LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jessie Buckley claimed her first Oscar on Sunday for her “Hamnet” performance that prompted almost anyone who saw it to blow through a box of tissues.
The prize for best actress went to second-time nominee Buckley for her role as William Shakespeare’s wife, Agnes, in the drama directed by Chloé Zhao.
Buckley burst into a fit of laughter before beginning her speech, saying, “This is really something.”
“It’s Mother’s Day in the U.K. today, so I would like to dedicate this to the beautiful chaos of a mother’s heart,” she said. “We all come from a lineage of women who continue to create against all odds. Thank you for recognizing me in this role.”
Buckley, who is Irish, had swept the awards circuit leading up to the ceremony, winning in her category at the Critics Choice Awards, Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Actor Awards. She is the first Irish performer to win a best actress Oscar.
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A front-runner in the category, Buckley was nominated alongside first-time nominees Rose Byrne for “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You” and Renate Reinsve for “Sentimental Value.” Two-time winner Emma Stone was also nominated for “Bugonia,” as was two-time nominee Kate Hudson for “Song Sung Blue.”
“Hamnet,” which is an adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s prizewinning historical fiction novel from 2020, dramatizes the mysterious private life of the famed playwright and poet Shakespeare and his wife Anne Hathaway (who was also called Agnes). The plot centers on the death of the couple’s 11-year-old son, Hamnet, and the intense grief that followed.
Fellow Irish actor Paul Mescal plays William as the story imagines a connection between Hamnet’s tragic death and the birth of what many consider to be Shakespeare’s greatest tragedy, “Hamlet.” (The two names were virtually interchangeable in England during the 16th century).
The film developed a reputation for leaving audiences in tears, due in large part to the potency of Buckley’s performance. She was previously nominated for the supporting actress Oscar for her turn in the 2021 film “The Lost Daughter.”
The drama received eight Oscar nominations, including for directing, adapted screenplay and best picture.
For more coverage of the 2026 Oscars, visit https://apnews.com/hub/academy-awards.
Jessie Buckley wins the best actress Oscar for tear-jerking ‘Hamnet’ performance. Photo source: AP News
Chelsea was fined $14.3 million but avoided a points deduction after admitting to breaching Premier League rules in relation to undisclosed payments of more than $60 million during its previous ownership under Roman Abramovich.
Sanction agreements were reached, the league said Monday, after Chelsea self-reported potential breaches to the Football Association that came to light in 2022 when American investors Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital led a consortium to buy out Abramovich for 2.5 billion pounds ($3.2 billion).
Payments worth around 47 million pounds ($62.5 million) were made from third-party entities which, the Premier League said, were “controlled by or associated with” Abramovich to unlicensed agents and individuals connected to selling clubs, facilitating transfers for players including Eden Hazard, David Luiz, Samuel Eto’o and Willian.
“It was established that between 2011 and 2018, undisclosed payments by third parties associated with the club were made to players, unregistered agents and other third parties,” the league said in a statement.
“These payments were not disclosed to the football regulatory authorities at the time, including the Premier League.”
The undisclosed payments “were made for the benefit of Chelsea,” the statement said, “and should have been treated as having been made by the club.”
They “constituted a breach of the requirement to act in good faith towards the league,” the competition said.
Chelsea accepted fines totaling 10.75 million pounds ($14.3 million), which were ratified by an independent commission, and was given an immediate nine-month academy transfer ban and a suspended one-year transfer ban for first-team players.
No points deduction was applied, however.
The club said it was “pleased” to reach a settlement with the Premier League.
“From the outset of this process,” Chelsea said in its own statement, “the club has treated these matters with the utmost seriousness, providing full cooperation to all relevant regulators.”
The league noted Chelsea's “proactive self-reporting, admissions of breach and exceptional cooperation throughout the investigation acted as significant mitigating factors,” with the club sharing more than 200,000 documents with the Premier League.
The league also said it was satisfied that Chelsea “in no scenario” would have breached the league's profitability and sustainability rules in those periods if the payments made had been properly included in the club’s accounts.
These factors helped to reduce the fine by around 50% and meant a points penalty was not deemed appropriate.
Chelsea manager Liam Rosenior said the sanctions would not be a “negative distraction” to the team.
“I think actually that’s a line drawn through that issue and we can move on and we can plan to make this club as strong as possible in the long term,” he said at a news conference Monday ahead of a Champions League match against Paris Saint-Germain.
Chelsea's new owners have been fined on multiple occasions by UEFA for financial breaches.
In 2023, during the first year of new regime, Chelsea paid UEFA a 10 million euros (then $11.8 million) fine to settle irregularities committed while the club was owned by Abramovich, who was forced to sell the club after Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine. That was also self-reported by the club.
Last year, Chelsea was fined 20 million euros (then $23.6 million) for failing to approach break-even and a further 11 million euros ($13 million) for spending more than an 80% set limit of its revenue on so-called “squad cost” such as transfers and wages.
A separate disciplinary process conducted by the Football Association is ongoing and relates to the same breaches for which Chelsea has been sanctioned by the Premier League.
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Chelsea's manager Liam Rosenior during a training session in Stoke d'Abernon, England, Monday March 16, 2026, ahead of the Champions League soccer match against Paris Saint-Germain. (Ben Whitley/PA via AP)
Chelsea players celebrate after a goal during the fifth round FA Cup soccer match between Wrexham and Chelsea in Wrexham, Wales, Saturday, March 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Jon Super)
