What Is “Emilia Pérez” Based On? All About the Surprising Inspiration Behind the Star-Studded Netflix Film — and How One Actress Made It Happen

'Emilia Pérez' was adapted from an opera that was loosely based on a book

The plot of Emilia Pérez is so grand that even the cast had a hard time pinning it down.

“You have an action movie that’s not an action movie, a drama that’s not a drama, a comedy that’s not a comedy,” lead actress Karla Sofía Gascón told Tudum in November 2024. “It is such a great gift, and I’m so proud to be part of it.”

Gascón stars as Manitas, a Mexican cartel leader who hires a lawyer named Rita (Zoe Saldaña) to help him transition into living as a woman named Emilia Pérez. Things get even more complicated when Pèrez decides years later that she wants to reunite with the family she left behind.

The Jacques Audiard-directed musical — which premiered on Netflix on Nov. 13 — also stars Selena Gomez and Édgar Ramírez and features original songs performed by the cast. In May, Emilia Pérez received a minutes-long standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival and took home the jury prize. Gascón, Saldana, Gomez and Adriana Paz shared the award for best actress.

The genre-bending movie started as an idea for a character from a book written by one of Audiard's friends. The director then developed an opera, which eventually became a musical movie, after Audiard was inspired by one of the lead actresses.

But, is Emilia Pèrez based on a true story? Here’s everything to know about the inspiration behind the inventive musical.

What is Emilia Pérez based on?

Audiard was first inspired to create Emilia Pérez while reading the 2018 French novel Écoute by Boris Razon. It wasn’t the story that sparked the idea for the film but a single (and somewhat secondary) character.

“Halfway through, there is a character who is a drug kingpin who wants to transition to become a woman,” Audiard told W Magazine in October 2024. “The author, who is a friend of mine, did not develop this character. I asked for the right to expand the character myself.”

Originally, the director wrote Emilia Pérez as an opera with four acts and "one-dimensional, archetypal" characters while in lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic. Audiard told W Magazine that there are still “small traces” of that in the film. For her part, Saldaña had to read the script multiple times to wrap her head around it.

“It was described to me as this film noir that didn’t really exist in any of the conventional kind of genres, but it was a musical,” the Guardians of the Galaxy star told Tudum. “It was actually an opera, and based in a crime world, but there was going to be a sense of justice, and validation, and sanctification.”

“And I was just like, ‘What?’ I had to read it more than once. And then, I couldn’t stop thinking about it,” she added.

Is Emilia Pérez a real person?

No, Emilia Pérez is not a real person. The character is based on another fictional character from Razon’s novel Écoute.

While Gascón's life is a very far cry from her character’s work as a drug lord, the actress does understand Pérez's journey. After building a career as a male star of telenovelas, the actress transitioned in 2018 with the support of her wife, Marisa Gutiérrez, and teenage daughter.

“The biggest thing [Pérez and I] have in common is that we’re both unable to accept losing people we love,” the actress told Vogue in November 2024, adding: “It’s a difficult thing to say, but I connected to Manitas and Emilia because we’re all born out of people’s hatred.”

In May 2024, Gascón made history as the first transgender woman to win best actress at the Cannes Film Festival for her portrayal of Pérez.

Does Karla Sofía Gascón play both Manitas and Pérez?

Yes, Gascón plays both Manitas and Pérez in Emilia Pérez. In her interview with Vogue, the actress said she convinced Audiard that both roles should be played by the same person (not two different actors as he originally intended).

“I don’t think I would’ve forgiven myself,” she told Harper’s Bazaar in November 2024. “Seeing somebody different, even if they had tried to find someone that physically looked like me, it would’ve been ugly to see how someone else stayed with part of my character’s soul. I think I would’ve had a problem with my ego.”

The director also rewrote a few scenes based on Gascón's input and told W Magazine that he wouldn’t have made the film if he hadn’t met her.

Is Emilia Pérez a musical?

Yes, Emilia Pérez is a musical. According to Tudum, the film features 16 original songs written by French singer Camille and composer Clément Ducol. One of the main tracks, “Mi Camino,” is the first song Gomez has released since February.

“I don’t know if I’m ready, you know?" the Only Murders in the Building actress told Vanity Fair in September 2024 of releasing music again. “It’s a vulnerable space. Acting has always been my first love. Music is just a hobby that went out of control."

During the Telluride Film Festival in September, Gomez revealed that “Mi Camino” was a “totally different song” when she started working on it with Camille.

“It had a bit more of a rough sound to it and over the course of, you know, working with Camille on the song intimately, it became almost like a ballad,” she said. “It was more of a story about a woman and phases of life that she goes through and it just was beautiful.”