Karla Sofía Gascón is one of the stars of the new Netflix movie Emilia Peréz. The movie, which also features big names like Selena Gomez and Zoe Saldaña is widely considered a front-runner for the Best International Feature Film Oscar, with Gascón expected to make history with a Best Actress Oscar nomination.
In the film, Gascón plays the titular Emilia Peréz, a cartel leader who has gender-confirming surgery and begins a new life under a new name. Years later, she returns to her family’s life pretending to be a distant cousin and offers Jessi (Selena Gomez) help raising her children. The movie focuses not just on Peréz faking her death and starting a new life, but on the high-powered lawyer that helps her, Rita, played by Zoe Saldaña, as well as Selena Gomez’s Jessi Del Monte.
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Gascón plays a trans character in the film, which has sparked questions about whether the actress is trans herself. So, is Karla Sofía Gascón trans?
Is Karla Sofía Gascón trans in real life?
Yes, Karla Sofía Gascón is trans. The actress, who was born in Spain but speaks openly about considering herself Mexican by adoption, has talked about her transition, telling GoldenGlobes.com “I made this decision while I was in Mexico at the age of 46, a short time ago, and it was because I already needed it, I was determined and that is the only parallel I have with the character in the film. I said ‘I do it now or I never do it. I have always known what I was and what I wanted to do but there was no opportunity to do it because I had developed in a different way and I have also had a lot of fun on the other side, I have done wonderful things in my life and I don’t regret anything,” Gascón added.
The fact that Gascón is trans has been a topic of conversation as the show has picked up steam as a possible Oscar contender for one specific reason: if Gascón is indeed nominated for an acting Oscar, she will become the first openly transgender actor ever nominated for an Academy Award.
In May, Gascón became the first trans actress to win a major prize at the Cannes Film Festival. She won the Best Actress Award, which she shared with the movie’s other female leads — Selena Gomez, Adriana Paz, and Zoe Saldaña.
In Emilia Peréz her character makes the decision to have gender-confirming surgery and goes for it early in the movie. Gascón also spoke to GoldenGlobes.com about relating to that experience, saying, “I decided that it was the only moment I had or it was that or never, I decided to make a watershed in my life and I did it more because it was the time since there was a gender identity unit in Spain that supported me wonderfully because if not, I wouldn’t have done that,” with the actress also adding “Being trans didn’t make me dumber or smarter. I’m the same person who knows how to act the same way or even better because I have more freedom now to work than before.”
Emilia Pérez is confirmed to be France’s official selection for Best International Feature at the 97th Academy Awards.