Women making history — that phrase is music to our ears.
Of course, it’s admittedly frustrating to still mark “firsts” for women in 2020. But that doesn’t cancel out our excitement for composer Hildur Guðnadóttir, who became the first woman to ever win Best Original Score on her own at this year’s Academy Awards. (She is also only the fourth woman ever to receive the award at all, following three who earned the honor as part of a team.)
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It’s the latest on a long list of wins achieved by the Icelandic musician over the last half a year. In addition to winning an Oscar for her work on “Joker,” she also received a Golden Globe for that score, and both a Grammy and an Emmy for compositional work on the critically acclaimed HBO miniseries “Chernobyl.”
She wasn’t the only woman musician to make history on Oscars night, either — conductor Eimear Noone became the first woman to ever lead the orchestra during an Oscars broadcast. On a night when women were noticeably absent from major categories like Best Director — a problem actress Natalie Portman spotlighted by stitching the names of women directors into her gown — those moments made for a refreshing change of pace.
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During her acceptance speech, Guðnadóttir encouraged other women to be bold — and noisy. “To the girls, to the women, to the mothers, to the daughters who hear the music bubbling within, please speak up,” she said. “We need to hear your voices.”
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