Following several small films , Tomei came to international prominence with her comedic performance in the 1992 film '' My Cousin Vinny '' , for which she received critical praise . Critic Vincent Canby wrote , " Ms. Tomei gives every indication of being a fine comedian , whether towering over Mr. Pesci and trying to look small , or arguing about a leaky faucet in terms that demonstrate her knowledge of plumbing . Mona Lisa is also a first-rate auto mechanic , which comes in handy in the untying of the knotted story . " For her performance , Tomei was named Best Supporting Actress at the 1993 Academy Awards , prevailing over Miranda Richardson , Joan Plowright , Vanessa Redgrave and Judy Davis . American film critic Rex Reed created controversy ( and a minor Hollywood myth ) when he suggested that Jack Palance had announced the wrong name after opening the envelope . While this allegation was repeatedly disproved – even the Academy officially denied it – Tomei called the story " extremely hurtful " . A Price Waterhouse accountant explained that if such an event had occurred , " we have an agreement with the Academy that one of us would step on stage , introduce ourselves , and say the presenter misspoke . " This was borne out by the events at the 2017 Oscars , when '' La La Land '' was first announced as the Best Picture winner based on an error in handling the award cards and the real winner was announced shortly thereafter as '' Moonlight ''
2017 Oscars
89th Academy Awards
Marisa Tomei