As One Chicago fans know all too well, when award season rolls around there typically isn’t much love for the One Chicago franchise of shows at the likes of the Emmys and Golden Globes. That’s not to say the shows haven’t gotten award recognition as Chicago Fire, Chicago Med, and Chicago PD have all picked up a few accolades over the years, they just don’t often have a seat at the table when it comes to the bigger award shows.
For that reason, it’s worth celebrating whenever a member of the franchise – both current and former – is recognized for their acting achievements and one One Chicago alum has just made history!
On Thursday, former Chicago Justice star Monica Barbaro landed her first Oscar nomination with a well-earned nomination for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role for her performance in A Complete Unknown. This marks the first time an actor from the One Chicago franchise has been nominated for the biggest honor in acting and the nomination could not have been more deserved.
While Barbaro has a more limited role in the movie, her character plays a major role in Bob Dylan's story. Barbaro took singing and guitar lessons to help play American singer-songwriter and musician Joan Baez, who helped to put Dylan on the map.
One Chicago fans will remember Barbaro for her role as Assistant State's Attorney Anna Valdez, a role she originated in the fourth season of Chicago PD before playing in a series regular role on Chicago Justice. While she was not part of the original backdoor pilot for Chicago Justice which aired during Chicago PD's fourth season, Anna was a key character in the One Chicago legal drama’s sole season, appearing in all 13 episodes of the show.
While Chicago Justice only lasted one season, the show's 13-episode season was an incredible legal drama and had a lot of potential. Sadly, with a chaotic schedule, the show failed to capture the same audience as its sister series and had its run cut short.
Following Chicago Justice’s cancellation after just one season, Barbaro returned for a pair of guest appearances on Chicago PD in which she reprised her role. Her last appearance came back in season 5 and while the door remained open for the character to return, Barbaro sadly did not appear in additional episodes following her two appearances in season 5.
Fans eager to see Barbaro’s Oscar-nominated performance can catch A Complete Unknown in theaters now and will want to be sure to tune into the 97th Annual Academy Awards on March 2 at 8/7c on ABC to see if Barbaro can take home her first Oscar!