Women broke the Oscar barriers in the 2021 awards night as the Nomadland Director Chloe Zhao wins best picture and best director with the latter award being the first-ever awarded to a woman of color and Asian-American.

The movie was nominated in six different categories namely Best Pictures, Best Director, Best Film editing, Best Cinematography, Best Actress in a leading role and Adapted screenplay. The awards won were best pictures, best director by Chloe Zhao and Best actress in a leading role by Frances McDormand.