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Every Black Actress to Win an Oscar

A glass-ceiling-shattering list of history-making women who have won Academy Awards for Best Actress or Best Supporting Actress.

Photo: Shutterstock LanKS

From legends to superstars to actual superheroes, the list of Black women who have won Academy Awards is unexpected and fascianting. Itโ€™s a The list illustrates how far Black women have come in Hollywood, while also illustrating how much is left to go with the large time gaps between some wins. There are very few sure things on this list. Every single one of these women were shocked to be recognized for their talent. No matter how famous you are, it never stops being an uphill climb. With that in mind, this is every Black actress to win an Oscar.

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1939 - Hattie McDaniel - Best Supporting Actress - Gone with the Wind

Photo: Getty Images Archival Photo

The literal definition of a trailblazer, Hattie McDaniel is the first Black person to ever win or be nominated for an Academy Award. None of the success Black actors enjoy today would be possible without her. At the ceremony, she had to sit at a segregated table and wasnโ€™t allowed into a segregated club with her white co-stars. Because McDaniel won her Oscar for playing Mammy, she never really got the full credit she deserved for breaking down barriers.

1990 - Whoopi Goldberg - Best Supporting Actress - Ghost

Photo: Getty Images Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection

Fifty years after Hattie McDaniel, another Black woman finally won an Oscar. Itโ€™s important to note that within that time women like Juanita Moore, Alfre Woodard and Oprah Winfrey were all nominated for Best Supporting Actress. So none of them were good enough to win? Ok, sure. This was not an easy category for Whoopi as she was up against Annette Bening in The Grifters, Lorraine Bracco in Goodfellas, Diane Ladd in Wild at Heart and Mary McDonnell in Dances with Wolves. Plus, the Academy rarely recognizes comedy, so this was a groundbreaking moment for so many reasons.

2001 - Halle Berry - Best Actress - Monsterโ€™s Ball

Photo: Shutterstock Everett Collection

Dorothy Dandridge, Diahann Carroll and Angela Bassett are just some of the legends nominated for Best Actress before Halle Berry won for Monsterโ€™s Ball. Since then, weโ€™ve seen nods for Viola Davis, Ruth Negga and Cynthia Erivo. And yet, Halle is still the only Black woman to ever win the award. Plus, she didnโ€™t even get the Oscar bump after winning. She wasnโ€™t given the instant credibility of Julia Roberts or Sandra Bullock. Berry has been very vocal about how she still has to constantly prove herself.

2006 - Jennifer Hudson - Best Supporting Actress - Dreamgirls

Photo: Shutterstock s_bukley

If you saw Jennifer Hudson on American Idol, you were not at all surprised at her vocals in Dreamgirls. However, her acting was a revelation. For a newcomer to breakthrough with such an undeniable performance was amazing. There was actual applause in the theater during the credits like it was a Broadway show. Though I guess it canโ€™t be too surprising, itโ€™s right there in the title of the song, โ€œAnd I Am Telling You, Iโ€™m Not Going.โ€

2009 - Moโ€™Nique - Best Supporting Actress - Precious

Photo: Shutterstock Featureflash Photo Agency

Thereโ€™s nothing the Academy loves more than a comedian who goes full gritty drama. For some reason they would never reward Moโ€™Nique for making audiences laugh so hard they cry, but if she just makes you cry, thatโ€™s worth a trophy. The admirable thing about Moโ€™Niqueโ€™s win is that she didnโ€™t play the Oscar campaign game. She didnโ€™t make appearances at parties and screenings to shake hands, she just let her work speak for itself, proving that itโ€™s perfectly ok to bet on yourself.

2012 - Octavia Spencer - Best Supporting Actress - The Help

Photo: Shutterstock Jaguar PS

Looking back there are definitely some issues with The Help. However, none of those problems are with Octavia Spencer, who steals every moment sheโ€™s on screen. Aibileen is the center of the story, but itโ€™s Minny who keeps the audience engaged and invested in the story. Spencer has been nominated two more times for Best Supporting Actress, but itโ€™s only a matter of time before she jumps into the Best Actress category.

2013 - Lupita Nyongโ€™o - Best Supporting Actress - 12 Years a Slave

Photo: Getty Images Kevin Winter

The hard truth is that the Academy does love giving Black actors awards for playing slaves. Despite this fact, I would never suggest Lupita did not deserve every bit of the recognition she received following her heartbreaking work in 12 Years a Slave. Sheโ€™s so brilliant, itโ€™s the kind of performance you can only watch once, because itโ€™s too real. Lupita Nyongโ€™o is such a talented renaissance woman, being an Oscar winner is like the tenth most impressive thing about her.

2017 - Viola Davis - Best Supporting Actress - Fences

Photo: Shutterstock Tinseltown

Hereโ€™s the thing, every time Viola Davis is on the stage or screen she gets nominated for an award. And itโ€™s absolutely 100 percent deserved every single time. Viola Davis sitting on a stool reading the phone book would be a captivating movie, because sheโ€™s that awesome. Just when you think youโ€™ve seen her best performance, here she comes with something new that you didnโ€™t know she could do. Do you know how spectacular you have to be to steal the focus from Denzel in his movie that heโ€™s starring in and directing? Yes, you just have to be Viola Davis.

2018 - Regina King - Best Supporting Actress - If Beale Street Could Talk

Photo: Shutterstock Tinseltown

Having literally watched Regina King grow up, there was something extra special about seeing her win an Oscar. It was like a member of the family was being celebrated. Itโ€™s even more exciting to see all the success sheโ€™s achieved since winning, because as noted earlier, Black actresses donโ€™t necessarily get the same Oscar bump as white actresses. Long before she won an Academy Award, Regina was already a successful actress/director, itโ€™s just now the rest of the world knows what we have since 227.

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