After five Academy Award nominations and a career's worth of bold, varied performances, Julianne Moore is finally an Oscar winner.
The “Still Alice” star was tipped to win the Best Actress prize at the 87th Academy Awards as early as the film's debut at the Toronto Film Festival, where it was acquired by Sony Pictures Classics and set on the fast track for a fall release amplified by an awards campaign. So it was little shock to those in the audience at the Dolby Theater or those watching at home when Matthew McConaughey announced her name.
“There is no such thing as Best Actress, as is evidenced by the performances of my fellow nominees,” the 54-year-old legend said. “I have been honored to be with you every step of the way.”
Interesting factoid: Only nine times in the 87-year history of the Academy Awards has a woman over 50 won the Best Actress Oscar. By comparison, it's happened 20 times on the Best Actor side of the equation. What that says about Hollywood's perception of actresses, we'll leave to you to ponder.
In addition to “Still Alice,” Moore can currently be seen in Sergei Bodrov's “Seventh Son.” She also has “Freeheld” (based on the Oscar-winning documentary short) and “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2” coming in 2015.