Demi Moore gave an impassioned speech about worth as she won her first acting award at the Golden Globes after a career spanning four decades.
The US actress said she was “in shock” but “humbled and so grateful” to beat the likes of Wicked star Cynthia Erivo and Challengers actress Zendaya for best actress in a motion picture musical or comedy for her role in horror The Substance.
“Thirty years ago, I had a producer tell me that I was a popcorn actress and at that time, I made that mean that this wasn’t something that I was allowed to have, that I could do movies that were successful, that made a lot of money, but that I couldn’t be acknowledged,” Moore, 62, said on stage.
“I bought in, and I believed that, and that corroded me over time, to the point where I thought a few years ago that maybe this was it, maybe I was complete. I’ve done what I was supposed to do.
“And as I was at kind of a low point, I had this magical, bold, courageous, out-of-the-box, absolutely bonkers script come across my desk called The Substance, and the universe told me that you’re not done.”
Becoming emotional, Moore thanked French director Coralie Fargeat along with her team.
“I’ll just leave you with one thing that I think this movie is imparting is in those moments when we don’t think we’re smart enough or pretty enough or skinny enough or successful enough, or basically just not enough.
“I had a woman say to me, just know you will never be enough, but you can know the value of your worth if you just put down the measuring stick.
“And so today, I celebrate this as a marker of my wholeness and of the love that is driving me and for the gift of doing something I love and being reminded that I do belong.”
Moore led first-time winners including Sebastian Stan, who picked up his first gong for best actor in a motion picture musical or comedy following his performance in A Different Man.
Stan stars alongside Adam Pearson, as an aspiring actor who undergoes a radical medical procedure to drastically transform his appearance.
“Our ignorance and discomfort around disability and disfigurement has to end now. We have to normalise it and continue to expose ourselves to it and our children encourage acceptance,” the 42-year-old said.
“One way we can do that is by continuing to champion stories that are inclusive.
“…These are tough subject matters, but these are real and they’re necessary, and we can’t be afraid and look away.”
Stan dedicated the award to his mother who “left Romania in search of a better life, gave me everything, and for my stepfather, who took on a single mum and a grown-up kid – thank you for being a real man”.
Among the first-time winners was Brady Corbet who won best director of a motion picture for The Brutalist which sees Adrien Brody as a Hungarian architect attempting to build a life in the US after the Second World War.
“My heart is with Aubrey Plaza, and Jeff’s family,” Corbet said of filmmaker Jeff Baena, the husband of US actress Aubrey Plaza, who took his own life.
Zoe Saldana also won her first Golden Globe Award for her role in Emilia Perez, beating her co-star Selena Gomez and first-time nominee Ariana Grande to the gong.
The US actress secured the best performance by a female actor in a supporting role in any motion picture for the Jacques Audiard-directed film about a Mexican drug lord who changes gender.
“My heart is full of gratitude,” said Saldana, who plays a lawyer offered a way out of her corrupt firm by cartel leader Manitas (Karla Sofia Gascon) in the film.
“This is the first time for me and I am just so blessed.”
Saldana said she is “in awe” of her fellow nominees whom she described as “magic”, which included British star Felicity Jones for her role in The Brutalist, Isabella Rossellini for Conclave, Margaret Qualley for The Substance and Wicked star Grande.
The film also won best motion picture non-English language which saw director Audiard take to the stage with a French translator saying “if there were more sisters in the world maybe the world would be a better place”.
“In these troubled times I hope Emilia Perez will be a beacon of light,” he said.
“I hope to offer a comforting hug to those who are worried … I urge them to keep they heads held high and hope for a better few days ahead.”
Meanwhile, Succession star Kieran Culkin secured his second Golden Globe for his role in A Real Pain, beating the likes of Denzel Washington for Gladiator II and Guy Pearce for The Brutalist.
In a humorous speech, he joked the Golden Globes was the “best date night that my wife and I ever have” and that the award belonged to his “fantastic” director Jesse Eisenberg who wrote “an incredible script”.
The two star as mismatched cousins who tour Poland in honour of their grandmother.
Congratulations to Kieran Culkin because his role in A Real Pain just won him the award for Best Supporting Male Actor – Motion Picture! #GoldenGlobes pic.twitter.com/F6sh5E8oGs
— Golden Globes (@goldenglobes) January 6, 2025
And Jodie Foster scored her fourth Golden Globe win for her role in True Detective: Night Country, beating Kate Winslet for The Regime and Cate Blanchett for Disclaimer in the best female actor in a limited series, anthology series or a motion picture made for television category.
“The greatest thing about being this age and being in this time is having a community – especially you Sofia (Vergara),” she said of her fellow nominee.
Despite not winning in their respective categories, Erivo and Grande took to the stage alongside the cast of Wicked to collect the gong for cinematic and box office achievement.
Director Jon M Chu said: “In a time where pessimism and cynicism rule the planet, that we can still make art that is a radical act of optimism that is empowerment and that is joy … this means so much to all of us.”
The annual ceremony, considered a bellwether for the awards season, saw comedian and actress Nikki Glaser become the first woman to solo host the show as she opened with a monologue taking aim at Hollywood stars including Timothee Chalamet, who was sitting next to his girlfriend Kylie Jenner.
The ceremony also saw British star Sir Elton John presenting an award.
