Hattie McDaniel (June 10, 1893 – October 26, 1952) was an American actress, singer-songwriter, and comedienne. For her role as Mammy in Gone with the Wind (1939), she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, becoming the first African American to win an Oscar.
Who was the first African American to win and Oscar?
On February 29, 1940, Hattie McDaniel became the first Black actor to win an Academy Award when she took best supporting actress for “Gone With the Wind,” which won eight Oscars overall including best picture.
Black Oscar winners: Every actress, actor who won Academy Awards, from Hattie McDaniel to Da'Vine Joy Randolph [PHOTOS] Since the Academy Awards were first handed out in 1929, only 23 Oscars have been awarded to performances given by Black actresses and actors.
From AP's archives: Louis Gossett Jr. on receiving a Hollywood legacy award in 2020. Louis Gossett Jr., the first Black man to win a supporting actor Oscar and an Emmy winner for his role in the seminal TV miniseries “Roots,” has died. He was 87.
He not only became the third Black person to ever win an Oscar but also the first to win a non-acting category, paving the way for artists and musicians to win on Hollywood's biggest stage. His 1971 song, “Theme From Shaft” won the award for Best Original Song at the 1972 Oscars.
Hattie McDaniel winning Best Supporting Actress: 12th Oscars (1940)
Who was the second black person to win an Oscar?
Decades after Sidney's historic win, in the year 2002, Denzel Washington became the second black actor to win the Oscar trophy in the Best Actor category, for his role as corrupt detective Alonzo Harris in the crime thriller 'Training Day'.
On February 29, 1940, Hattie McDaniel became the first Black actor to win an Academy Award when she took best supporting actress for “Gone With the Wind,” which won eight Oscars overall including best picture.
Denzel Washington (Best Actor in a Leading Role, Best Actor in a Supporting Role), Mahershala Ali (Best Actor in a Supporting Role, twice), Ruth E. Carter (Best Costume Design, twice), Willie D.
At just 25 years old, #JenniferHudson made history in 2007 as the youngest Black #Oscar winner of all time — and she still is! Hudson is also one of only 16 actors to win an Oscar for her debut film. Legendary!
The 10 champions to date are: McDaniel for “Gone with the Wind” as a strong-willed house slave, Whoopi Goldberg for “Ghost” (1990) as a psychic, Jennifer Hudson for “Dreamgirls” (2006) as the outspoken member of a singing group, Mo'Nique for “Precious” (2009) as an abusive mother, Octavia Spencer for “The Help” (2011) ...
To date, only 10 Black actresses have won an Oscar, and Halle Berry remains the only one to have triumphed in the lead category, for her role in 2001's “Monster's Ball.” (The numbers for Black women are even more dire in the nonacting categories.)
In contrast “Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Duke Ellington Song Book” won for jazz performance. That year, Count Basie became the first Black man to win a Grammy, also taking home two awards, for best jazz group performance and best performance by a dance band.
Years After Becoming the First Black Director to Win an Oscar, Roger Ross Williams Says Hollywood's Finally Calling. Even after winning the gold for his doc short 'Music for Prudence' in 2010, the helmer wasn't able to raise money for his first feature, but with 'Cassandro' and 'The 1619 Project,' things have changed.
Halle Berry was the first, and so far only, Black Best Actress thanks to “Monster's Ball” (2001). The acting category with the most Black winners is Best Supporting Actress, with 10 including recent champ Da'Vine Joy Randolph for “The Holdovers” (2023).
Daniel Day-Lewis has won the most Academy Awards for best actor (three), and a number of actors have received two such Oscars, including Spencer Tracy and Tom Hanks, both of whom won in consecutive years.
1. Denzel Washington. Denzel Washington is a highly accomplished black actor known for his outstanding performances in movies. Born on December 28, 1954, in Mount Vernon, New York, he has become one of Hollywood's most respected and successful stars.
Lincoln Theodore Monroe Andrew Perry (May 30, 1902 – November 19, 1985), better known by the stage name Stepin Fetchit, was an American vaudevillian, comedian, and film actor of Jamaican and Bahamian descent, considered to be the first black actor to have a successful film career.
Ruth E Carter, the costume designer best known for her work on the Marvel blockbuster Black Panther, has made history as the first Black woman to win two Oscars. Carter won her first Oscar in 2019 for Black Panther, then becoming the first Black person to win the costume design category.
Snoop Dogg is a rap legend, and having zero Grammys under his belt does not sit right with us. Snoop has been nominated 16 times for the award. He's gotten nominations for his hits such as "Nuthin' But A 'G' Thang," "Gin And Juice," "Still D.R.E." and more.
