Emma Stone wins second career Oscar for ‘Poor Things’

Emma Stone accepts the Oscar for Best Actress for “Poor Things” during the Oscars show at the 96th Academy Awards in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, U.S., March 10, 2024. REUTERS/Mike Blake

Emma Stone claimed her second Academy Award on Sunday, winning the best actress trophy for her role as a woman revived from the dead in the dark comedy “Poor Things.”

An emotional and flustered Stone began her speech by explaining that her mint green strapless gown had just ripped in the back.

“My dress is broken. I think it happened during ‘I’m Just Ken.’ I’m pretty sure,” she joked, referring to Ryan Gosling’s campy performance at the ceremony of the Oscar-nominated song from “Barbie.”

“This is really overwhelming. My voice is also a little gone. Whatever,” she said.

The 35-year-old actress went on to thank her fellow nominees, castmates and family. She scored her first Oscar for the 2016 musical “La La Land.”

Emma Stone wins the Oscar for Best Actress for “Poor Things” during the Oscars show at the 96th Academy Awards in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, U.S., March 10, 2024. REUTERS/Mike Blake

In the Frankenstein-inspired “Poor Things,” Stone played Bella Baxter, a woman who is reanimated after suicide by a mad scientist (Willem Dafoe).

The movie chronicles Bella’s dramatic self-discovery and liberation – much of it through sex – first with a flamboyant lawyer played by Mark Ruffalo, then with a succession of clients in a Paris brothel. Bella grows increasingly independent as she journeys through a surreal version of 19th-century Europe.

Stone has said the role was her favorite of her career. The actress said the admired Bella’s curiosity and her appreciation for the good and the bad.

In “La La Land,” Stone sang and danced in her role as a struggling actress opposite Gosling in a movie that celebrated old Hollywood.

She also was nominated for best supporting actress for the 2014 film “Birdman” and the 2018 drama “The Favourite.”

Known for her red hair and wide eyes, Stone had a breakthrough role in 2007’s raunchy comedy “Superbad.” She also starred in “The Help” and “The Amazing Spider-Man.”