Oscar First: Drag Race Star Kelly Mantle Official Eligible in BOTH Supporting Acting Oscar Categories

[divider style=”solid” top=”20″ bottom=”20″]
Kelly Mantle, a former contender on RuPaul’s Drag Race, has been approved for consideration to be nominated as both Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress, a first for the Academy. Now, don’t go crazy with your Oscar predictions just yet. The likelihood of this nomination is pretty infinitesimal but it doesn’t take away from the historic element of the submission approval.
Mantle’s film, Confessions of a Womanizer, premiered at 30 film festivals, earning 14 awards. It opened in the US theatrically in October of this year. It stars C. Thomas Howell, Gary Busey and Andrew Lawrence.
Via Facebook, writer and director Miguel Ali had this to say:
[box type=”shadow” align=”” class=”” width=””]“To the best of my knowledge, this is the first time in Oscar history that a person will be considered for an acting Oscar in both gender categories. I firmly believe that our androgynous/transgendered acting community is the most untapped resource in Hollywood. We need to bring them more attention, and by doing so, we will create more empathy for our androgynous/transgendered brothers and sisters.”[/box]
Check out Mantle’s Oscar submission here:
- 2026 Oscar Predictions: BEST CASTING (December) - December 18, 2025
- 2026 Oscar Predictions: MAKEUP and HAIRSTYLING and VISUAL EFFECTS (December) - December 18, 2025
- Black Reel Awards: ‘Sinners’ Dominates with Record 21 Nominations - December 18, 2025

2026 Oscar Predictions: BEST CASTING (December)
2026 Oscar Predictions: MAKEUP and HAIRSTYLING and VISUAL EFFECTS (December)
Black Reel Awards: ‘Sinners’ Dominates with Record 21 Nominations
2026 Oscar Predictions: COSTUME DESIGN and PRODUCTION DESIGN (December)