Misty Copeland Stuns at Oscars 2026 With Dazzling 27-Carat Diamond Ring

Few pieces of jewelry stop a red carpet in its tracks the way a 27-carat emerald-cut diamond does. Misty Copeland arrived at the 98th Academy Awards in Los Angeles on March 15 wearing the Jared Mpho Diamond, a ring reported at $1.8 million, alongside Jared Atelier diamond drop earrings worth $15,000. Outlets collectively described her Jared natural diamonds as totaling nearly $2 million.

The ring's cut was no accident. An emerald cut is a study in architectural restraint: its long, open facets and rectangular silhouette demand exceptional clarity, because there is nowhere for a stone's flaws to hide. On a 27-carat diamond, that geometry becomes genuinely commanding. Copeland spoke to Town & Country about the choice: "I've always loved jewelry that feels both strong and graceful. For my Oscars look, I wanted something that felt timeless but also told a story. The Jared Mpho ring immediately stood out, not just because of the incredible 27-carat emerald-cut diamond, but because of the journey behind it and the romance and artistry it represents."

She wore the ring against a custom David Koma look that made its own argument: a suited bodice decorated with tutu-inspired ruffles paired with an ivory skirt. The silhouette borrowed from both the stage and the boardroom, the kind of duality Copeland has always inhabited as the first Black woman to serve as a principal dancer at American Ballet Theatre.

The Jared Atelier diamond drop earrings completed the look without competing with it, a deliberate calibration that any jeweler would recognize as intentional restraint. Elle also noted additional Jared rings as part of the ensemble, though specific details on those pieces were not itemized.

Copeland's red carpet appearance carried a particular charge given the moment. Timothée Chalamet, nominated at the same ceremony for his role in Marty Supreme, had gone viral weeks earlier for suggesting that ballet and opera were outdated art forms that audiences no longer cared about. Chalamet had also, notably, given Copeland a windbreaker jacket during his Marty Supreme press tour. Her arrival on the Oscars red carpet in a gown that architecturally referenced the tutu, anchored by nearly $2 million in diamonds, offered its own wordless response.

Copeland performed on the telecast as part of a tribute to the Oscar-nominated film Sinners, dancing to "I Lied to You" alongside Raphael Saadiq, Miles Caton, Buddy Guy, Brittany Howard, Shaboozey, Christone "Kingfish" Ingram, Eric Gales, Bobby Rush, Alice Smith, and the film's actors Jayme Lawson and Li Jun Li. It was, by any measure, a night that made the case for ballet on the largest stage American entertainment offers.