Underdog Mikey Madison was almost as shocked as viewers last night when Chiwetel Ejiofor and Leo Woodall read her name aloud from the golden envelope for Best Actress in front of Hollywood’s most talented at the 78th edition of the BAFTA Awards.

The unpredictable breakout star of $6million Independent movie Anora had her monumental ‘star is born’ moment as she bewildered her fellow nominees in a huge defeat for main rival Demi Moore, 62. The surprise victory marked a significant upset in this year’s awards season as Moore had been seen as the frontrunner following her wins at both the Golden Globes and Critics’ Choice Awards.

After missing out on the EE Rising Star award - in favour of Alien: Romulus actor David Jonsson, 31 - it looked incredibly likely Madison’s chance for recognition on stage had passed. But the star’s meteoric rise should not have been understated.

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The relatively unknown 25-year-old is the only person to rise from Scream villain to Golden Globes and Oscar nominee within the space of three short years. Genuinely shocked, Madison took to the mic dressed in a custom white bustier Prada gown and glistening Tiffany necklace, and delivered a heartfelt and moving, unscripted speech that reflected why she had so effortlessly won over Screenland.

“I probably should have listened to my publicist and wrote a speech or something,” she humbly said, thanking her fellow cast members and crew, including co-star Yuri Borisov, for making her “dreams come true”.

Applause filled the room as Madison paid recognition to the sex worker community after stepping into their shoes for the role of lap dancer Ani. “I will always be a friend and an ally, and I implore others to do the same," she said.

It was the part of Ani, whose too-good-to-be-true romance with the son of a Russian billionaire won over voters, that ultimately stole her the crown from Moore and fellow nominees including internationally acclaimed actress Marianne Jean-Baptiste, 57, and awards stalwart Saoirse Ronan, 30.

Madison expressed her gratitude for her mother, whom she dubbed her “favourite scene partner” and supportive chauffeur, for having taken her to “literally hundreds of auditions” over the last decade.

Yet not a single actor makes up Madison’s family tree. Her parents are both psychologists - her mother working with children and her father specialising in schizophrenics. The pair have passed down a unique perspective, with Madison, real name Mikaela Madison Rosberg, crediting them for helping her empathise and stay in touch with her emotions.

Perhaps it was this deep understanding of people that gave her a secret edge, allowing her to impressively exceed the credentials of her role models; filmmaker Sofia Coppola, a three-time BAFTA nominee, and actress Pamela Adlon, who has never made the shortlist.

Before Anora, Madison’s name was known to very few. She started acting professionally in 2016 when she joined comedy-drama Max Fox, before landing a role as a Manson family member in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon A Time… in Hollywood in 2019. But it was her aura in front of the camera that caught the attention of American writer and director Sean Baker, who wrote the role of Ani especially for her.

“She’s so unique,” he told the . “She’s quite reserved. But then suddenly, she can explode like no other person I’ve ever seen, no other actor I’ve ever seen.”

It was Madison’s role in the fifth instalment of the Scream horror franchise in 2024 that sparked a meeting with Baker, who set out to write the script for movie Anora on the condition that she agreed to play the lead role.

As the self-described introvert told GQ last month, “Lots of people have no idea who I am”, and she actively does little to change that, having no social media presence and spending her spare time “in her own little ”. For young Madison, this lonesome trait is very much her to the core, as she was once too scared to talk in front of her class. “I was just painfully shy. I couldn’t talk to anyone,” the former horseback rider told Interview Magazine. “Going up in front of [the] class, I would have to mentally prepare myself to raise my hand.”

One of four siblings, Madison grew up a quiet equestrian and told W Magazine: “I was always the horse girl… My twin brother would pretend that we weren’t siblings.” But with age, and a move to Los Angeles, Madison sparked an interest in acting, jointly inspired by the Hunger Games films and her older sister’s partner, who is a writer.

After her mother signed her up for her first acting class, Madison got tunnel-vision and set her heart on portraying film characters, acting in low-budget movies until she booked Better Things in 2016. She told The Cut that the drama was “my introduction to acting, my college, my film school, really everything.”

She has barely been able to process her own sudden rise and has lived a fairytale life, being interviewed by Pamela Anderson as part of Variety’s iconic Actors on Actors series, and sitting on Graham Norton’s sofa alongside 81-year-old actor Robert De Niro, who she blames for her not-quite-prepared BAFTA’s speech.

“I wish I had made a better speech, Robert De Niro told me on a talk show now to prepare a speech, so I thought it best to listen to him,” she confessed coming off the red carpet last night, calling herself “disassociated but incredibly honoured” following the bombshell win.

Speaking to a swarm of cameras, Madison went on: “It is really surreal. I don’t know if I will ever grasp the magnitude of being in a room like that… with people who made me fall in love with film and acting.”

But in her modest and unpretentious way, Madison revealed that she would be celebrating her victorious landslide - and the wider win of film Anora, also picked for Best Casting gong - alongside her “best friend” who joined her for the ceremony. “...And I will probably call my mum again,” she proudly added.