𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗚 𝗛𝗢𝗟𝗟𝗬𝗪𝗢𝗢𝗗

golden globes

01/2024, age 18
golden globes

Theadora nervously sits between billie eilish and co-star margot robbie at the eighty first golden globes event, fidgeting in her seat as they await for the announcer to present the winner of best young actress.

while of course the teen would be absolutely ecstatic to win the award, she would be rather reluctant to get up onstage in front of hundreds of talented actors all much older than she, and while thousands of people watch live from home. not only that, but she was quite nervous just thinking about the prospect of having to read the 'just in case' speech she wrote with a friend via facetime only the previous night before.

"and the winner for best young actress is..."
florence pugh began as she opened the envelope containing the categories winner, "theadora james, barbie!"

thea gasps, slowly but hesitantly rising from her seat. the first to congratulate her is billie, who excitedly grabs the teen into a tight hug. theadoras eyes are wide open when she pulls away, hearing thousands of people clap in celebration of her win.

the teen turns to her right, quickly hugging margot before making the terrifying walk to the stage. her legs shook, and she was beginning to regret wearing such thin heels.

as soon as thea made her way up into the stage, to willed herself to only focus on the smiling florence in front of her; the teen knew if she so much as glanced at the looming audience in front of her, she'd freeze and make a total fool of herself.

luckily, theadora knew and was quite fond of the blonde presenter, immediately embracing her in greeting.

"congratulations!" florence fawns, "you look incredible!"

"thank you!" theadora beams, "you too! that dress is stunning." despite feeling an intense sense of imposter syndrome, thea accepts the award from florence and shakily makes her way to the microphone.

"wow." she breathes out awkwardly, suddenly forgetting her pre-written speech entirely, "thank you so much for this incredible honor. thank you to everyone ever who has ever supported, worked with, mentored, or been there for me in any capacity—i wouldn't be here without all of you. most importantly, i want to thank eleven year old thea who flew to l.a alone on a dream of a small guest appearance which turned into a reoccurring role which quickly became a full career, and i still wake up everyday in complete awe that i get to do what i love so much and that other people like what i do, too."

thea takes another breath, "and i want to thank fourteen year old thea, who moved across the country by herself on pure determination. i want to thank greta, for trusting me with sasha. margot, for being my big sister since i was thirteen, billie, for being such an incredible friend of mine for years now. thank you to america, for being the absolute best on-screen mom, and everyone who took part in creating this incredibly meaningful movie. oh, and lastly, thank you to my dear friend madelyn who stayed on facetime with me until two in the morning last night crafting a 'just in case' speech that i didn't even end up using at all." the crowd laughs as thea quickly closes, "thank you i love you all!" she waves, smiling before following florence backstage.