TheOscars 2025delivered a late ceremony surprise with Demi Moore losing Best Actress to Mikey Madison, and there’s an extra layer of irony thanks toThe Substance. Moore and Madison were locked in a competitive race for months to win the top prize for a female performer at the 97th Academy Awards. After winning at the Golden Globes, Critics Choice, and SAG, it appeared all but certain that Moore would be one of theOscars 2025 winnersforThe Substanceand complete her career comeback. Academy voters delivered a different result, though.
Mikey Madison won Best Actressat the Oscars 2025 for her starring role inAnora, the Best Picture winner. It’s disappointing for Moore, who contemplated retirement before getting the role inThe Substance.She delivered the best performance of her career, signaling to Hollywood that she is still an actress who should be taken seriously and remain in demand. This was an opportunity for her to be awarded the highest honor she could in her field. Losing any Oscar hurts, but there’s an ironic twist in this case because ofThe Substance.
Demi Moore Losing To Mikey Madison At The Oscars 2025 Is Like The Substance’s Story
The Young Star Steals Demi Moore’s Glory
Although not intentional, there is an ironic parallel between Demi Moore’s Oscar loss to Mikey Madison and her arc as Elisabeth Sparkle inThe Substance. The movie follows Moore’s character as she is pushed aside by the entertainment industry. This leads Elisabeth to use The Substance to create a younger, more perfect version of herself, known as Sue (Margaret Qualley).The Substanceshows the chaos that ensues as Elisabeth and Sue fight for their individuality and control, and there is an increasing disinterest in respecting the balance.
The Substance Ending Explained
The ending of The Substance underscores the themes of the film and highlights the dangerous double standard that exists in Hollywood.
It all culminates with Sue and Elisabeth fighting after Sue replaces Elisabeth as the host of a television program that leans further into Sue’s beauty as Elisabeth becomes more disfigured. In this way,The Substanceshows the newer, younger, rising star come out of nowhere - or literally from inside Elisabeth - to steal the glory of an older, more established star. The Oscars 2025’s Best Actress race between Madison and Moore wasn’t as gruesome as Elisabeth and Sue’s showdown, but the result was the same. Moore is defeated as a younger star gets recognition.
Why Mikey Madison Won Best Actress Over Demi Moore
Anora’s Status Gave Madison The Advantage
Mikey Madison’s win over Demi Moore was certainly one of the Oscars 2025’s biggest surprises, but it was not a complete shock. Madison was the early favorite to win Best Actress afterAnoradebuted at the Cannes Film Festival and won several awards. Only after Demi Moore won at the Golden Globes did the race shift away from her. While Moore continued to rack up wins,Madison got a strong end to the season with a BAFTA win, which showed she was not completely out of the race.
The biggest development wasAnorabecoming the Best Picture winnerafter earning frontrunner status. There was a much broader love for the movie than forThe Substance. Even if Best Actress had gone the other way,Anorastill would have been the biggest winner of the night. Ultimately,Anorawon five of the six Oscars it was nominated for. That’s a terrific showing, and the best of any movie this year. That overall appreciation forAnoraclearly carried over to Best Actress and played a part in Madison defeating Moore.
A case could also be made thatThe Substance’s genre also hurt Moore’s chances.The Oscars rarely honor horror movies, especially when they are body horror movies likeThe Substance. WhileAnorais still far from the atypical Academy Award-winning movie, even a sex worker romantic dramedy is more appealing to most than a blood-spraying body horror film.
Mikey Madison’s Oscar Win Isn’t Actually That Common
The Oscars Typically Reward Older Stars
The parallels betweenThe Substanceand the Oscars' Best Actress outcome are notable, but Madison’s win is still surprising for the same reason. WhereasThe Substanceplays into the commentary that Hollywood is always looking for the newest, youngest stars to replace the older crop of performers (especially with actresses), the Oscars do not typically operate similarly.It is much more common for the Academy to reward established actorswho have been around for a long time compared to whoever has recently popped up. That trend was a major point in Demi Moore’s favor.
Instead,Mikey Madison became the ninth youngest person to win Best Actress. She is also the first actress under 30 to win the award since 2017, when Emma Stone won forLa La Land. This makes her win a bit of a statistical anomaly, especially considering she’s only the 13th Best Actress winner from the Best Picture Oscar winner. That makes Madison’s win all the more impressive, really, as it’s a rare instance where Hollywood is propping up a young star. She joins Jennifer Lawrence, Brie Larson, and Emma Stone as recent examples of under-30 Best Actress winners.
21 years, 218 days
22 years, 193 days
7th Heaven,Street Angel, andSunrise(1927/28)
22 years, 222 days
24 years, 127 days
24 years, 325 days
25 years, 0 days
25 years, 138 days
25 years, 240 days
25 years, 342 days
Darling(1965)
26 years, 4 days
When looking at Madison’s win through this lens, the irony of Demi Moore’s loss stings a bit more. She was in line to join Michelle Yeoh and Jessica Chastain as recent first time Oscar winners who had a strong career narrative pushing them to victory. Now, theOscars 2025loss left Moore to watch a young, new star walk away with the Academy Award she likely believed she was going to win.
