Lady Gaga surprisingly did not score her second Oscar nomination for acting this year. Many assumed Lady Gaga would easily be among the names called for the Best Actress category after her fierce performance as Patrizia Reggiani in House of Gucci. However, Gaga was left out in one of the year’s biggest snubs.
The snub is such a shock because of Lady Gaga’s previous nominations for her performance. Her nominations include Best Leading Actress at the BAFTAs, Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama at the Golden Globes, Best Actress at the New York Film Critics Circle Awards, Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role at the SAG Awards, and more. She has been among the Best Actress frontrunners from the beginning.
Lady Gaga’s fellow House of Gucci co-star Jared Leto was also snubbed in the Best Supporting Actor category. Jared underwent a major transformation to play Paolo Gucci. He spent hours in the hair and makeup chair every day and wore a fatsuit and wig to have a receding hairline.
In the Best Actress category, actresses Jessica Chastain, Olivia Colman, Nicole Kidman, Kristen Stewart, and Penelope Cruz scored nominations. Other actresses like Gaga who were snubbed include Rachel Zegler, who made her film debut as Maria in West Side Story, and Ruth Negga of Passing. Despite Rachel not scoring a nomination, her co-star Ariana DeBose is among the nominees for Best Supporting Actress.
Legendary actress Rita Moreno was also snubbed and would have made history if she had been nominated. She would have been the first person ever nominated for playing a role in the same movie — West Side Story — and the oldest performer ever nominated for an Academy Award at 90 years old. Rita made history as the first Latina woman to win an Oscar in 1961 for her role as Anita in West Side Story. She played Valentina in the 2021 version, a role created specifically for her.
Any time there is a Leonardo DiCaprio vehicle, he’s always a name to keep an eye on when it comes to the Oscars. However, Leo did not score a nomination for his performance in Don’t Look Up. This would have marked his sixth Oscar nomination in the Best Actor category. No actor from Don’t Look Up scored an Oscar nomination, but the film earned 4 other nominations, including Best Picture.