The 98th Oscars occurred on March 15, 2026, and with it many historic moments for women in the film industry. However, many of these women go over-looked by the public eye because they are not the actresses we see in movies and commercials. Here are three women you’ve probably never heard of who are dominating in a male field.
- Autumn Durald Arkapaw (Sinners)
Autumn Durald Arkapaw was born in 1979 in California. She started working on movie sets in her twenties and eventually studied at the American Film Institute, which she graduated from in 2010. She went on to work on many popular movies and series such as Marvel’s Loki and Marvel’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever as a cinematographer. The director of Wakanda Forever, Ryan Coogler, then invited her to work on Sinners.
The film was released in 2025 and made 48 million dollars during the first weekend alone. It received 16 nominations at the 2026 Oscars which broke the record for total nominations received by a film previously set at 14. The film won four of those awards, including the award for Cinematography, received by Autumn Durald Arkapaw. This made her the first woman and the first woman of color to win an Oscar for cinematography. Previously, only three other women had even been nominated for this award.
2.Cassandra Kulukundis (One Battle After Another)
Cassandra Kulukundis was born in 1971 and studied film at Vassar College, which she graduated from in 1993. She began her career as an intern for Paul Thomas Anderson, and continued to work as casting director for many of his films including this year’s Best Picture, One Battle After Another. The film was released in September of 2025 and received 13 nominations at the Oscars.
One of these nominations was the new award for casting, which was announced by the Academy back in February of 2024 to begin with 98th Oscars. The first person to win this award was Cassandra Kulukundis for her work on One Battle After Another.
3. Maggie Kang (K-Pop Demon Hunters)
Maggie Kang was born in 1981 in Seoul, South Korea, but moved to Toronto, Canada as a kid. After graduating from Sheridan College where she studied animation, she was recruited by DreamWorks. There, she worked on many popular animated movies such as Rise of the Guardians, Trolls, and The Lego Ninjago Movie.
In 2018, she developed an idea for a film, which would later be known as K-Pop Demon Hunters, that was quickly bought by Sony. It would take seven years to create but would quickly become a global hit after its release in June of 2025. The film won both Oscars it was nominated for, including the award for Best Animated Feature. Maggie Kang accepted this award alongside the movie’s co-director and its producer.
