Hildur Guðnadóttir wins a Golden Globe for her ‘Joker’ score
This makes her the first solo female composer to win Best Original Score

Hildur Guðnadóttir took home a Golden Globe last night, being awarded Best Original Score for her work on Joker. This feat makes the Icelandic composer the first woman to win the award as a solo composer in the history of the Golden Globes. Also nominated for the award was Randy Newman for Marriage Story, Thomas Newman for 1917, Daniel Pemberton for Motherless Brooklyn and Alexandre Desplat for Little Women.
Prior to last night’s award, the only other woman to win Best Original Score was Lisa Gerrard, as a co-winner with Hans Zimmer for their work on Gladiator back in 2001. Guðnadóttir has seen success elsewhere in her music, with an Emmy award for scoring Chernobyl (which also picked up a Golden Globe) and contributions to SUNN O)))’s Life Metal and Pyroclasts.
Variety reports that Todd Phillips, director of Joker, discovered her music in Sicario: Day of the Soldado and sought her out for Joker while he was writing the script”. She has been working as a composer in film and TV for 20 years now.
You can see her acceptance speech below:
Hildur Gudnadóttir is the first woman to win the Golden Globes for best original score solo, and the second in 19 years https://t.co/RnCEsH2M48 #GoldenGlobes pic.twitter.com/72cBAiFWZh
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) January 6, 2020
Joker follows the story of Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) and his descent into insanity after failing as a stand-up comedian. Based on the DC Comics character, the movie serves as a possible offering for the villain’s origin story. Phoenix was awarded Best Performance by an Actor in a Drama for his portrayal of Fleck in the thriller.
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