The red carpet has been rolled out, the celebrities are dressed to the nines, and the 97th Academy Awards – AKA the 2025 Oscars – are here.
Wicked stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande kicked off the ceremony, there have been plenty of tears from winners like Zoe Saldaña, and one actor had to present from under the stage.
Keep reading for all the biggest moments from the 2025 Oscars red carpet and the ceremony itself, as they happen.
IN PICTURES: All the glamorous looks spotted on the 2025 Oscars red carpet
Morgan Freeman’s special tribute to Gene Hackman
Hollywood legend Gene Hackman is remembered by longtime friend Morgan Freeman as having “won the hearts of film lovers all over the world”.
The two-time Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their Santa Fe, New Mexico home last week.
“He always said, ‘I don’t think about legacy, I just hope people remember me as someone who tried to do good work’,” Freeman says.
“So I think I speak for us all when I say Gene, you will be remembered for that and so much more. Rest in peace, my friend.”
And so begins the emotional ‘in memoriam’ segment of the 2025 Oscars, remembering stars of the entertainment industry like Dame Maggie Smith, Joan Plowright and Donald Sutherland.
Gossip Girl actress Michelle Trachtenberg, who died suddenly last week aged 39, is not mentioned in the segment, prompting questions from some fans who had hoped to see her memorialised.
WATCH: Actress Michelle Trachtenberg dies aged 39
“It’s an Oscar ritual that always has a rustle of drama beneath the surface,” Academy Awards authority Michael Schulman previously told The Hollywood Reporter.
“No matter what happens, there will be 10 headlines about who was snubbed posthumously, and there’s nothing that can be done about it.”
He added that the segment is curated by a committee with representatives from all 19 Academy branches, not by the network broadcasting the ceremony.
Ben Stiller suffers a bit of a stage malfunction
He’s on stage to present the award for Best Production Design, but Ben Stiller seems to be a victim of poor production design tonight.
The actor appears stuck half way under the stage as he tries to introduce the category and all the nominees, leaving the crowd in stitches.
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“Production designers bring the world to life. They could humiliate the performers on screen,” he jokes.
“They handle everything from minor visual details to massive technical challenges, collaborating with a director to significantly impact the final image on screen, making sure what you are seeing is exactly what the artist intended.”
Fed up with presenting an award with nothing but the top of his head visible, Stiller launches himself up onto the stage to hand out the trophy to Wicked‘s production designers.
Zoe Saldaña’s tearful acceptance speech
Seconds after winning the Best Supporting Actress Oscar, Zoe Saldaña takes to the stage with one word on her lips: “Mami!”
The Emilia Perez star cries out for her mother, tearfully searching the audience for her face before spotting her and waving furiously.
“My mum is here … my whole family is here,” she tells the crowd through tears before kicking off a moving acceptance speech.
She thanks the Academy for “recognising the quiet heroism and the power in women” before turning her attention back to her closest loved ones, including her parents, siblings and husband Marco Perego-Saldana, who is in tears.
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“To my mum, my dad and my sisters, everything brave, outrageous and good that I’ve ever done in my life is because of you,” she says.
“And to my husband, with that beautiful hair… the biggest honour of my life is being your partner. You hung the moon and our beautiful, perfect sons fill our skies every night with stars.”
Saldaña is the first American of Dominican origin to win an Oscar, she notes in her speech, but vows not to be the last.
WATCH: Zoe Saldaña accepts her Best Actress In A Supporting Role Oscar
Margaret Qualley steals the show in Bond tribute
The Substance star Margaret Qualley stuns audiences at the Dolby Theatre and at home as she takes to the stage in a vivid red dress for a James Bond-inspired dance performance.
Following her saunter around the stage, K-pop star Lisa sings Live and Let Die, followed by Doja Cat taking to the stage in a crystal-covered outfit for her own musical performance.
Raye is up next with Skyfall, rounding out the incredible medley.
It is all in honour of the James Bond franchise and longtime producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson, who previously received Honorary Oscars.
Last month, it was announced Broccoli and Wilson were taking a step back and handing creative control of the franchise over to Amazon MGM
‘Let’s get cracking on those kids’
Kieran Culkin takes to the stage to accept his Oscar for Best Actor in a Supporting Role but his mind is on just one thing: kids!
The A Real Pain star reveals he made a bet with his wife Jazz Charton that if he ever won an Oscar, they could have a fourth child together.
“I will give you a fourth kid when you win an Oscar,” she supposedly told him.
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Culkin says, “I held my hand out, she shook it, and I have not brought it up once until just now … so I have one thing to say to you honey, Jazz, love of my life, ye of little faith.
“No pressure, I love you … let’s get cracking on those kids. What do you say?”
They already share two children and Charton previously told Culkin they could try for a third if he won an Emmy in 2024, which he did for his time on Succession.
Now he’s gunning for a fourth and Charton doesn’t seem to mind, if her laughter during her husband’s Oscars acceptance speech is anything to go by.
Conan O’Brien starts with a Substance skit
The famed comedian starts his hosting gig with an unnerving skit that appeared to show him pop out of Demi Moore’s back in the film that earned her the Best Actress nod, The Substance.
He then takes to the stage with a slew of jokes, taking aim at everything from AI in Hollywood, to Timothée Chalamet’s neon suit, quipping: “You will not get hit on your bike tonight!”
He warns stars that if their acceptance speech goes too long they won’t be played off with music, but the camera crew will cut to actor John Lithgow in the audience “looking not angry, but slightly disappointed”.
O’Brien then turns to the crowd to call out one actor for not adhering to the Oscars dress code: Adam Sandler.
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The shot of him sitting in the well-dressed crowd in sneakers, shorts and an old blue hoodie has everyone gasping.
O’Brien and the Uncut Gems star get into a cheeky verbal sparring match before Sandler runs out of the theatre – presumably to change.
Meanwhile, O’Brien wraps up his opening monologue with a musical number.
WATCH: Conan O’Brien kicks off 2025 Oscars with opening monologue
Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo kick off the ceremony
Wicked co-stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo start the formalities with an incredible performance that leaves the A-list crowd with chills.
Grande kicks it off with a rendition of Somewhere Over The Rainbow, which she sings in a show-stopping red custom Schiaparelli Haute Couture gown reminiscent of the ruby slippers in the original Wizard of Oz film.
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Moments later, Erivo appears in a white Vivienne Westwood gown accented with multicoloured floral details to sing Home by Diana Ross from The Wiz.
The stars now join for a duet of Defying Gravity from Wicked, including the incredible final note that has defined Erivo’s press run for the film.
As they hold hands to walk of the stage, Erivo looks overcome with emotion, tears shining in her eyes.
WATCH: All the most memorable moments in Oscars history
One of the biggest rumours of the night
A major rumour was circling as the red carpet began; that Kamala Harris would be making an appearance. Now it has been disproven.
According to reports from industry site Deadline, security around the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles where the awards are taking place is stricter than ever this year, with rumours that it’s all for the former Vice President of the US.
Deadline reported that there is “a modern-day Praetorian Guard of LAPD, federal law enforcement and more shutting down Hollywood” so Harris can attend.
But her husband Doug Emhoff has debunked the rumours, sharing a photo of the former VP to Instagram proving she’s watching from home.
“Oscars watch party prep,” he wrote alongside a photo of Harris in their kitchen. Looks like she’s not attending after all!
Kylie Jenner skips the red carpet again
Timothée Chalamet’s girlfriend Kylie Jenner is skipping yet another lavish red carpet she could have walked with her actor beau.
Instead she is sneaking into the Oscars the back way, meeting Chalamet inside the Dolby Theatre where they’re taking their seats side by side.
Though Jenner prefers to let her A Complete Unknown leading man boyfriend soak up the spotlight on the red carpet solo, she can’t keep herself from planting a kiss on him once inside.
Her sparkly black custom Miu Miu gown is a perfect contrast for his bright yellow Givenchy suit, which caught plenty of attention on the red carpet.
IN PICTURES: The bejewelled looks stealing the show at the 2025 Oscars
Meg Ryan makes a rare red carpet appearance
Meg Ryan is walking the Academy Awards red carpet for the first time in more than 20 years!
She’s wearing a structured column gown in a rich burgundy velvet, the square neckline perfectly contrasted by her soft signature curls.
This is a rare outing for the actress, who retired from acting for nearly a decade before making a comeback in 2023.
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She appeared at the Oscars Vanity Fair after party last year, though she didn’t walk the Academy Awards red carpet.
Ryan was last photographed on the Oscars red carpet way back in 1998, when she walked it with then-husband Dennis Quaid.
READ MORE: Harrison Ford pulls out of Oscars after shock diagnosis
Surprising actors and actresses who have never won Oscars
What’s going on across town…
Over in West Hollywood, stars who didn’t score an invite to the Oscars ceremony this year are arriving at the Elton John AIDS Foundation’s Annual Academy Awards Viewing Party.
Heidi Klum and Jane Seymour arrived in very different but equally captivating outfits; Klum in a fitted black gown with a daring plunging neckline, Seymour in a strapless cobalt frock with delightful floral details floating out from the waist.
Other stars who have already arrived include Bobby Berk from Queer Eye, Chris Colfer of Glee fame, and social media star Dylan Mulvaney.
Later in the evening even more stars are expected to turn out for the famed Oscars after parties that are hosted all around the city.
A-listers and award nominees are arriving
Ariana Grande is here! She’s among the first of a long list of A-listers and award nominees to hit the red carpet, which she’s walking in Schiaparelli SS25 Couture.
The Wicked actress, who is up for Best Supporting Actress, is also wearing a sparkling De Beers necklace worth an incredible $US34,000 (approx. $54,000) and matching diamond earrings.
READ MORE: What is the Oscars dress code, exactly?
She’s in good company with fellow star Elle Fanning, who appears to be wearing a priceless Cartier diamond choker on the red carpet in LA.
The two actresses have stopped to share a quick hug and a chat between posing for photos, holding hands for a moment before continuing on their way down the red carpet.
The red carpet kicks off with a bang
American songwriter Diane Warren is among the first stars to walk the red carpet and has caught everyone’s attention as she reveals a hidden message under her collar.
The Grammy, Emmy and Golden Globe winner arrived in what seemed like an understated navy suit with sparkly musical motifs on her tie and the back of her jacket.
Then she turned her back to photographers and flipped up her collar, revealing a secret message embroidered on the blue felt underneath.
The empowering message in white thread read: “Make it f–king happen.”
Though you may not recognise Warren’s face, she’s worked on countless hit tracks with legendary musicians like Taylor Swift, Beyoncé and Mariah Carey.
What’s in the goodie bags
Everyone knows there’s more to attending the Oscars that wearing a fancy outfit and walking the red carpet: attendees also get lavish goodie bags.
This year’s bags are said to be worth a staggering $US215,000 (approx. $346,000) and contain everything from luxury skincare to overseas holidays to Sri Lanka.
There’s reportedly also almost $US500 (approx. $800) worth of dog clothes and pillows – a nod to Best Actress nominee Demi Moore’s pampered pooch Pilaf perhaps?
READ MORE: Tributes flow in for Gene Hackman after star and wife found dead
Lash Fary, who owns Distinctive Assets, the brand behind the goodie bags, told Hello! Magazine that some of the gifts had a special focus this year in the wake of the devastating LA wildfires.
“While our gifts may be famous for being fun and fabulous, they also serve as a means to elevate small businesses, minority-owned brands, female entrepreneurs and companies that give back,” she said.
“This year, on the heels of the historically tragic LA fires, we have found even more ways that our celebrity swag can do good in our community.”
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