began her emotional speech by thanking her mother, who encouraged her to pursue acting, before breaking down in tears.

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Da’Vine Joy Randolph moved the audience to tears with her emotional speechKevin Winter - Getty Images
da'vine joy randolph
Randolph warmly embraced fellow actress Lupita Nyong’o on stageKevin Winter

“My mother said to me: go across that street to that theatre department, there's something for you there. I thank my mother for doing that. I thank all the people who have stepped in my path and have been there for me and ushered me and guided me. I am so grateful for all you beautiful people out there,” she said. “I prayed for so long … I always wanted to be different, but now I realise that I just need to be myself. I thank you for you seeing me.”

da'vine joy randolph
Randolph wore baby blue Louis Vuitton, encrusted with sequins and accented with a dramatic feather boaJeff Kravitz

Paul Giamatti, Randolph's co-star in The Holdovers, was also moved to tears by her speech. The actor was also nominated for an award in the boarding school-set drama, in which he plays a curmudgeonly professor; Randolph, meanwhile, has won plaudits for her portrayal of grieving mother, Mary.

This year's Oscars was filled with spectacular red carpet moments, emotional wins and excellent beauty looks. Read all our coverage of the night here.

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