Oscar winner Zoe Saldaña has been hailed as a “world-class performer” by her Avatar director James Cameron.

The Guardians of the Galaxy star enjoyed a clean sweep in the Best Supporting Actress category this awards season, winning the Golden Globe, BAFTA, SAG award, and finally, the coveted Oscar for her performance in Emilia Pérez.

Following her Oscar win on Sunday, Avatar director Cameron celebrated his leading lady’s victory in a statement to Variety.

“I was so happy to see Zoe acknowledged as the world-class performer we, in the Avatar family, have always known her to be,” he praised. “Her acceptance speech was a noble reminder of what immigrant families bring to the U.S. and to Hollywood.”

During her acceptance speech, Saldaña referred to herself as the “proud child of immigrant parents” and revealed she was the first American of Dominican descent to win an Oscar.

“And I know I will not be the last. I hope,” she continued. “The fact that I’m getting an award for a role where I got to sing and speak in Spanish – my grandmother, if she were here, she would be so delighted, this is for my grandmother.”

The Titanic filmmaker has championed Saldaña throughout this awards season, and he was one of the first people to contact her following her Golden Globes win in January.

“I was sitting in the audience, and I received a message from James Cameron, who’s somewhere in New Zealand right now, cutting Avatar: Fire and Ash. And he, after all these years, believes in me,” she told the press. “So that, to me, nourishes my desire to continue growing as an artist.”

Saldaña made her debut as the blue-skinned Neytiri in 2009’s Avatar and reprised the role in 2022’s Avatar: The Way of the Water. The third film, Avatar: Fire and Ash, will be released in December, followed by the fourth and fifth films in 2029 and 2031.

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