Oscars 2025: Best dressed on the red carpet

Hollywood’s biggest stars descended upon the Dolby Theatre on Sunday afternoon in Hollywood, California for the 97th Annual Academy Awards – also known as the Oscars. 

Selena Gomez led the best dressed list on the red carpet in a custom skintight rose gold mesh Ralph Lauren gown, with her short locks in old Hollywood waves.

Demi Moore also opted for a metallic hue, opting for a gray-silver Armani Prive number that highlighted her incredible physique.

Halle Berry wowed in a silver stained glass style frock that she sported with minimal jewelry, with her short hair loose around her. She is wearing Christian Siriano.

Emma Stone chose a silver mermaid inspired nude and silver gown by Louis Vuitton, featuring an asymmetrical neckline. 

Selena looked like a goddess in her form-fitting outfit, which also showcased her slimmed down figure.

Her gown, which is a custom Ralph Lauren gown, inspired by gowns worn by Hollywood icon Sophia Loren.

She worked with Sophia’s tailor, according to InStyle magazine.

The frock had 16,000 glass droplets and Rosemont crystals, Elle reported, with the glass drops airbrushed pink ombre.. 

The actress and singer chose a glittering gown that had off-the-shoulder sleeves, highlighting her ample cleavage.

Selena paired the shiny frock with a diamond choker necklace with a pendant, as well as multiple diamond rings.

She wore her short locks loose in a slight wave, with her makeup minimal – highlighting her stunning natural beauty. 

The Substance star Demi shimmied down the red carpet in a skintight silver Armani Prive gown, with a ruched accent along her hips.

She wore her long brunette locks loose around her, with diamond earrings for even more sparkle. 

Halle chose a stained glass style strapless Christian Siriano frock, perfectly molded to her figure. 

She styled the look with minimal jewelry, and her short hair loose and with a slight flip toward the ends. 

Emma channeled a mermaid in her custom Louis Vuitton gown, which had silver sequins throughout.

The chain metal number had an asymmetrical neckline and a slit in the skirt.

She styled her pixie cut slicked down with pink lipstick on her pout.

Kylie Jenner attended the Oscars for the first time, as her boyfriend Timothee Chalamet’s date.

The reality star wore a racy black cut-out gown that showcased her figure, paired with her black hair loose and in waves around her. She is wearing a custom Miu Miu gown.

The appearance was her first one since the tragic and sudden death of her longtime hairstylist Jesus Guerrero at age 34. 

In January, Kylie attended the Golden Globes for the second year in a row as Timothee’s date.

Timothee, 29, and Kylie, 27, first met in January 2023 at Paris Fashion Week – and romantically linked three months later. 

Elle Fanning glided down the red carpet in an elegant white Givenchy gown – which had a black ribbon bow around her waist.

The movie star looked incredible in the lace gown, which included a striking cape.  

Elle chose a statement necklace for a sparkling accent.

Penelope Cruz looked like a Grecian goddess in a white gown with a ruched corset and silver embellishments along the center.

Scarlett Johansson chose a midnight blue velvet gown with matching gloves. 

She is wearing Mugler Couture Fall Winter 1999/2000 ‘Les Meduses’ collection by Manfred Thierry Mugler. 

Lily-Rose Depp looked beautiful in a sultry sheer black lace gown with ruffled accents.

Margaret Qualley channeled Audrey Hepburn in her low-back black Chanel gown, paired with a pendant necklace worn backwards.

Emilia Perez star Zoe Saldana looked incredible in a burgundy and mesh layered frock with sheer gloves and a statement diamond necklace.

Gal Gadot and Raye stood out in bold red gowns, with Gal choosing a strapless gown and Raye opting for a corset version. 

Euphoria star Storm Redi chose a red gown with a dramatic cape. 

Rita Wilson wore a hot pink off-the-shoulder gown with long sleeves. 

Mikey Madison and Monica Barbaro choose two-tone gowns, with Mikey opting for black and pink and Monica choosing silver and pink. 

Connie Nielsen wowed in a pale pink Grecian inspired gown with a sheer cape. 

Julianne Hough wowed glamorous cream hued Dior gown with a tulle skirt.

The Dancing With The Stars pro channel old Hollywood in the striking gown, pairing the frock with red lips and Marilyn Monroe-esque style locks.

Julianne is wearing Martin Katz jewelry, including seven carat diamond drop earrings in 18 kt white gold and a three-stone diamond carre cut ring in platinum. 

Ariana Grande wore a light pink gown with a structured and shimmery, cascading tulle. 

The actress and singer is wearing Schiaparelli – opting for a bubble inspired skirt.

The haute couture gown has 190,000 crystals throughout, paired with a satin corset. 

The Wicked star wowed in the Glinda-inspired look, paired with sparkling rosy makeup and pulled back hair. 

This year’s ceremony has an unusually unsettled field in many of the most high-profile categories, including best picture and most of the acting categories. 

 The 97th Academy Awards are honoring the best films of 2024, with the star-studded ceremony being held at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.

Conan O’Brien, 61, is making his debut as Oscars host, after joking: ‘I only agreed to host so that I could get invited.’

Emilia Pérez leads the nominations this year with 13, including for best picture, actress (for Karla Sofía Gascón), supporting actress (for Zoe Saldaña), director (for Jacques Audiard), adapted screenplay and original song.

Gascón stars as the title character, a former Mexican drug lord who comes out as a transgender woman and fakes her own death in order to reinvent herself as a pro-social force, while Saldaña plays an ethically challenged lawyer who helps set up her new identity.

Brody stars as a Jewish Hungarian architect who immigrates to the US after surviving the Holocaust. The epic historical drama follows his character László Tóth’s attempts to realize his creative vision even as it conflicts with the petty desires of his wealthy benefactor (Pearce). 

The Brutalist landed in second place with 10 nominations, including for best picture, director (for Brady Corbet), actor (for Adrien Brody), supporting actor (for Guy Pearce), supporting actress (for Felicity Jones), and original screenplay.

Wicked tied it for 10 nominations, including for best picture, actress (for Cynthia Erivo), and supporting actress (for Ariana Grande).

The blockbuster musical is an adaptation of only the first half of the musical of the same name, a reimagined prequel to The Wizard Of Oz starring Erivo as Elphaba, future Wicked Witch of the West, and Grande as Galinda Upland, who becomes Glinda the Good. 

Other best pictures nominees include Anora, A Complete Unknown, Conclave, Dune: Part Two, I’m Still Here, Nickel Boys and The Substance. 

The closely watched race for best actor in a leading role got a major shakeup just a week before the Oscars at the Screen Actors Guild Awards, when Timothée Chalamet scored a shock win for his Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown. 

Prior to that win, Brody was seemingly the favorite after winning best actor awards at the New York Film Critics Circle Awards, the BAFTAs, the Golden Globes and the Critics Choice Movie Awards.

Ralph Fiennes has also doggedly stayed in the running for his role as a British Cardinal struggling to keep a secretive papal election from dissolving into competition and intrigue. 

The critically acclaimed film has scored multiple actor wins at smaller ceremonies and festivals for Fiennes, as well as multiple awards for the entire acting ensemble, which Fiennes has accepted on more than one occasion. 

Those three co-frontrunners are competing against Colman Domingo for Sing Sing and Sebastian Stan for his performance as a young Donald Trump in The Apprentice.

The best actress category also has no clear frontrunner. Demi Moore has been lauded for her comeback performance in the satirical body-horror film The Substance, which earned her best actress honors from the Critics Choice Awards and the Golden Globes, as well as several critics’ organizations. 

But her win a week before the Oscars at the SAG Awards suggests she may be in a prime spot to snatch the Oscar after being nominated for the first time. 

Anora star Mikey Madison, who plays an adult dancer who impetuously marries the son of a Russian Oligarch, was widely acclaimed and was honored by several critics’ organizations early in the season. 

Her chances increased significantly after she won the BAFTA for best lead actress, which she followed up with an Independent Spirit Award win in the gender-neutral lead performance category. 

Emilia Pérez star Karla Sofía Gascón was once a favorite for the award, but she was widely criticized after racist and Islamophobic tweets — some quite recent — that had somehow gone unremarked upon were translated into English and reported on.

Since then, Gascón has sat out awards ceremonies after her posts came to light. After multiple half-hearted apologies, Netflix reportedly opted to stop paying for Gascón’s travel and accommodations for awards shows, though a source told People that she still plans to attend the Oscars.

Before the controversy, her nomination was seen as historic, as she is the first openly transgender woman to be nominated in the best actress category. 

The other nominees are Wicked star Cynthia Erivo, who has failed to capture any major awards, and the Brazilian actress Fernanda Torres, who stars in the historical drama I’m Still Here. She had her own controversy after a clip of her appearing in blackface in a comedy sketch from a Brazilian TV series 17 years ago resurfaced in January.

In the supporting actress category, the nominees including Monica Barbaro for A Complete Unknown, Ariana Grande for Wicked, Felicity Jones for The Brutalist, Isabella Rossellini for Conclave and Zoe Saldaña for Emilia Pérez 

Saldaña appears to be the current favorite after a string of wins at the Golden Globes, BAFTA Awards, SAG Awards and Critics Choice Awards.

But some of those early awards had voting periods that cut off prior to the controversy around Gascón surfacing, which could potentially harm her chances from voters who were turned off of Emilia Pérez altogether.

The supporting actor category seems the easiest to predict, Kieran Culkin’s string of wins for A Real Pain making him the favorite. 

The other nominees include Yura Borisov for Anora, Edward Norton for A Complete Unknown, Guy Pearce for The Brutalist and Jeremy Strong for The Apprentice. 

Among the best picture nominees, Emilia Pérez once seemed like the most likely winner, but Gascon’s offensive posts have threatened its chances.

The Palme d’Or–winning Anora got a late boost with wins for best picture at the Directors Guild of America Awards and the Producers Guild of America Awards, which are considered two of the best predictors of Oscars success by awards-season prognosticators, and its win at the Independent Spirit Awards didn’t hurt.

The best director category seems likely to be a three-man race between Anora’s Sean Baker, The Brutalist director Brady Corbet and Emilia Pérez’s Jacques Audiard. 

This year’s original song category features two cutes from Emilia Pérez, El Mal and Mi Camino, the new Elton John song Never Too Late, from the documentary of the same name about him, Like a Bird from Sing Sing, and the latest Diane Warren effort The Journey.

The Academy Awards begin at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT and can be watched on ABC and, for the first time, on a streaming service, Hulu.Subscribers to premium services including Hulu + Live TV, YouTube TV, AT&T TV and FuboTV can also also catch the ceremony live.