And the award for most outrageous CRYING at the Oscars goes to Gwyneth, Charlize, Zoe and…

As a longtime fan, I’ve always known the Academy Awards as the place where they celebrate the best in film, handing out those iconic statuettes for things like Best Actor, Best Actress, and, of course, Best Picture. It’s really about recognizing incredible work in movies!

There are also unofficial Best Dressed titles that float around online.

They should add an award for Best On-Stage Crying, since many Oscar winners get very emotional and tearful when accepting their awards.

Honestly, can you blame them? Winning an Oscar is HUGE, a total dream come true! And it must be so overwhelming, standing up there and having to thank everyone who’s ever helped them – it’s just… a lot. It’s completely understandable if they get a little flustered or emotional, it’s a massive moment!

Given how many people watch on TV and how readily available these images are, it’s surprising this keeps happening year after year.

Gwyneth Paltrow is well-known for her emotional reaction when she won the Best Actress Oscar in 1999 for Shakespeare in Love, famously crying throughout her acceptance speech.

She was fighting back tears when she walked onto the stage to accept her award from Jack Nicholson, but she composed herself to thank everyone she had worked with on the project.

As she began to thank her family, she became overwhelmed with emotion and started to cry. Her voice cracked and became so quiet it was hard to hear.

Angelina Jolie also cried when she thanked her family after winning the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in 2000 for her role in Girl, Interrupted.

Singing with emotion, she spoke highly of her brother James, and her mother, Marcheline Bertrand, who passed away in 2007. She also mentioned her father, actor Jon Voight, acknowledging their complicated history.

Halle Berry’s emotional acceptance speech after winning Best Actress in 2002 for Monster’s Ball was particularly memorable and drew comparisons to Gwyneth Paltrow’s famous speech.

That made her the first black woman to be given the honor. 

Tears streamed down her face as she cried, ‘This is overwhelming—it’s about something much larger than myself.’

Zoe Saldana cried when winning her Oscar in March 2025 for Emilia Perez. 

When Jennifer Hudson won the best supporting actress award for Dreamgirls in 2007, she was so emotional that she could hardly begin her acceptance speech.

Overwhelmed with emotion, she exclaimed, “I can’t believe this is happening! It’s incredible to see what’s possible. I wish my grandmother could be here to witness this.”

It’s understandable why Natalie Portman cried when she won Best Actress for Black Swan in 2011 – she was pregnant and experiencing hormonal changes at the time.

It was such a moving moment! She gave a beautiful speech, but you could tell her heart was full as she thanked her husband, Benjamin Millepied. She said becoming a mother was the most incredible role she’d ever played, and honestly, it brought tears to my eyes too. It was just so genuine and sweet.

When Octavia Spencer won an award in 2012 for her role in The Help, the enthusiastic standing ovation made it difficult for her to speak throughout most of her acceptance speech.

‘I’m sorry, I’m freaking out!’ she wept. 

Anne Hathaway appeared calm and collected while accepting her 2013 Oscar for Les Misérables, but she became overwhelmed with emotion backstage. After the ceremony, she was seen crying and holding her golden statue during the official photos.

Nicole Kidman, Charlize Theron, and Hilary Swank are also famous actresses who cried while accepting their Oscars.

But it’s not just the women who have struggled to hold back the tears.

In 2013, Ben Affleck had a hard time holding back tears when Argo, the film he directed, produced, and acted in, won the Academy Award for Best Picture.

He grew emotional while thanking his wife, Jennifer Garner, for her efforts to maintain their marriage. His voice cracked as he accepted the award in honor of their children, Violet, Samuel, and Seraphina.

With the 87th Academy Awards happening this Sunday, here’s hoping the nominees are prepared with tissues and have rehearsed their acceptance speeches!

 

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2026-03-15 19:49