Amy Madigan made history at the 2026 Academy Awards by winning the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her chilling role as Aunt Gladys in Zach Cregger’s horror film, Weapons. This victory marks a significant milestone, breaking a particularly long drought in the category, as the last person to win Best Supporting Actress for a horror movie was Ruth Gordon for 1968’s Rosemary’s Baby, over five decades ago. Madigan’s win is a testament to her layered and complex performance, which instantly captivated both fans and award voters, transforming her character into an unforgettable horror icon.

In Weapons, Madigan embodies Aunt Gladys, the main antagonist who subtly infiltrates the Lilly family’s home, claiming to care for their young son, Alex (Cary Christopher), while his parents are supposedly ill. The film, directed and written by Zach Cregger, explores the mysterious disappearance of 17 children in Maybrook, Pennsylvania. Gladys is revealed to be a parasitic witch with the sinister ability to control people by possessing something of theirs. She is orchestrating the children’s disappearance, intending to drain their life force to sustain her own. Madigan’s terror-inducing performance stems from a profound subversion of innocent themes, much like iconic horror villains who twist the mundane into the monstrous. Her portrayal of Gladys, an ostensibly kindly older relative with the predatory cunning of a supernatural beast, unsettled audiences by calmly manipulating those around her, especially children, thereby dismantling our most primal notions of safety and trust. Director Zach Cregger himself praised Madigan, stating in an interview with Vanity Fair that she “saved” the film and that “without her, the movie doesn’t work.”

Madigan’s historic achievement draws clear parallels to Ruth Gordon’s groundbreaking win for Rosemary’s Baby. In Roman Polanski's legendary 1968 horror film, Mia Farrow plays an expectant mother who suspects her eccentric neighbors, Minnie and Roman Castevet (Ruth Gordon and Sidney Blackmer), harbor sinister intentions for her unborn child. Gordon’s Minnie, much like Madigan’s Gladys, initially appears as a friendly, if slightly fussy, elderly woman, clad in colorful clothes and makeup. The horror in both performances lies in this deceptive normalcy; the very individuals one would naturally trust with the care of a child are revealed to harbor malevolent plans. This paradox creates intense anxiety, culminating in shocking climaxes for both films. Rosemary’s Baby remains an all-time great in the horror genre, with its legacy further explored in the 2024 prequel series Apartment 7A, which coincidentally features Weapons actor Julia Garner in a role originated by Gordon.

Madigan’s Best Supporting Actress win is a rare occurrence for horror performances, which have historically been scarcely recognized by the Academy. Before this year’s awards, only six actors had ever won an Oscar for a horror film. These include Fredric March for Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1932, Best Actor), Ruth Gordon for Rosemary’s Baby (1968, Best Supporting Actress), Kathy Bates for Misery (1990, Best Actress), Anthony Hopkins and Jodie Foster for The Silence of the Lambs (1991, Best Actor and Best Actress, respectively), and Natalie Portman for Black Swan (2010, Best Actress). Madigan’s win, alongside Michael B. Jordan’s Best Actor award for Sinners, elevates them to the seventh and eighth actors to achieve such a feat. The Academy has generally favored dramas and biopics over genre films, making these victories all the more remarkable. Only time will tell if Madigan’s success signals a shift in the Academy’s perception of horror, or if such memorable performances will continue to be rare exceptions.

Weapons, produced by Roy Lee, Miri Yoon, and J.D. Lifshitz, and starring Julia Garner, Josh Brolin, Cary Christopher, and Amy Madigan, was released on August 8, 2025, and is available to stream on HBO Max in the U.S.