Demi Moore Celebrates First-Ever Major Award Win at the 2025 Golden Globes as a "Marker of My Wholeness"

After 45 years in the industry and a producer told her 30 years ago she was only "a popcorn actress," the star took home a trophy.

Demi Moore accepts a Golden Globe Award for her performance in 'The Substance,' at the 2025 Golden Globes.
(Image credit: Rich Polk/GG2025/Penske Media via Getty Images)

Demi Moore won her first major acting award at the 2025 Golden Globes and used her acceptance speech to honor women who struggle to "know the value of your worth."

As she took to the stage on Sunday, January 5 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in L.A. to accept the Golden Globe for Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy for her performance in The Substance, Moore said she was "in shock" at her win for the body-horror film, and pointed out that it was her first-ever prestigious acting award.

"I’ve been doing this a long time—like over 45 years—and this is the first time I’ve ever won anything as an actor," the star, 62, began. "I'm just so humbled and so grateful. 30 years ago, I had a producer tell me that I was 'a popcorn actress' and at that time, I made that mean that this wasn't something that I wasn’t something that I was allowed to have, that I could do movies that were successful, that made a lot of money, but that I couldn't be acknowledged."

Demi Moore wearing a glowy makeup look during the 2025 Golden Globes

Demi Moore walks the red carpet at the 2025 Golden Globes.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

"I bought in and I believed that. And that corroded me over time to the point where I thought a few years ago that maybe this was it, maybe I was complete, maybe I've done what I was supposed to do. As I was at kind of a low point, I had this magical bold, courageous, out-of-the-box, absolutely bonkers script come across my desk called The Substance, and the universe told me that you're not done."

"I am so grateful to [writer/director] Coralie [Fargeat] for trusting me to step in and play this woman," Moore continued. "For Margaret [Qualley] for being the other half of me that I couldn't have done without, for looking out for me. To the people who've been with me for over 30 years…all of the people who stood by me, especially the people who believed in me when I haven't believed in myself."

She concluded by referring to how the themes of The Substance—which follows an aging fitness star as she undergoes a risky procedure that makes her a younger double—resonate. Moore said, "I'll just leave you with one thing that I think this movie is imparting, in those moments when we don't think we're smart enough or pretty enough or skinny enough or successful enough or basically just not enough. I had a woman say to me, 'Just know, you will never be enough, but you can know the value of your worth if you just put down the measuring stick.' So today I celebrate this as a marker of my wholeness and of the love that is driving me and for the gift of doing something I love and being reminded that I do belong. Thank you so much."

demi moore as elisabeth sparkle looking in a mirror in the substance

Moore, as Elisabeth Sparkle, in The Substance.

(Image credit: MUBI)

While this Golden Globe marks Moore's first win at the awards show, over her career, she has been nominated for three other Golden Globes—for the films Ghost and If These Walls Could Talk. She also won an Independent Spirit Award as part of the ensemble cast of Margin Call.

Moore is expected to rack up more nominations throughout awards season. So far, she has also received a Critics Choice nomination for Best Actress. The Substance is currently streaming on Mubi, and available to rent on Amazon Prime Video.

The Substance was nominated across multiple categories at the 2025 Golden Globes: The feminist horror film also received nods for Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy and Best Screenplay, while filmmaker Coralie Fargeat received a Best Director nod and Moore's costar Margaret Qualley was nominated for Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture.

Culture Writer

Quinci is a Culture Writer who covers all aspects of pop culture, including TV, movies, music, books, and theater. She contributes interviews with talent, as well as SEO content, features, and trend stories. She fell in love with storytelling at a young age, and eventually discovered her love for cultural criticism and amplifying awareness for underrepresented storytellers across the arts. She previously served as a weekend editor for Harper’s Bazaar, where she covered breaking news and live events for the brand’s website, and helped run the brand’s social media platforms, including Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. Her freelance writing has also appeared in outlets including HuffPost, The A.V. Club, Elle, Vulture, Salon, Teen Vogue, and others. Quinci earned her degree in English and Psychology from The University of New Mexico. She was a 2021 Eugene O’Neill Critics Institute fellow, and she is a member of the Television Critics Association. She is currently based in her hometown of Los Angeles. When she isn't writing or checking Twitter way too often, you can find her studying Korean while watching the latest K-drama, recommending her favorite shows and films to family and friends, or giving a concert performance while sitting in L.A. traffic.