McDaniel, Hattie
1893-1952 · Contribution: 1940
First African American to win an Academy Award, for her supporting role in 'Gone with the Wind'
Portraits are AI-generated interpretations, not photographs.
Impact on the world
Won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1940 for her role as Mammy in 'Gone with the Wind,' becoming the first African American performer ever nominated for or to win an Oscar; she received the award at a racially segregated table at the back of the ceremony hall, separated from her white co-stars, and called the moment one of the happiest of her life despite the discrimination surrounding it.
Life & background
McDaniel made history in 1940 as the first African American performer nominated for an Academy Award, then became the first to win when she took the Best Supporting Actress statue for her role as Mammy in 'Gone with the Wind.' Although she called the win one of the happiest moments of her life, the ceremony itself enforced racial segregation, seating her at a separate table at the back of the room, away from her white castmates. Her win went unmatched by another Black performer for half a century, until Whoopi Goldberg's 1991 win for 'Ghost,' and her legacy remains debated due to the racially stereotyped maid roles that dominated her career within an industry that offered Black actors of her era few other options.
Sources
- Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (Oscars.org); Encyclopædia Britannica
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