Who is Oscar winning actress Mikey Madison, the star of Anora?

Mikey Madison has been biding her time over the past decade before reaching global stardom, and now she can confidently say she has done so.

The 25-year-old, who stars as the title character in the 2024 film Anora, can not only take a bow for winning Best Actress at the BAFTA Awards but also for securing Oscars glory.

Here's everything we know about Mikey as she takes home the much sought-after Best Actress gong at the Academy Awards.

Who is Mikey Madison?

Known professionally as Mikey Madison, Mikaela Madison Rosberg was born in LA on March 25, 1999.

The 25-year-old grew up in the San Fernando Valley of California in a family of seven, with her psychologist parents, two sisters, and two brothers, one of whom is her twin.

It wasn't until she was a teen that Mikey was bitten by the acting bug, and instead she originally trained as a competitive horseback rider.

Career

After jumping off the saddle, Mikey made her acting debut in 2013 when she appeared in the short films Retirement and Pan's Box.

The following year, she appeared in her first feature film Liza, Liza, Skies Are Grey, which wasn't released until three years later in 2017.

In 2016, Mikey landed a starring role as Max Fox in the FX comedy-drama series Better Things, which ran until 2022.

The actress gained recognition for her role as Susan 'Sadie' Atkins, a member of the Manson family, in Quentin Tarantino's period drama film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

Though she's been on the acting scene for over a decade, Mikey's breakthrough role came in 2024 as the title character in Anora.

Anora

Written, directed and edited by Sean Baker, Anora follows the troubled marriage between Anora Mikheeva (Mikey Madison), a sex worker, and Vanya Zakharov (Mark Eydelshteyn), the son of a Russian oligarch.

The character was written specifically for Mikey after Sean watched her performances in Scream and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

The actress took her titular role very seriously, studying Russian and performing her own stunts in the film.

Anora premiered at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival to critical acclaim and was awarded the Palme d'Or.

Awards season success

Mikey's role as Anora saw her scoop the BAFTA Award for Best Actress and she was up for the same title at both the Golden Globes and the SAG Awards.

In March, she scooped the Oscar for Best Actress and said in her acceptance speech: 'This is very surreal. I grew up in Los Angeles but Hollywood always felt so far away from me, so to be here standing in this room today is really incredible.'

Mikey continued: 'I want to honour and recognise the sex worker community. I will continue to support and be an ally… the women I've had the privilege of meeting from that community has been one of the highlights of this entire incredible experience.'

She faced stiff competition in the category with Wicked's Cynthia Erivo, The Substance lead Demi Moore, Emilia Pérez actress Karla Sofía Gascón and Fernanda Torres for I'm Still Here also nominated.

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