Anora star Mikey Madison took home the best actress award at the 2025 Oscars, beating out Demi Moore who many presumed would win for her role in The Substance.

Mikey Madison won Best Actress for 'Anora' at the 2025 Oscars, beating Cynthia Erivo, Karla Sofía Gascón, Demi Moore and Fernanda Torres. Madison shared how "cleaning up after her dogs" will help her process the surprising victory.

Hollywood veteran Demi Moore of “The Substance” had been the Oscar front-runner, having won over Madison at the Golden Globes and SAG Awards. However, Madison beat out Moore for the BAFTA two days before Oscar voting ended, as well as at last weekend’s Independent Spirit Awards.

Mikey Madison claimed her first Academy Award on Sunday, winning best actress for her role as a sex worker who marries the son of a Russian oligarch in the drama "Anora."

"The Substance" actress also told Madison she "can’t wait to see what you do next." Demi Moore is taking a (very classy) moment to reflect on the monumental awards season she just had. Thanks to key precursor wins at the Golden Globes and SAG Awards — and endlessly charming and passionate speeches at said ceremonies — many awards prognosticators penciled in Moore to win the Oscar for Best Actress for her role in The Substance at Sunday night's Academy Awards.

Madison, who is also known for her work in the FX series “ Better Things ,” wins the best actress Oscar over Demi Moore in “The Substance,” Fernanda Torres in “I’m Still Here,” Cynthia Erivo in “Wicked” and “Karla Sofía Gascón in “Emilia Pérez.”

Mikey Madison, 25, shocked the audience by becoming one of the youngest best actress winners in Academy history, over presumed front-runner Demi Moore.

Since then, Madison wowed horror fans with her role in Scream V, catching the eye of acclaimed indie auteur Sean Baker. The Florida Project director reached out to her about his next project, which followed a Brooklyn sex worker named Anora through a tumultuous marriage with a young Russian heir.

Demi Moore was the odds-on favorite, but the 25-year-old claimed the Academy Award in the night’s biggest surprise.

By Lisa Richwine LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -"Anora," the story of a New York sex worker who gets a chance at a new life when she marries a wealthy Russian client on a whim, won five Academy Awards on Sunday,