Move Over, A-List Celebs: Parents Were the Real Winners of Last Night's Oscars

Mom and Dad totally stole the show

By Seija Rankin Feb 23, 2015 7:43 PMTags
Dakota Johnson, Melanie Griffith, 2015 Academy AwardsJason Merritt/Getty Images

Last night was big for a lot of people. Eddie Redmayne. Alejandro G. Iñárritu. Patricia Arquette. But if we're calling a spade a spade, last night was really the parents' night. And by that we mean all parents everywhere. The Oscars was their time to shine. 

It all started with Reese Witherspoon. Or rather her mom, Betty. Clearly, Reese gets her adorable charm from her mother, because Mrs. Witherspoon sent some of the cutest text messages ever pre-ceremony. And, naturally, she instantly became Instagram-famous.

 

My biggest fan...

A photo posted by Reese Witherspoon (@reesewitherspoon) on

One more. #LoveNotesFromMom (And for @Instagranph)

A photo posted by Reese Witherspoon (@reesewitherspoon) on

Then while everyone was busy fawning over Betty Witherspoon and #LoveNotesFromMom, other A-list parents started flooding the red carpet. And, we're not just talking about the awards show mainstay that is Bradley Cooper's mom Gloria Campano (although she was there, too). Plenty of other celebrity 'rents were there too. Best Supporting Actress nominee Laura Dern brought her dad (and prior Oscar nominee) Bruce Dern. Sienna Miller's plus-one was her dad Edwin Miller (who is also a total silver fox, we might add). Emma Stone ditched boyfriend Andrew Garfield in favor of mom Krista. And, who could forget Dakota Johnson showing up with mom Melanie Griffith? They even had a mother-daughter spat on the red carpet, just to remind us all that they really are related.

The night really started to heat up for the collective parents once the awards were doled out. J.K. Simmons won the first Oscar of the evening and decided to take a moment to give a shoutout to all Moms and Dads everywhere. "Call your mom, everybody…call your dad," he said. "If you're lucky to have a parent or two alive on this planet, call them. Don't text. Don't email. Call them on the phone, tell them you love them and thank them and listen to them for as long as they want to talk to you. Thank you, thank you mom and dad!"

Not to be outdone, Ida director fought off the building wrap-it-up music to shoutout his late family. "I dedicate this to my late wife and my parents," he said. "Who are not among the living but are totally inside this film and have a lot to do with this film."

And with that, we finally figured out how to beat the Oscars producers.