Emma Stone wins best actress at Golden Globes for La La Land 

Emma Stone might always remember the day she won a Golden Globe west of Santa Fe.

After scoring previous nominations from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for her work in films like Easy A and Birdman, the 28-year-old triumphed for the first time at Sunday’s Golden Globes ceremony, where she earned the Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy statuette for her leading role as Mia in Damien Chazelle’s soaring musical La La Land.

Accepting the honor at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles, Stone — who won over strong contenders like 20th Century Women‘s two-time winner Annette Bening, perennial Golden Globes staple (and 30-time nominee) Meryl Streep, as well as freshman competitors Hailee Steinfeld (The Edge of Seventeen) and Lily Collins (Rules Don’t Apply) — thanked her family in an emotional speech.

“I have to start by thanking my amazing mom. Thank you mom for everything,” Stone said. “I moved here 13 years ago this week and without my mom and my dad and my brother who has put up with me his whole life, thank you Spence you’re the best. And my incredible friends, I love you so much.”

In addition to her family, Stone gave a special shoutout to her La La Land director Chazelle and her costar Ryan Gosling. “Ryan, you’re the best partner a girl could ask for. This is a film for dreamers and I think that hope and creativity are two of the most important things in the world and that’s what this movie is about so to any creative person who’s had a door slammed in their face, either metaphorically or physically, or actors who have had their auditions cut off, or anybody anywhere really who feels like giving up sometimes but finds it in themselves to get up and keep fighting, I share this with you.”

In addition to her win at the Globes, Stone has thus far received additional nominations for her role in La La Land at the Critics Choice Awards and the Screen Actors Guild Awards. The film, about a pair of star-crossed creatives (Stone, Ryan Gosling) struggling to connect with each other and their respective careers in the entertainment industry, received seven total Golden Globe nominations in December, including one for best picture.

“The idea of this really modern story of two struggling artists and dreamers became something really exciting very quickly,” Stone previously said of working on La La Land. “Living in a musical world where when you’re filled with joy you can spin down the street or burst into song, I loved that.”

Across the past decade, eight performers that won the musical or comedy Golden Globe went on to either win or be nominated for the Best Actress Oscar.

In addition to Stone, La La Land swept the Globes on Sunday night, winning seven total awards: best actor for Gosling, best director and best screenplay for Chazelle, best score, best original song, and best musical or comedy.

La La Land is now playing in theaters nationwide.