Margaret Qualley made a surprise appearance during the Bond tribute segment at the 2025 Oscars on Sunday.
The actress, 30, stunned the crowd when she joined a team of backup dancers for a sexy dance set to the iconic James Bond orchestra theme song in the middle of the award show.
The Substance star’s vibrant performance stirred up speculation that she is set to be the next Bond girl as the franchise teases an upcoming era with a new 007.
The daughter of Andie MacDowell’s dance served as the introduction to Lisa of Blackpink’s performance along with Doja Cat and Raye as the trio sang former theme songs.
Earlier in the evening, she walked the star-studded red carpet in a striking black, velvet gown as she arrived at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood and brought along her husband Jack Antonoff.
The open-back, floor-length gown featured a diamond pendant that grazed her exposed back.
Margaret Qualley made a surprise appearance during the Bond tribute segment at the 2025 Oscars on Sunday
The actress, 30, stunned the crowd when she joined a team of backup dancers for a sexy dance set to the iconic James Bond orchestra theme song in the middle of the award show
The Substance star’s vibrant performance stirred up speculation that she is set to be the next Bond girl as the franchise teases an upcoming era with a new 007
In the middle of the award ceremony, former Bond girl Halle Berry took the stage to introduce the segment paying tribute to Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson, half-siblings and James Bond franchise co-owners.
After her introduction, Qualley took the stage in a scarlet red, satin dress with a plunging halter neckline and a sexy thigh-high slit that cascaded around her as she spun around on the stage.
During the number, she twirled around onstage and had handsome backup dancers in suits whisking her around on the dance floor.
Her hair was still styled in the same perfectly polished, double bun hairstyle she was sporting when she posed for photos and showed off her red carpet look.
At one point, they lifted her high into the air and with upraised arms, she opened the floor for the singers performing former Bond theme songs from previous eras and film installments.
At the end of her part, she flashed a sweet and sexy grin, which many fans said reminded them of her The Substance character Sue, as she hooked her arm onto a backup dancer’s and sauntered off the stage.
Then, Lisa performed Live and Let Die, doing a quick dance break before Doja Cat took the stage for Diamonds Are Forever — which was branded a ‘mess’ by social media users.
Raye then showed off her deep and soulful vocals as she sang Adele’s Skyfall.
The daughter of Andie MacDowell’s dance served as the introduction to Lisa of Blackpink ‘s performance along with Doja Cat and Raye as the trio sang former theme songs
Following former Bond girl Halle Berry’s introduction, Qualley took the stage in a scarlet red dress with a plunging halter neckline and a sexy thigh-high slit that cascaded around her as she spun around on the stage
During the number, she twirled around onstage and had handsome backup dancers in suits whisking her around on the dance floor.
At one point, they lifted her high into the air and with upraised arms, she opened the floor for the singers performing former Bond theme songs from previous eras and film installments
At the end of her part, she flashed a sweet and sexy grin, which many fans said reminded them of her The Substance character Sue, as she hooked her arm onto a backup dancer’s and sauntered off the stage
Her hair was still styled in the same perfectly polished, double bun hairstyle she was sporting when she posed for photos and showed off her red carpet look. Earlier in the evening, she walked the red carpet in a striking black, velvet gown
The backless, floor-length gown featured a diamond pendant that grazed her spine
Following her performance, Qualley received widespread praise for her unexpected dance moves as fans took to social media to discuss her surprise appearance.
‘Margaret Qualley may not have been nominated for best supporting actress, but she slayed in the James Bond saga tribute,’ one viewer gushed.
Another fan reacted with shock in the form of a GIF as they pointed out that the actress attended the award show despite ‘not getting nominated but being part of the Bond tribute.’
One social media user said Qualley being added to the list of performers for the segment was an ‘excellent idea.’
Another tweeted that Qualley was ‘a total smoke show’ during her sexy Bond girl dance.
Applauding her performance, a slew of social media users speculated she would be the next star in the film franchise series. ‘She looks like a Bond girl,’ one fan. tweeted.
Another X user asked if the stage was ‘teasing Margaret Qualley as the next James Bond girl’ with an GIF expressing excitement and hope.
One fan tweeted a GIF with the text: ‘I would like to see it.’
Another viewer showed approval for the idea and tweeted for a ‘petition’ for her to be casted as the next Bond girl after her tribute dance.
Following her performance, Qualley received widespread praise for her unexpected dance moves as fans took to social media to discuss her surprise appearance. ‘Margaret Qualley may not have been nominated for best supporting actress, but she slayed in the James Bond saga tribute,’ one viewer gushed
Another fan reacted with shock in the form of a GIF as they pointed out that the actress attended the award show despite ‘not getting nominated but being part of the Bond tribute’
One social media user said Qualley being added to the list of performers for the segment was an ‘excellent idea’
Another tweeted that Qualley was ‘a total smoke show’ during her sexy Bond girl dance
Applauding her performance, a slew of social media users speculated she would be the next star in the film franchise series. ‘She looks like a Bond girl,’ one fan tweeted
Another X user asked if the stage was ‘teasing Margaret Qualley as the next James Bond girl’ with an GIF expressing excitement and hope
One fan tweeted a GIF with the text: ‘I would like to see it.’
Another viewer showed approval for the idea and tweeted for a ‘petition’ for her to be casted as the next Bond girl after her tribute dance
The 97th Academy Awards are honoring the best films of 2024, with the star-studded ceremony being held at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.
Conan O’Brien, 61, is making his debut as Oscars host, after joking: ‘I only agreed to host so that I could get invited.’
This year’s ceremony has an unusually unsettled field in many of the most high-profile categories, including best picture and most of the acting categories.
Emilia Pérez leads the nominations this year with 13, including for best picture, actress (for Karla Sofía Gascón), supporting actress (for Zoe Saldaña), director (for Jacques Audiard), adapted screenplay and original song.
Gascón stars as the title character, a former Mexican drug lord who comes out as a transgender woman and fakes her own death in order to reinvent herself as a pro-social force, while Saldaña plays an ethically challenged lawyer who helps set up her new identity.
The Brutalist landed in second place with 10 nominations, including for best picture, director (for Brady Corbet), actor (for Adrien Brody), supporting actor (for Guy Pearce), supporting actress (for Felicity Jones), and original screenplay.
Emilia Pérez leads this year’s Oscar nominees with 13 nominations, including for best picture, actress (for Karla Sofía Gascón), supporting actress (for Zoe Saldaña) and director
The Brutalist landed in second place with 10 nominations, including for best picture, director (for Brady Corbet), actor (for Adrien Brody), supporting actor (for Guy Pearce), supporting actress (for Felicity Jones), and original screenplay
Conan O’Brien is hosting the ceremony, which is being held at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, for the first time; pictured Wednesday in Hollywood
Brody stars as a Jewish Hungarian architect who immigrates to the US after surviving the Holocaust. The epic historical drama follows his character László Tóth’s attempts to realize his creative vision even as it conflicts with the petty desires of his wealthy benefactor (Pearce).
Wicked tied it for 10 nominations, including for best picture, actress (for Cynthia Erivo), and supporting actress (for Ariana Grande).
The blockbuster musical is an adaptation of only the first half of the musical of the same name, a reimagined prequel to The Wizard Of Oz starring Erivo as Elphaba, future Wicked Witch of the West, and Grande as Galinda Upland, who becomes Glinda the Good
Other best pictures nominees include Anora, A Complete Unknown, Conclave, Dune: Part Two, I’m Still Here, Nickel Boys and The Substance.
The closely watched race for best actor in a leading role got a major shakeup just a week before the Oscars at the Screen Actors Guild Awards, when Timothée Chalamet scored a shock win for his Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown.
Prior to that win, Brody was seemingly the favorite after winning best actor awards at the New York Film Critics Circle Awards, the BAFTAs, the Golden Globes and the Critics Choice Movie Awards.
Ralph Fiennes has also doggedly stayed in the running for his role as a British Cardinal struggling to keep a secretive papal election from dissolving into competition and intrigue.
The critically acclaimed film has scored multiple actor wins at smaller ceremonies and festivals for Fiennes, as well as multiple awards for the entire acting ensemble, which Fiennes has accepted on more than one occasion.
Wicked tied it for 10 nominations, including for best picture, actress (for Cynthia Erivo), and supporting actress (for Ariana Grande)
This year’s best lead actor race is up in the air after Timothée Chalamet’s recent SAG win for A Complete Unknown
Brody is also a favorite for The Brutalist, but Ralph Fiennes has gotten plenty of awards-season attention for the papal-selection drama Conclave
Those three co-frontrunners are competing against Colman Domingo for Sing Sing and Sebastian Stan for his performance as a young Donald Trump in The Apprentice.
The best actress category also has no clear frontrunner. Demi Moore has been lauded for her comeback performance in the satirical body-horror film The Substance, which earned her best actress honors from the Critics Choice Awards and the Golden Globes, as well as several critics’ organizations.
But her win a week before the Oscars at the SAG Awards suggests she may be in a prime spot to snatch the Oscar after being nominated for the first time.
Anora star Mikey Madison, who plays an adult dancer who impetuously marries the son of a Russian Oligarch, was widely acclaimed and was honored by several critics’ organizations early in the season.
Her chances increased significantly after she won the BAFTA for best lead actress, which she followed up with an Independent Spirit Award win in the gender-neutral lead performance category.
Emilia Pérez star Karla Sofía Gascón was once a favorite for the award, but she was widely criticized after racist and Islamophobic tweets — some quite recent — that had somehow gone unremarked upon were translated into English and reported on.
Since then, Gascón has sat out awards ceremonies after her posts came to light. After multiple half-hearted apologies, Netflix reportedly opted to stop paying for Gascón’s travel and accommodations for awards shows, though a source told People that she still plans to attend the Oscars.
Before the controversy, her nomination was seen as historic, as she is the first openly transgender woman to be nominated in the best actress category.
Anora’s Mikey Madison is a late-breaking best actress co-frontrunner after recent wins and controversy that erupted after offensive tweets from Emilia Pérez’s Karla Sofía Gascón resurfaced
Demi Moore is the other major frontrunner for the satirical body-horror film The Substance. She has won multiple major awards this season
The other nominees are Wicked star Cynthia Erivo, who has failed to capture any major awards, and the Brazilian actress Fernanda Torres, who stars in the historical drama I’m Still Here. She had her own controversy after a clip of her appearing in blackface in a comedy sketch from a Brazilian TV series 17 years ago resurfaced in January.
In the supporting actress category, the nominees including Monica Barbaro for A Complete Unknown, Ariana Grande for Wicked, Felicity Jones for The Brutalist, Isabella Rossellini for Conclave and Zoe Saldaña for Emilia Pérez
Saldaña appears to be the current favorite after a string of wins at the Golden Globes, BAFTA Awards, SAG Awards and Critics Choice Awards.
But some of those early awards had voting periods that cut off prior to the controversy around Gascón surfacing, which could potentially harm her chances from voters who were turned off of Emilia Pérez altogether.
The supporting actor category seems the easiest to predict, Kieran Culkin’s string of wins for A Real Pain making him the favorite.
The other nominees include Yura Borisov for Anora, Edward Norton for A Complete Unknown, Guy Pearce for The Brutalist and Jeremy Strong for The Apprentice.
Among the best picture nominees, Emilia Pérez once seemed like the most likely winner, but Gascon’s offensive posts have threatened its chances.
The Palme d’Or–winning Anora got a late boost with wins for best picture at the Directors Guild of America Awards and the Producers Guild of America Awards, which are considered two of the best predictors of Oscars success by awards-season prognosticators, and its win at the Independent Spirit Awards didn’t hurt.
Saldaña appears to be the favorite in the supporting actress category after a string of wins
Kieran Culkin has dominated the supporting actor categories in recent weeks for Jesse Eisenberg’s drama A Real Pain
After Gascón’s offensive tweets surfaced, Emilia Pérez’s best picture frontrunner status seemed in question, and Anora has snatched up the top award at multiple ceremonies considered major predictors of the Oscars
The best director category seems likely to be a three-man race between Anora’s Sean Baker, The Brutalist director Brady Corbet and Emilia Pérez’s Jacques Audiard.
This year’s original song category features two cutes from Emilia Pérez, El Mal and Mi Camino, the new Elton John song Never Too Late, from the documentary of the same name about him, Like a Bird from Sing Sing, and the latest Diane Warren effort The Journey.
The Academy Awards begin at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT and can be watched on ABC and, for the first time, on a streaming service, Hulu.
Subscribers to premium services including Hulu+ Live TV, YouTube TV, AT&T TV and FuboTV can also also catch the ceremony live.