Selfies, falls & sexual tension: Looking back at the most ICONIC Oscars moments

With this years’ Academy Awards around the corner, let’s reflect on some ceremonies of the past


For a celeb-culture fanatic like myself, the first few months of the new year are synonymous with awards season. Grammys, Oscars, BRITs: you throw the world’s A-list celebs into one big sparkly room, dish out (maybe a few too many) bottles of champagne, and you’ve got yourself a recipe for some truly award-worthy pop-culture moments.

Of course, the infamous Academy Awards ceremony certainly takes the crown for being the most chaotic of them all – need I mention THAT La La Land/Moonlight palaver? if it’s not Jennifer Lawrence falling up the stairs, then it’ll be John Travolta absolutely butchering someone’s name – and it’s all on live telly *chef’s kiss*.

So, without further ado, let’s take a trip down memory lane and get ourselves pumped up for this months’ annual ceremony by fully immersing ourselves in the chaos, and having a giggle at some of the most ICONIC moments from the most glamorous night in Hollywood.

THAT record-breaking selfie (2014)

Where else would I begin than with the selfie that literally broke records with its star power?

At the 2014 ceremony, host Ellen Degeneres decided to round up a couple of her celebrity pals from the front rows and whip out her phone, which led to Bradley Cooper taking the lead and capturing what is now known simply as “the Oscars Selfie”.

Ellen went on to post the snap to Twitter with the caption: “If only Bradley’s arm was longer. Best photo ever”, and she certainly wasn’t wrong. Amongst others, the iconic selfie includes a grinning Jennifer Lawrence, a pre-divorce Brangelina (RIP) and of course, the reigning Queen of the Oscars, Meryl Streep (basically my dream dinner party guests). With a lineup like that, are we shocked that it shortly became one of the most retweeted photos of all time? Not one bit.

Olivia Colman just being everyone’s favourite person whilst winning an Oscar (2019)

After beating out the likes of Lady Gaga and Glenn Close to take the award for Best Actress, the Peep Show icon (and all-round national treasure) made her way to the stage through a sea of standing ovations to give what has gone on to become one of the most memorable (and chaotic) Oscar acceptance speeches of all time.

In typical British fashion, Olivia took to the stage after winning for her portrayal of Queen Anne in The Favourite, and opened her speech by saying: “This is hilarious. I’ve got an Oscar!”. She then proceeded to offer “a massive snog” to anyone who she forgot to thank, and closed her speech by simply professing her love for fellow nominee, Lady Gaga – I’d probably do the same.

A Queen both on screen and in our hearts – we love you, Olivia.

Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper’s steamy ‘Shallow’ performance (2019

During the 2019 ceremony, Gaga and Bradley rose from their front row seats and floated towards the stage hand-in-hand to perform an incredibly… intimate rendition of the song “Shallow” from the remake of the Hollywood classic, A Star is Born, in which they both starred.

Things started off slow: the pair stood facing each other in front of the piano, a whooole lotta eye contact. It was almost as if the audience weren’t there – just the two of them and the grand piano. Oh – and Bradley’s supermodel wife, Irina Shayk, who was sitting front row. Shayk isn’t an actress herself, but boy… she gave an Oscar-worthy performance pretending to be totally cool with the sheer amount of sexual tension radiating from that stage.

Jennifer Lawrence takes a trip (2013)

Jennifer Lawrence solidified her status as the internet’s BFF when she took a tumble up the stairs on her way to collect her Oscar for Best Actress (oh so relatable).

The Silver Linings Playbook star made headlines as she stumbled on the fabric of her Christian Dior Couture gown (happens to the best of us) during the biggest moment of her career thus far. But have no fear, the ever-reliable Hugh Jackman was there to lend a helping hand as J-Law found her feet again – seriously, we’ve all been there, right?

She received a standing ovation once she finally made it up to the stage, to which she joked in her acceptance speech: “You guys are just standing up because you feel bad that I fell”. Some have claimed that the fall was faked, but regardless, the moment went down in Oscars history.

Leo FINALLY gets his Oscar (2016)

Good things come to those who wait, right Leo?

After years of wasted acceptance speeches, and try-to-look-happy-for-the-person-who-won-even-though-you-lost-again faces, the Hollywood veteran FINALLY got his hands on an Oscar statue for his harrowing performance in The Revenant.

It was a long time coming, but he finally got there – and all it took was sleeping in a horse carcass and getting mauled by a couple of grizzly bears. If only he’d known that a few years earlier!

Just when we couldn’t love him more, he went on to dedicate his acceptance speech to battling climate change – love that guy.

So there you have it. The 93rd Academy Awards are due to take place in Los Angeles, as usual, on April 25th (1am on the 26th here in the UK). Little has been given away regarding how the show might run this year, but what we do know is that while the Oscars might look a little different to usual, there’s no doubt that Hollywood’s A-list will deliver the goods and provide us with some more memorable moments.

Feature Image via YouTube

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