Irish actress Jessie Buckley has emerged as the Best Lead Actress at the 2026 Academy Awards for her powerful performance in Hamnet.
Other contestants in the lead actress category include: Rose Byrne (If I Had Legs I’d Kick You), Kate Hudson (Song Sung Blue), Renate Reinsve ( Sentimental Value), Emma Stone ( Bugonia).
The 36-year-old delivered a searing portrayal of Agnes Shakespeare, wife of William Shakespeare, in Chloe Zhao’s adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s bestselling 2020 novel.
Buckley’s character is left shattered by the death of her young son, Hamnet, and her deeply emotional performance moved audiences worldwide.
Her expressive intensity and layered depiction of grief anchored the acclaimed film, with many praising her as the emotional heartbeat of the story.
“This is really something,” an emotional Buckley said while accepting her award, applauding her fellow nominees and adding that she hoped to work with all of them in the future.
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While Michael B. Jordan also claimed his first Academy Award, winning Best Actor for his dual performance in the supernatural drama Sinners.
Other strong contenders in the lead actor category include: Timothée Chalamet ( Marty Supreme), Leonardo DiCaprio (One Battle After Another), Ethan Hawke (Blue Moon), Wagner Moura (The Secret Agent).
The 39-year-old star portrayed twin brothers Smoke and Stack, World War I veterans who return to 1930s Mississippi hoping to open a juke joint during the Prohibition era.
Their plans are upended by the arrival of white vampires, blending horror with themes of racial segregation and survival.
With the victory, Jordan joins a distinguished list of Black actors who have won Best Actor: Sidney Poitier, Denzel Washington, Forest Whitaker, and Will Smith.
“I stand here because of the people who came before me,” Jordan said in his acceptance speech.
Sinners marks another successful collaboration between Jordan and director Ryan Coogler, who has cast the actor in all his films, from Fruitvale Station to Creed and Black Panther.
Coogler has often praised Jordan’s ability to embody complex, flawed characters with depth and charisma.
“As soon as you put the camera on him, you just naturally care about the guy,” Coogler previously told The New York Times.
Jordan has credited the filmmaker for helping him push past doubts about the barriers faced by Black actors in Hollywood.
“Coogler gave me the reassurance and the confidence that I needed,” Jordan once said. “It made me double down and fueled this fire that I had to make it a reality.”
