Chloé Zhao's 'Hamnet' Earns Eight Oscar Nominations; Jessie Buckley Wins Best Actress
On March 15, at the 98th Academy Awards in Los Angeles, 'Hamnet,' directed by Chinese filmmaker Chloé Zhao, collected eight nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director, and its star Jessie Buckley won Best Actress for her portrayal of Shakespeare's wife, Agnes. It is the second time a Zhao-directed film has produced a Best Actress winner: in 2021, Frances McDormand won for 'Nomadland,' which also brought Zhao Best Picture and Best Director.
Adapted from Maggie O'Farrell's novel and co-written by Zhao and O'Farrell, 'Hamnet' tells of William and Agnes Shakespeare losing their 11-year-old son Hamnet, the grief that would give rise to 'Hamlet.' During this awards season the film had already won Best Motion Picture – Drama and Best Actress at January's Golden Globes, and took Outstanding British Film and Leading Actress at the BAFTAs, where its 11 nominations set a record for a film directed by a woman.
Born in Beijing in 1982, Zhao left China for school in Britain and the United States as a teenager and studied film at New York University. She is the first woman of color to win the Academy Award for Best Director and only the second woman ever nominated twice in the category. (GSM, based on public reporting)
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：赵婷2026年2月出席柏林电影节。图片来源：Wikimedia Commons（CC BY-SA 4.0，Harald Krichel 摄）。Photo: Chloé Zhao at the Berlin International Film Festival in February 2026. Source: Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0), photo by Harald Krichel.
