He was right! After four nominations, Julianne Moore won her first-ever Oscar (and a standing ovation!) in the Best Leading Actress category at the 87th Annual Academy Awards on Sunday, Feb. 22 — and her director husband Bart Freundlich knew she would all along. The Still Alice actress gushed about his support, and revealed that he was the first person to see the film, while backstage at L.A.’s Dolby Theatre.
“My husband has been amazing. He’s also the person who walked me up the steps. This is the first time I’ve told anybody this, and I’ll tell you guys in this room: He was the first person to see the movie,” Moore, 54, recalled of a very early, very private screening of the gut-wrenching Alzheimer’s drama. “The first time I saw the cut, he came with me. I’ve told the story about how I heard him crying, and I was like, ‘What’s going on?’
“We walked out, and he said, ‘You’re going to win an Oscar,'” she continued. “I was like, ‘Come on!’ I swear to God, that’s what he said to me. I couldn’t believe he said that. That’s how much he supported me from the very, very beginning.”
She added: “I like stories about real people and real relationships and real families, and that’s what I respond to. And this movie had all of those things in it.”
During Moore’s acceptance speech, she gave a shout-out to Freundlich, 45, and the other women in the category. She was up for the nod alongside Marion Cotillard (Two Days, One Night), Felicity Jones (The Theory of Everything), Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl), and Reese Witherspoon (Wild). She also picked up an award for her work at the Golden Globes, Critics’ Choice Awards, BAFTAs, and Independent Spirit Awards.
“Thank you so much. I read an article that said that winning an Oscar could lead to living five years longer. If that’s true, I’d really like to thank the Academy because my husband is younger than me,” she joked. “There is no such thing as best actress as is evidenced by the performances of fellow nominees. I’ve been honored to be among you every step of the way.”
Moore plays Alice Howland in Still Alice, a woman who learns she’s been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. (The film is based off of Lisa Genova’s 2009 novel of the same name.) The powerful Richard Glatzer-directed drama also stars Alec Baldwin, Kristen Stewart, Kate Bosworth, and Hunter Parrish.
“I’m so happy. I’m thrilled actually that we were able to hopefully shine a light on Alzheimer’s disease,” she continued to the star studded crowd. “So many people with this disease feel isolated and marginalized, and one of the wonderful things about movies is it makes us feel seen and not alone. And people with Alzheimer’s deserve to be seen, so we can find a cure.” She also sweetly thanked Freundlich and their two children Caleb, 17, and Liv, 12, for “my life.”
As for where she will be keeping her shiny gold statue? “My Oscar will go in my office!” she told Us Weekly at the Governors Ball’s afterparty.
