Best Actress hopeful Jessie Buckley exudes elegance in a pink and red Chanel gown as she joins Mia Goth and Felicity Jones leading the British and Irish stars on the Oscars 2026 red carpet

As the hot favourite to win Best Actress, Jessie Buckley pulled out all the stops in a showstopping gown as British and Irish stars gave Hollywood's finest a run for their money on the 2026 Academy Awards red carpet on Sunday.

The actress has been the toast of this year's awards season after earning critical acclaim for her role in Hamnet, and is expected to cement her run with an Oscar at this year's ceremony.

Inspired by Grace Kelly's own Oscars look back in 1956, Jessie put on a showstopping display in a custom Chanel elegant red and pink satin gown.

The star was joined by Frankenstein star Mia Goth, who swapped her character's gothic aesthetic for a dramatic layered cream lace gown.

After starring opposite Jacob Elordi in the Netflix hit, the British star graced the red carpet in a fun dress with a revealing thigh-high split.

While Felicity Jones did not compete for a coveted gong this year, she still stunned in a gorgeous yellow satin gown with daring side splits.

Flashing a hint of sideboob in her glamorous look, Felicity posed up a storm in her gown as she arrived for the evening.

She was joined by Best Supporting Actress favourite Wunmi Mosaku, who showcased her bump in a dazzling custom Louis Vuitton green sequinned gown. 

As the host of this year's red carpet, Chicken Shop Date star Amelia Dimoldenberg was among the first stars to arrive, and she posed up a storm in a glamorous black peplum gown. 

Bridgerton star Charithra Chandran cut a glamorous figure in a dramatic green satin Miss Sohee gown as she arrived on the red carpet. 

The 98th Academy Awards are celebrating the best films of 2025, with the glitzy ceremony taking place at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. 

Conan O'Brien, 62, is returning to host the show for a second consecutive year after taking over the role from Jimmy Kimmel. 

Ryan Coogler's Sinners leads the pack with a record-breaking 16 nominations, the most for any film in Academy Awards history.

The horror flick is one of the ten films up for Best Picture alongside Bugonia, F1, Frankenstein, Hamnet, Marty Supreme, One Battle After Another, The Secret Agent, Sentimental Value and Train Dreams.

Sinners star Michael B. Jordan faces a stacked Best Actor category, competing against fellow nominees Timothee Chalamet (Marty Supreme), Leonardo DiCaprio (One Battle After Another), Ethan Hawke (Blue Moon), and Wagner Moura (The Secret Agent).

Set in 1930s Mississippi, Sinners follows twin brothers (both played by Jordan) who return to their hometown only to face a supernatural evil. 

The Best Actor race is currently a dead heat. While Chalamet dominated the early season with wins at the Golden Globes and Critics' Choice Awards, the momentum shifted after Jordan won at the Actor Awards, formerly known as the SAG Awards.

Adding to the tension, the ceremony arrives on the heels of Chalamet's controversial comments about how 'no one cares' about ballet or opera, which sparked a wave of backlash from the arts community. 

Based on the life of professional ping-pong player Marty Reisman, Josh Safdie's Marty Supreme stars Chalamet as a table tennis prodigy in 1950s New York whose ambition to become world champion jeopardizes his personal relationships. 

Irish star Jessie Buckley is the frontrunner in the Best Actress category for her work in Hamnet. She faces a star-studded field including Rose Byrne (If I Had Legs I would Kick You), Kate Hudson (Song Sung Blue), Renate Reinsve (Sentimental Value), and Emma Stone (Bugonia). 

Helmed by 2021's Best Director winner Chloe Zhao, Hamnet dives into the reimagined story of William Shakespeare's home life and how the death of his 11-year-old son provided the emotional blueprint for his masterpiece, Hamlet. 

Paul Thomas Anderson's One Battle After Another earned 13 nominations.

Along with a Best Director nod, the film also nabbed a Best Actor mention for DiCaprio, and Supporting Actor nods for Benicio del Toro and Sean Penn.

The black comedy action-thriller follows a washed-up ex-revolutionary (DiCaprio) who is forced to come out from hiding to rescue his daughter, after she is targeted by his former nemesis, a corrupt military officer (Penn). 

Aside from Penn and del Toro, the Best Supporting Actor category includes Jacob Elordi (Frankenstein), Delroy Lindo (Sinners) and Stellan Skarsgard (Sentimental Value). 

Paul Mescal (Hamnet), Adam Sandler (Jay Kelly), and Jesse Plemons (Bugonia) were the most notable snubs from the category. 

Frankenstein and Sentimental Value both earned nine nominations at this year's ceremony. 

Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein is a lavish reimagining of Mary Shelley's classic, focusing on a heart-wrenching tale of a father's rejection and a creature's quest for love. 

Meanwhile, Joachim Trier's Sentimental Value follows two sisters forced to reconcile with their estranged filmmaker father. 

Nominees for Best Supporting Actress include Elle Fanning (Sentimental Value), Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas (Sentimental Value), Amy Madigan (Weapons), Wunmi Mosaku (Sinners) and Teyana Taylor (One Battle After Another).

There was a massive backlash after Ariana Grande was snubbed in the Supporting category for Wicked: For Good. 

She had been nominated last year for her work in the first film of the musical franchise.

Wicked: For Good was completely shut out of nominations. This came despite an acclaimed leading performance by Cynthia Erivo, as well as new songs written for the film, including No Place Like Home and The Girl In The Bubble.

Gwyneth Paltrow was also left off the list in the category for her work in Marty Supreme. 

There was a new award announced this year for Best Casting as the inaugural field includes: Nina Gold - Hamnet, Jennifer Venditti - Marty Supreme, Cassandra Kulukundis - One Battle After Another, Gabriel Domingues - The Secret Agent, and Francine Maisler - Sinners.

The ceremony kicks off at 7pm ET/ 4pm PT, airing live on ABC and streaming live on Hulu. It will also be streaming via Hulu + Live TV, YouTube TV, AT&T TV and FuboTV.