The combined talents of Zoe Saldaña, Karla Sofía Gascón, and Selena Gomez lead Netflix’s crime comedy musical Emilia Pérez. Directed by French filmmaker Jacques Audiard (Rust and Bone, The Sisters Brothers), the genre-blending film delivers innovative music numbers and choreography infused with a gut-wrenching story about unfulfilled desire and regret. Emilia Pérez won the Jury Prize and the Best Actress Ensemble award at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, where it had its world premiere in May. The film is a loose adaptation of the 2018 novel Écoute by Boris Razon.

Emilia Pérez earned a leading 13 nominations for the upcoming 97th Academy Awards. Emilia Pérez’s mostly favorable reviews have made it an early contender for Best Picture and has also generated Best Actress Oscar buzz for Gascón and Best Supporting Actress for Saldaña. However, recent controversies from Gascon’s past appear to have hurt her Oscar chances. The story follows Saldaña’s Rita Moro Castro, a defense lawyer in Mexico City looking to make a difference. She encounters an unusual but lucrative opportunity from cartel kingpin Manitas Del Monte as he aims to fulfill his lifetime dream of transitioning to a woman.

Zoe Saldaña as Rita Moro Castro

Birthdate: June 19, 1978

Actor: Zoe Saldaña, 46, is an American actress from New Jersey. She has starred in several of the highest-grossing films of all time, including Avatar (2009), Avatar: The Way of Water (2022), and Avengers: Endgame (2019). With 75 acting credits to her name across both television and movies, Saldaña first appeared in a 1999 episode of Law & Order.

Saldaña rose to prominence in Hollywood after starring in several notable early 2000s films, such as Crossroads (2002), Drumline (2002), and Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003). She also started in J.J. Abrams’ 2009 reboot of Star Trek as Uhura, the same year she starred as Neytiri in Avatar and entered the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Gamora in Guardians of the Galaxy. Saldaña recently appeared in Taylor Sheridan’s Lioness series alongside Nicole Kidman, Michael Kelly, and Morgan Freeman.

Zoe Saldana earned her first Oscar nomination of her career for her role in Emilia Pérez. This followed big wins for the actress at the BAFTAs, where she won Best Film Actress in a Supporting Role and the Golden Globes Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture. These were also her first nominations at those ceremonies as well.

Notable Works:

Character: Saldaña plays Rita Moro Castro in Emilia Pérez, a lawyer in Mexico City who ᴀssists Manitas Del Monte’s transition to a woman. Saldaña explains, “Rita is an accomplished lawyer who lives in Mexico City and is at a point in her life where she wants more than what her job and her environment can offer” (via Netflix). She ends up helping Maniras transition and then helps hide her and her family in Switzerland, taking her payoff and then later agreeing to help bring Emilia’s wife and kids back to Mexico.

Karla Sofía Gascón as Manitas Del Monte / Emilia Pérez

Birthdate: March 31, 1972

Actor: Karla Sofía Gascón, 52, is a Spanish actress from Madrid, Spain. She began her professional acting career in 1995, appearing in television series such as Los ladrones van a la oficina, Canguros, Al salir de clase, and El súper. Her notable credits in film include Di queue sí (2004) and We Are the Nobles (2013). She became the first openly trans actor to win a major prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 2024 for Emilia Pérez.

She has also recently starred in claimed television series such as El Señor de los Cielos, Until the End of Time, and Harina. She is slated to star in the upcoming 2025 comedy Uomini e altri inconvenient written and directed by Giorgio Serafini. Gascón received a lot of acclaim for her performance in the Emilia Pérez cast. This included wins at the Cannes Film Festival for Best Actress, the European Film Awards for Best European Actress, and an Oscar nomination for Best Actress. Due to controversies related to Gascon’s past social media posts, Netflix has distanced themselves from her and dropped her from Emilia Pérez‘s awards-season promotional appearances.

Notable Works:

Character: Gascón plays the тιтular character in Emilia Pérez, who transitions from the cartel kingpin Manitas Del Monte. Previously known as Juan “Manitas” Del Monte, Emilia Pérez was a cruel cartel kingpin who wanted to transition into her true authentic self. She went to Rita (Saldana) to help her transition and then get out of Mexico to the safety of Switzerland. Emilia then wants to make amends for her past crimes but realizes that things are not that simple after meeting a widow named Epifanía (Adriana Paz).​​​

Selena Gomez as Jessi

Birthdate: July 22, 1992

Actor: Selena Gomez, 32, is an American singer and actress from Grand Prairie, Texas. Gomez rose to prominence as an actress from her hit Disney Channel series Wizards of Waverly Place (2007-2012) after appearing in Spy Kids 3: Game Over (2003), The Suite Life of Zach & Cody (2006), and Hannah Montana (2007-2008).

Gomez released her debut single “Tell Me Something I Don’t Know” in 2008 and released “Come & Get It” off her 2013 debut album Stars Dance. She went on to create and collaborate on mᴀssive songs such as “The Heart Wants What It Wants,” “It Ain’t Me (with Kygo),” “Wolves (with Marshmello),” and “Love You To Love Me.”

As an actress, Gomez starred in films such as Spring Breakers (2012), H๏τel Transylvania (2012), Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising (2016), and Dolitte (2020). She currently stars in the Emmy-award-winning comedy series Only Murders in the Building alongside Steve Martin and Martin Short. While she didn’t receive any attention from the Oscars, Gomez did earn a BAFTA nomination for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for her role in the Emilia Peréz cast and won Best Actress at the Cannes Film Festival with her co-stars.

Notable Works:

Character: Gomez plays Jessi, Manitas’s wife, in Emilia Peréz. The movie takes a turn when Emilia asks for Rita’s help in returning Jessi and their kids back to Mexico. However, Jessi remains oblivious to what happened to her husband and returns to her previous lover, Gustavo (Édgar Ramírez). However, Jessi then does the unthinkable and has Emilia kidnapped and tortured, believing this woman has done something to her husband. By the time she learns the truth, it is too late and the story ends in tragedy.

Emilia Pérez Supporting Cast & Characters

Adriana Paz as Epifanía: Paz plays Epifania, a widow that Emilia meets after her transition. The two begin to have a love affair which shows the complications with the change since Emilia is who had the woman’s husband killed during her actions in the drug trade. Paz is best known for Spectre, The Empty Hours, and Hilda.

Edgar Ramírez as Gustavo Brun: Ramirez plays Gustavo in the Emilia Peréz cast, Jessi’s former lover and the man who she returns to when she believes she will never see her husband again. It is Gustavo whom Jessi goes to with the plan to kidnap and torture Emilia, not knowing she is her husband. Ramirez is best known for Gold, Point Break, and Deliver Us from Evil.

Mark Ivanir as Dr. Wᴀsserman: Ivahir is Dr. Wᴀsserman, the man who performed the pivotal operation that helped cartel kingpin Manitas Del Monte transition into Emilia Peréz. He is who sings the song “Lady” from the film. Ivanir is best known for Babylon Berlin, Heart of Stone, and Mayor of Kingstown.

Eduardo Aladro as Berlinger: Aladro stars as Berlinger, Rita’s superior who asks her to create a note that makes a murder Emilia Peréz ordered look like a suicide. This comes into play later when the man’s widow meets Emilia and develops a relationship with her. Aladro is best known for Tony Smith, The Goya Murders, and La Pieuvre.

Emiliano Hasan as Gabriel Mendoza: Hasan plays Mendoza, a man who was accused of murdering his wife and someone that Rita was representing in a court case. It was after this verdict that she got the call that freed Rita from the career that she hated. Hasan is best known for Une guitar à la mer and Culte.

James Gerard as Simon: Gerard plays Simon, one of Emilia’s most trusted friends. Gerard is best known for Spencer, The Serpent Queen, and Emilia Pérez.