Oscars 2025: The 20 most iconic and memorable moments that marked the history of the ceremony

The Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles is putting the finishing touches to the 97th edition of the Oscars , the awards given by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. It is expected to be a night of reaffirmations — Kieren Culkin ( A Royal Pain ) and Zoe Saldana ( Emilia Perez ) seem to be “announced winners” — and of resolutions, since there are some doubts in the main categories. Adrien Brody or Timothée Chalamet?; Demi Moore or Maiky Madison?; Sean Baker or Brady Corbet?; Conclave , Anora or The Brutalist ? We will have to wait until this Sunday , March 2 at 9 p.m. to find out the answers.

But, to be fair, the Oscars are not only known for crowning the awards season (and in recent years also for their monotonous ceremonies and some questionable nominations) but also because over the past 96 years, emotional and other “off-script” situations have occurred that entered the books or, as they would say in current jargon, “went viral”. In 1999, Roberto Benigni literally jumped for joy upon receiving the Best International Film award for Life is Beautiful , and in 2022, Will Smith got up from his chair and punched Chris Rock . To speed up the countdown, here is a look back at the 20 most iconic moments that marked the history of the Oscars .

In 2014, one of the most memorable ceremonies in terms of hosting took place. Ellen DeGeneres officiated the ceremony for the second time and, in addition to ordering pizza —and getting a generous tip for the delivery person— and dressing up as Glinda, the character from The Wizard of Oz , she also managed to get the most iconic photo in the history of the Oscars .

Bradley Cooper reached out and posed for a selfie with Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie —who at that time were still “Brangelina”—, Jared Leto, Jennifer Lawrence, Channing Tatum, Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Lupita and Peter Nyong'o, Kevin Spacey and Degeneres herself.

“If only Bradley’s arm was longer. Best photo ever,” the host wrote in her post on X, which surpassed two million retweets and was the most shared post in history for several years.

An embarrassing moment that seemed like a joke, but it wasn't. At the 89th edition of the awards, Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway were in charge of revealing the contents of the last envelope of the night, the one for best film. They declared La La Land the winner, but after the acceptance speech, Jordan Howowitz, the film's producer, said: "There's a mistake. Moonlight , you won the award for best film . It's not a joke." The moment, full of confusion, was recorded for posterity. What happened? A mix-up with the envelopes . The following year Beatty and Dunaway presented the category again as a way of "correcting" the error.

In 2022, everything was on track for Will Smith to be able to say “third time’s the charm.” After his two previous nominations for best actor for Ali and The Pursuit of Happyness , he was the leading candidate in the category for his work in King Richard . However, during the ceremony, there was an unscripted situation that had him as the protagonist and that left the entire audience speechless.

Chris Rock , that year's host, made a comment about his colleague's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith's , baldness . The actor got up from his table, walked up to the stage and slapped him . Although there was speculation that his attitude could change the outcome of the awards, in the end he took home his Oscar . However, his victory was completely overshadowed by his violent reaction. His impulse cost him dearly, given that after the repercussions of what happened on stage that night, He was banned from attending the ceremony for ten years, but is still allowed to be nominated.

A star is born ( A Star is Born ) became one of the most popular musical remakes of the last decade. The chemistry between its protagonists Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper was such that they even starred in rumors of a romance in real life. The main theme of the film “Shallow” won the Oscar in 2019 for best original song and its performers made a live performance with a white grand piano that went down in history.

Twelve minutes . That's how long the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles gave Charlie Chaplin a standing ovation . In 1972, the actor, then 82 years old, was recognized with an honorary Oscar for his influence on 20th-century art and received the longest standing ovation in the history of the Academy Awards.

Just as Hollywood applauded Chaplin for more than ten minutes for his contribution to cinema, there was a speech that set a precedent so that today the winners only have 45 seconds to thank their award before the music cordially invites them to leave the stage. In 1943 and after two previous nominations, Greer Garson received the Oscar for best actress for her performance in Mrs. Miniver by William Wyler and, according to the records of the time, she spoke for seven minutes , something that did not happen again and probably never will.

At every award show, the actors presenting in categories have a teleprompter to literally read out what they have to say. No memorizing the lines. However, this doesn't mean they can't mess up the lyrics. That's what happened to John Travolta at the 86th Academy Awards when he had to introduce Idina Menzel and her performance of “Let it Go” from Frozen . What did he call her? “The incredibly talented, the one and only… Adele Dazeem.”

In 1940, Hattie McDaniel won the Best Supporting Actress award for her work in Gone with the Wind and became the first African-American to be recognized with an Oscar . According to The Hollywood Reporter , the film's producer, David O. Selznick, had to ask for special permission for the actress to enter the Ambassador Hotel, where the ceremony was taking place, because the establishment prohibited entry to black people .

For many, Marlon Brando gave the best performance in history in The Godfather, bringing to life the character of Don Vito Corleone . In fact, in 1973 the Academy considered it the best leading performance of the year and awarded him the award. However, the actor not only missed the ceremony, but he refused the recognition . In his place, Sacheen Littlefeather , president of the National Committee for the Affirmative Image of Native Americans, took the stage and shared a short excerpt from Brando's extensive prepared speech.

“I come here tonight on behalf of Marlon Brando who regrettably declines this generous award . And that is because of the mistreatment of Native Americans by the film industry, on television, in re-runs and in what recently happened at Wounded Knee,” Littlefeather told everyone in attendance.

Only once in Oscar history has a non-English-language film been crowned in the top category. In 2019, Parasites ( Parasite ), the South Korean production directed by Bong Joon-ho , was a huge success and won the award for best film. It also took home the prize for best director, original screenplay and international film.

For many, Heath Ledger 's was the best interpretation of the Joker character. On February 22, 2009, exactly one year and one month after the actor's death at age 28 from an accidental drug overdose, he was posthumously awarded the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his work in Batman, the Dark Knight , the second part of Christopher Nolan 's trilogy. The statuette was received by his parents and sister and later given to his only daughter, Matilda Rose Ledger , the fruit of his relationship with actress Michelle Williams .

On March 21, 1999 Sophia Loren announced that Life is Beautiful (Life is Beautiful) was the winner for Best Foreign Film. The cameras automatically pointed at its director and star Roberto Benigni . But the Italian broke all the molds and celebrated by standing on the backs of the seats , shouting with joy and stepping over people's heads. He even climbed onto the stage literally by jumping up the stairs. In addition, he won in the category of lead actor and the film took home the Oscar for best soundtrack.

When it comes to celebrations, it's impossible not to mention Jack Palance . In 1992, the actor was recognized for his supporting work in City Slickers. What did he do when he got on stage? Push-ups.

It's no surprise that the Academy has not generally recognised the work of women in the directing category. Although Coralie Fargeat is nominated this year for The Substance , this is usually the exception rather than the rule. The first woman to win in the category was Kathryn Bigelow for The Heart Locker in 2009. The other two women to win were Chloé Zhao for Nomadland in 2020 and Jane Campion for The Power of the Dog in 2021.

If the Academy were to recognize the best blooper in history, the winner would probably be Jennifer Lawrence . In 2013, as expected, she won the best actress category for her work in Silver Linings Playbook . But when she went to accept her award in her glamorous Dior design, she tripped and ended up on her knees on the stairs . “You’re only standing because you feel bad that I fell and that’s very embarrassing, but thank you,” she said upon receiving the statuette, taking the situation with a dose of humor.

If anyone wanted, needed and deserved an Oscar, it was undoubtedly Leonardo DiCaprio . There was practically a worldwide campaign for him to receive his award after four “failed” nominations. In 2016 he finally got it thanks to his performance in The Revenant , by Mexican director Alejandro González Iñárritu.

At the 74th Academy Awards, Halle Berry made history by becoming the first black woman to win Best Actress for her leading role in Monster's Ball.

“ This moment is so much bigger than me . This moment is for Dorothy Dandridge, Lena Horne, Diahann Carroll. It’s for the women standing next to me, Jada Pinkett, Angela Bassett, Vivica Fox. And it’s for every single nameless, faceless woman of color who now has a chance , because tonight, this door opened,” Barry said in her speech. To date, no other black woman has won in the lead actress category.

While the Academy is not used to ties, there was one occasion when the decision was so close that two actresses were awarded in the same category. At the 41st edition, Katharine Hepburn earned her third win for The Lion in Winter and Barbra Streisand got her first Oscar for Funny Girl . Since the former was not present at the ceremony, Streisand had her moment to shine alone without sharing the spotlight.

The same character, sixty years apart. At the 1962 awards, Rita Moreno won best supporting actress for her role as Anita in the musical drama West Side Story . by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins. In 2022, Ariane DeBose won the same award for playing the same role in the remake of the film directed by Steven Spielberg .

At the last edition of the Oscars, Ryan Gosling gave what many considered his best performance in a long time. Wearing a fuchsia suit , he performed “I'm Just Ken” live. Barbie alongside Slash and Wolfgang Van Halen and made the entire Dolby Theater dance and sing. Although the award for best original song went to “What Was I Made For?” by Billie Eilish, her performance will go down in history, as a breath of fresh air for the monotony that usually occurs at the ceremony. Even when she went up to receive her award for best actress for Poor Things, Emma Stone said that her dress broke during Gosling's show.