Good morning! Senate Democrats block “born alive” abortion bill, Binance Labs will become a family office, and we’re in for an interesting Oscars season. Have a restorative weekend!
– What to watch. The nominations are in—and this year’s Academy Awards bring us some milestones and notable snubs.
Karla Sofia Gascón earned the most historic nomination: for her role in Emilia Pérez, she’s the first openly trans person nominated for any acting Oscar. In the movie musical, she plays a trans Mexican cartel leader—and her nomination arrives amid an American political climate that has become even more hostile toward trans people. Gascón used her speech during the Golden Globes to speak out for trans rights: “You [can] put us in jail, you can beat us up [but] you never can take away our soul, our existence, our identity,” she said. Her Oscar nomination arrives after President Donald Trump issued an executive order declaring the U.S. government only recognizes two biological sexes: “He is shameless,” she said in an interview after her nomination yesterday. But throughout her Oscar campaign, she urged voters to vote for her based on the merits of her performance, not because of or in spite of her identity.
The Substance received five nominations, a feat for a body-horror film about the pressures on women to stay youthful forever. The film’s director Coralie Fargeat is the only woman nominated in the best director category this year, the ninth woman ever nominated. And Demi Moore’s ascent continues: The actress, who said her Golden Globe was the first time she ever received an acting award in her 44-year career, earned a best actress Oscar nomination.
In the documentary category, I’d recommend checking out nominee Black Box Diaries, journalist Shiori Ito’s account of investigating her own sexual assault, a case that transformed Japan over the past decade.
But as much as Hollywood makes progress, it falls victim to the same tropes. Actor Marianne Jean-Baptiste didn’t receive a nod for her role in Hard Truths, where she plays a deeply unhappy woman who gripes at the world around her. While Jean-Baptiste has received some other nominations this awards season, the New York Times reports that her Oscar snub may have been influenced by the unlikability of her character. “It was hard to shake the number of male voters I spoke to who simply didn’t like the character,” Kyle Buchanan wrote. “When a woman suffers nobly, it’s Oscar bait. But when she makes others suffer, not so much.”
The ceremony is set for March 2, where we’ll also see nominees including Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande for Wicked, Mikey Madison for Anora, and Monica Barbaro for A Complete Unknown.
Emma Hinchliffe
[email protected]
The Most Powerful Women Daily newsletter is Fortune’s daily briefing for and about the women leading the business world. Today’s edition was curated by Nina Ajemian. Subscribe here.
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- Abortion updates. Senate Democrats blocked the Republican “born alive” bill, which would have criminalized doctors for failing to resuscitate infants born alive following an attempted abortion. Also, a new study suggests another drug as an alternative to mifepristone, the drug used for medication abortion. But it’s a key ingredient in an emergency contraceptive, which could complicate the public’s perception of the difference between abortion and emergency contraception.
- New name, new game. Binance Labs, the venture capital arm of crypto exchange giant Binance Holdings cofounded by Changpeng Zhao and He Yi (who have three children together), is turning into a family office with a new name: YZi Labs. Ella Zhang, who helped launch Binance Labs, is returning to run the firm. Zhao is making the change after serving a short stint in prison for failing to prevent criminals and terrorists from trading. Bloomberg
- Skincare stake. Private equity firm SKKY Partners, cofounded by Kim Kardashian, acquired a minority stake in the London-based skincare brand 111Skin, which brought in £20.3 million ($24.9 million) in revenue in 2023. This is the firm’s first investment in a beauty company. Business of Fashion
- Cast out. Admiral Linda Fagan was removed by the Trump administration from her position leading the Coast Guard. She was the first woman in charge of a U.S. military branch and held the role since 2022. Washington Post
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Annie Young-Scrivner is stepping down as CEO of the Wella Company, the hair and nail care business behind OPI and Clairol.
Nav, a credit platform serving small businesses, named Grace Liu CFO. Previously, she was CFO of Tango.
LateralCare, a health care technology company, appointed Niobis Queiro as chief product officer. She is CEO of The Queiro Group.
SmartBear, a software quality company, named Vineeta Puranik CTO. She was previously the company’s SVP, engineering and DevOps.
Battelle, a science and technology research organization, appointed Shannon Bennett as SVP of marketing and communications. Most recently, she was VP of global communications at Materion.
E2open, a supply chain platform, appointed Susan E. Bennett as chief legal officer and secretary. Bennett most recently served as the company’s interim EVP, general counsel and secretary.
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“Society doesn’t allow women of color to be vulnerable at work. When you’re a first, you don’t get the benefit of the doubt.”
—Former White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on keeping her life private during her tenure, including caring for her mother during cancer treatment
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