Jessica Chastain wins Best Actress at the Oscars 2022

The Eyes of Tammy Faye
(Image credit: Searchlight)

Jessica Chastain has won the Oscar for Best Actress for The Eyes of Tammy Faye at the 2022 Academy Awards. 

She was up against Nicole Kidman (Being the Ricardos), Kristen Stewart (Spencer), Olivia Colman (The Lost Daughter), and Penelope Cruz (Parallel Mothers).

Chastain thanked her "scene partner and collaborator, Andrew Garfield, the brilliant Andrew Garfield," and spoke of the difficulty of the last few years, using her platform to discuss suicide awareness, and legislation and hate crimes targeting the LGBTQA+ community. 

"In times like this I think of Tammy, and I'm inspired by her radical acts of love," the actor said. "We've talked about love a lot tonight. Inspired by her compassion, I see it as a guiding principle that leads us forward. For any of you out there who do in fact feel hopeless or alone, I just want you to know that you are unconditionally loved for the uniqueness that is you."

Chastain plays the titular Tammy Faye in the movie, which is directed by Michael Showalter. The biographical drama chronicles the televangelist's rise to fame – as well as her eventual downfall, along with husband Jim Bakker, played by Andrew Garfield (who is himself nominated for Best Actor for Tick… Tick… Boom).

The Eyes of Tammy Faye was nominated for two Oscars total tonight – the film was also up for Best Makeup and Hairstyling, which it won.

You can stream the film now on HBO Max in the US and Disney Plus in the UK – and check out our full Oscars 2022 winners list for all the major wins from the awards.

Molly Edwards
Entertainment Writer

I'm an Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering all things film and TV for the site's Total Film and SFX sections. I previously worked on the Disney magazines team at Immediate Media, and also wrote on the CBeebies, MEGA!, and Star Wars Galaxy titles after graduating with a BA in English.