Demi Moore delivered an emotional acceptance speech at the Golden Globes on Sunday, expressing gratitude at finally feeling acknowledged by the industry after years of work.
The iconic actor took to the stage to accept the award for Best Female Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical/Comedy for her leading role in body horror film The Substance. It was a highly competitive category as well, with Moore beating out Amy Adams (Nightbitch), Cynthia Erivo (Wicked), Karla Sofía Gascón (Emilia Pérez), Mikey Madison (Anora), and Zendaya (Challengers).
"I'm just in shock right now," said Moore. "I've been doing this a long time, like over 45 years, and this is the first time I've ever won anything as an actor."
Moore's claim isn't strictly true, though her list of accolades is admittedly sparse. The actor's performance in Ghost won her the Saturn Award for Best Actress in 1991, and the Indiana Film Journalists Association awarded her Best Lead Performance for The Substance late last year. She was also part of Margin Call's ensemble win at the 2012 Independent Spirit Awards.
Even so, tonight's Golden Globe marks Moore's first major solo win throughout her entire acting career.
"Thirty years ago I had a producer tell me that I was a 'popcorn actress' and at that time I made that mean that this wasn't something that I was allowed to have," said a teary Moore. "That I could do movies that were successful, that made a lot of money, but that I couldn't be acknowledged. And I bought in and I believed that.
"And that corroded me over time to the point where I thought a few years ago that maybe this was it. Maybe I was complete. Maybe I'd done what I was supposed to do."
Moore shared that she had been at a "low point" when she was presented with The Substance's script, "and the universe told me that 'you're not done.'"
"In those moments when we don't think we're smart enough, or pretty enough, or skinny enough, or successful enough, or basically just not enough," said Moore. "I had a woman say to me, 'Just know, you will never be enough. But you can know the value of your worth if you just put down the measuring stick.'"
You can check out all the Golden Globes winners in Mashable's list.
