Jessie Buckley Wins 2026 Oscar for Best Actress

The Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role at the 98th Academy Awards went to Jessie Buckley for her performance in Chloé Zhao's Hamnet. Regarded as a favorite before the night, Buckley collected her first Oscar after earning her first nomination at this ceremony.

In Hamnet she played Agnes Hathaway, the wife of William Shakespeare, navigating the birth and death of their son and the grief of losing an 11-year-old child. Buckley’s turn as a mourning, separated wife anchors the film alongside co-stars Paul Mescal and Noah Jupe.

This year’s nominees included three first-time nominees—Buckley, Rose Byrne and Renate Reinsve—along with Kate Hudson, up for her first Oscar on her second nomination, and Emma Stone, who earned her fifth acting nod and is the only nominee in the group to have previously won the award, in 2017 and again in 2024.

jessie buckley, best actress, 98th oscars, hamnet, chloé zhao, agnes hathaway, paul mescal, noah jupe, emma stone, kate hudson