Demi Moore was calm and content as she lost best actress Oscar to Mikey Madison

Demi Moore felt calm and content as she lost the Academy Award for best actress to Mikey Madison.

The 62-year-old actress was hotly tipped to take home the gong at the 2025 ceremony for her role in beauty and ageing satire ‘The Substance’, but lost to Mikey, 25, who played a gold-digging stripper in ‘Anora’ at the event.

Speaking to Time magazine, Demi revealed she had a strong intuition that the award would go to Mikey, even moments before the winner was announced, adding: “I didn’t feel gutted. I didn’t feel any of those kinds of things.”

Demi added about the awards ceremony: “I leaned over and whispered to my manager, ‘I think it’s going to Mikey’.

“I don’t know why I knew, but I did. I was so centered and calm. I just trusted, and am in trust of, whatever is going to unfold.”

The 96th Academy Awards, held earlier this year in Los Angeles, saw Mikey pick up the best actress award for her role in Sean Baker’s ‘Anora’.

Sean’s movie had already collected major wins for best editing, original screenplay and best director, establishing itself as a frontrunner before it went on to claim the night’s top honour — best picture.

Demi entered the ceremony as one of the top contenders for her performance in ‘The Substance’, having previously won best lead actress at the Golden Globes, Critics’ Choice Awards and SAG Awards.

Mikey, however, had gained momentum after her BAFTA win for her ‘Anora’ role, and both actresses were widely considered favourites in the category.

The day after the ceremony, Demi took to Instagram to express her appreciation for the journey and offered congratulations to Mikey.

“As this awards season comes to a close, I’m so overwhelmed with gratitude for this journey,” she wrote. Demi added in her post: “It’s been the ride of a lifetime and we’re just getting started! So grateful for my team, my fellow nominees, and everyone who has made this experience so full of joy and light… and a huge congratulations to Mikey Madison — can’t wait to see what you do next.”