SAG Awards 2025: Demi Moore Triumphs with Best Actress Win for The Substance; 'It Was In 1978...'

Demi Moore gets emotional at the SAG Awards 2025 as she takes home the Best Actress trophy for The Substance. Read on to know the details.

Written by Ipshita Chakraborty , Entertainment Journalist

Updated on Feb 24, 2025 | 10:27 AM IST | 10.8K

CC: Getty Images

Demi Moore received the Best Actress trophy at the SAG Awards 2025 for The Substance.

As the most recent addition to her awards circuit run for The Substance, Moore took home the Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role award at the Screen Actors Guild (SAG). She has received the best actress honors at the Golden Globes and Critics' Choice Awards, effectively setting her as a serious contender for the upcoming Academy Awards.

During her emotional acceptance speech, Moore reminisced about nearly 50 years in the business, including how receiving her SAG-AFTRA membership as a teenager in 1978 became a moment of transformation for her—a moment of direction and purpose. She acknowledged many of the industry professionals—casting directors, producers, and directors—who afforded her opportunities pivotal in shaping her journey.

Moore reminisced, "I was thinking about this night and I realized I hadn’t thought back to when I got my membership to this incredible organization. It was in 1978. I was 15, almost 16. It changed my life because it gave me meaning. It gave me purpose. It gave direction. I was a kid on my own who had no blueprint for life. I knew nothing about acting, but I watched and I listened and I learned from all of you."

Moore added, "You have all been my greatest teachers and I am so so grateful that I have continued over these so many years. To be able to keep going. And I could not do that without the support of my incredible team."

Mentoring, she said, was important to her, saying young people should stop trying to figure it all out on their own and instead focus on making real connections with other people. She also gave some interesting insights from her own life, particularly with respect to belief.

For her, the surefire way of turning one's dream into reality is by having strong faith in it. The actress shared her mantra, saying, "There's this idea that what we believe is so much more powerful than what we think ... the saying, 'I'll believe it when I see it,' but the reality is, 'When I believe it, I will see it.'"

Moore beat Pamela Anderson for The Last Showgirl, Cynthia Erivo for Wicked, Karla Sofía Gascon for Emilia Pérez, and Mikey Madison for Anora to win the Best Actress trophy at the SAG Awards 2025. Her performance has garnered acclaim for Elizabeth Sparkle in The Substance.

Moore's acting in the horror film has received lauds since its September debut at the Cannes Film Festival. At the Critics' Choice Awards, in her acceptance speech, she further highlighted the importance of being aware of horror films that some tend to overlook when they actually have beautiful messages and are relevant.

Demi Moore now looks forward to the Oscars on March 2, where she remains a top contender for the Best Actress award.