The 2020 Oscars are playing out just as expected so far, and the Best Supporting Actress category was no exception.
Laura Dern on Sunday night took home her very first Oscar, winning Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Marriage Story. She was previously nominated for Best Supporting Actress for Wild in 2015 and Best Actress for Rambling Rose in 1992.
In her acceptance speech, Dern thanked her parents, actors Diane Ladd and Bruce Dern, saying, "Some say never meet your heroes, but I say if you're really blessed, you get them as your parents." Dern, whose birthday is tomorrow, also called the Oscar win the "best birthday present ever."
In Marriage Story, Dern plays a cutthroat divorce attorney and was widely praised for her performance. She was the frontrunner to win after sweeping the Golden Globe Awards, the Critics' Choice Movie Awards, the Screen Actors Guild Awards, and the British Academy Film Awards.
This win comes 45 years after Dern, who sits on the Academy's Board of Governors, first attended the Oscars at seven years old when her mother was nominated. "I remember it being scary and overwhelming," Dern recently told Vanity Fair. "I also remember my mom feeling proud of herself and loving her work ... and I remember thinking, whatever I do when I grow up, I want to really love my job and feel proud of it. I've never forgotten that."