She swept the Golden Globes, the BAFTAs, the Critics Choice, and the Actor Awards. And last night, at the 98th Academy Awards, Jessie Buckley completed the clean sweep — becoming the first Irish woman in Oscar history to win Best Actress.

In the 98-year history of the Oscars, Saoirse Ronan and Ruth Negga had been the only Irish women ever nominated for Best Actress. Buckley is now the first to win. It’s a milestone that felt both inevitable and electric when her name was finally called at the Dolby Theatre on Sunday night.

Buckley earned frontrunner status from the moment HAMNET debuted at Telluride last fall, with her portrayal of Agnes Shakespeare — encompassing not just one but two grueling birth scenes, the gut-punch mourning over the death of her son, and a final 20-minute sequence at the Globe theatre as Agnes comes to terms with her loss, her loves, her life.

The Hollywood Reporter, reviewing the film out of Telluride, wrote that Buckley “really stuns” as she takes Agnes from “free-spirited girl” to “loving wife and mother” to “brittle and grieving woman,” grounding a character who might have seemed too ethereal in raw, naked feeling.

Director Chloé Zhao had long known Buckley was right for the role. “I knew her work. I had a feeling that she wouldn’t be afraid. There was no vanity in her,” Zhao told IndieWire. “Vanity is the number-one enemy of authenticity. Actors’ greatest blessing they can give to the world is their authenticity and their humanness.”

Jessie Buckley arrived at the World Premiere of THE BRIDE in London on Thursday evening riding an extraordinary wave of momentum, fresh from winning a BAFTA just days earlier. The Irish actress, who plays the film’s titular character, commanded the red carpet at Cineworld Leicester Square with the confidence of someone who has thoroughly earned her place among the most versatile and accomplished performers of her generation. She greeted fans and posed for photographs in high spirits, cementing what has become a remarkable and seemingly unstoppable run across film, television, and theatre.

THE BRIDE, arriving in UK cinemas nationwide on March 6, represents a bold reimagining of the Frankenstein mythology that strips away the familiar trappings of the classic tale and rebuilds it from the ground up. Set against the backdrop of 1930s Chicago, the film tells the story of a murdered young woman who is brought back to life, intended to serve as a companion to Frankenstein’s Monster. But rather than accept the passive role assigned to her, she begins to forge her own fierce and independent identity within a sprawling world of gangsters, corruption, and profound social upheaval. Director, writer, and producer Maggie Gyllenhaal has described the project as a subversive take on a classic tale, one that masterfully blends gothic romance with the gritty aesthetics of a crime narrative, and she reunites with Buckley following their previous collaboration.

The premiere itself became a star-studded affair, with an impressive roster of co-stars joining Buckley on the red carpet. Christian Bale, who takes on the role of Frankenstein’s Monster, drew enthusiastic cheers from assembled fans, while Jake Gyllenhaal and Peter Sarsgaard added considerable star power to the evening. Penélope Cruz rounded out the ensemble, bringing a touch of old-Hollywood glamour to the proceedings and underscoring the scale and ambition of what promises to be one of the year’s most talked-about films.