Former New Canaanite Alex Coco Wins 'Best Picture' Oscar

It was "Anora’s" night at the Academy Awards on Sunday, March 2, as the film collected five Oscars, most of them going to writer, director, and editor Sean Baker.

Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan present 'Anora' (Alex Coco, Samantha Quan, Sean Baker) with the Oscar for Best Picture at the 97th Academy Awards.

Photo Credit: Oscars

Josh Lanier

03/03/2025 10:56 a.m.

But when the gritty comedy won Best Picture, Baker temporarily took a back seat to one of the film’s producers, Alex Coco — a former New Canaan resident — who was the first to take the mic.

Coco attended New Canaan High School, and his mother, Denise Coco, still lives in the area. He co-won the award with fellow producers Baker and Samantha Quan.

This marks the second time Coco has collaborated with Baker, following their first partnership on 2021’s "Red Rocket."

"Anora," a film about a stripper who marries the son of a Russian oligarch, only to have her Cinderella story take a bizarre comedic turn, was the standout of the awards circuit.

Coco earned trophies at the Critics Choice Awards, the Producers Guild of America Awards, and the Palme d’Or — the most coveted prize for filmmakers at the Cannes Film Festival in 2023.

Baker also became the first person to win four Oscars in a single night.

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