Renée Zellweger’s Judy Garland portrayal wins big at SAG

Actress Renée Zellweger couldn’t help but get emotional as she thanked her fellow actors when she won big at the Screen Actors Guild Awards on Saturday. Her performance as Judy Garland in the musical biopic “Judy” bagged the Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role award. The actress made sure to pay tribute to the late performer during her acceptance speech.

“I’m just so grateful and for the privilege of reflecting on the life of one of our own and most beloved,” the actress said of Garland who was a prominent figure in Hollywood during her lifetime. “Judy Garland, 50 years later, your community is thinking of you tonight. This is for you.”

Zellweger also mentioned her fellow nominees Scarlett Johansson (Marriage Story), Charlize Theron (Bombshell), Lupita Nyong’o (Us) and Cynthia Erivo (Harriet). She affectionately referred to them as “extraordinary sisters, whose work touches me so deeply.”

The actress’s win marks her second major honor for the role during this awards season. She is also vying for an Academy Award for actress in a leading role in the forthcoming 2020 Oscars. Many were stunned by her transformation as Garland. The Rupert Goold-helmed film is one of the strings of biopics that have raked in big at the box office including 2018’s Bohemian Rhapsody and 2019’s Rocketman.

“Your example inspires me. I feel so lucky to be a member of this family of storytellers who gets to do work that reflects the experience of being human and fosters understanding, and empathy and unity, and, with some luck, maybe pushes history a little bit closer to the light,” she says about the Screen Actors Guild.