Allison Janney has won the Oscar for best supporting actress at the 90th annual Academy Awards for her brash turn as LaVona Golden in I, Tonya. Nominated for an Oscar for the first time, the veteran took the award ahead of Laurie Metcalf of Lady Bird, who was considered Janney’s closest competition in the category.
In her acceptance speech, Janney joked “I did it all myself!” before going on to thank her collaborators on the film, as well as veteran actor Joanne Woodward, with whom she appeared in the 1993 TV movie Blind Spot.
In the blackly comic Tonya Harding biopic directed by Craig Gillespie, Janney plays the figure-skating prodigy’s chain-smoking, domineering mother. Janney was previously best known for playing White House press secretary CJ Cregg in The West Wing.
I, Tonya tells the story of Harding, the disgraced American figure skater who was banned from the sport after an investigation into her involvement in an attack on rival Olympian Nancy Kerrigan. At the Oscars, 58-year-old Janney added another trophy to her collection after sweeping the Golden Globes, Baftas, Critics’ Choice, and Screen Actors Guild awards.
As well as Metcalf, Janney also beat out Lesley Manville (Phantom Thread), Octavia Spencer (The Shape of Water), and Mary J Blige (Mudbound).
