Oscar Nominee Monica Barbaro Wore the Most Feminine Yellow Slinky Gown on the Red Carpet

The ‘A Complete Unknown’ actress scored a surprise Academy Award nomination this morning.

Monica Barbaro attends the ‘A Complete Unknown’ Italian premiere at Auditorium Parco Della Musica / Ernesto S. Ruscio/Getty Images for Disney

It was an exciting morning for the film industry as the nominations for the 97th Academy Awards were announced. Hosted by Saturday Night Live’s Bowen Yang and comedian-actress Rachel Sennott, the majority of the names called weren’t surprises considering how awards season has gone so far, but as always, there were a few shocks and snubs by the time the live announcements were over.

One fortunate surprise was the Best Supporting Actress nom for Monica Barbaro, who played Joan Baez in James Mangold’s Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown. She starred in the film alongside Timothée Chalamet, Elle Fanning and Edward Norton.

A Complete Unknown was nominated for eight total awards, also including Best Picture and Best Actor for Chalamet’s lead performance as the iconic folk singer. For Barbaro, who was “absolutely blown away” by the prestigious nomination, playing a well-known real-life musician meant a year of guitar and singing lessons to get the role just right. As those who have seen the film can attest, Barbaro did a fantastic job.

Just days before the Academy Award nominations, Barbaro proved her red carpet fashion sense once again at the Italian premiere of A Complete Unknown on Friday, Jan. 17. The 34-year-old San Francisco native has been pulling out all the stops for her press tour looks, seriously impressing with her array of gorgeous gowns. The latest premiere was no different, where she rocked a delicate and feminine nude sleeveless gown from Versace with yellow floral designs throughout.

Monica Barbaro attends the ‘A Complete Unknown’ Italian premiere at Auditorium Parco Della Musica / Ernesto S. Ruscio/Getty Images for Disney

Barbaro paired the gorgeous slinky floor-length dress with a silver statement necklace and silver rings. She wore her dark brown hair down and wavy in her signature style and kept her glam on point with full eyelashes, rosy cheeks and a dark pink lip.

The Top Gun: Maverick actress was one of the best dressed at the Golden Globes earlier this month, donning a gorgeous embellished tulle strapless gown from Dior. According to Vogue, the dress took 1,100 hours for the designers to make, mostly due to the intricate embroidery and beading.

Some of Barbaro’s earlier roles include in TV shows like Hawaii Five-O, Chicago P.D. and Chicago Justice. More recently, she starred alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 2023 Netflix comedy series FUBAR, which was renewed for a second season.

When recalling where she was when she heard she was nominated for an Oscar, she told Variety today: “I’m in London right now, and I was mid-fitting with costume designer Jenny Eagan. She kept refreshing her phone, and I was like, ‘I don’t want to know anything.’ I looked at my phone and fell on the floor. I’m elated. This is surreal.”

This marks Barbaro’s first Academy Award nomination.