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Every year, I try to honor Black History by writing about something important that has occurred in the entertainment industry. And, I can’t think of any greater honor than winning the Academy Award.
Yes, there have been achievements in many different categories, including directing, writing, producing, scoring, etc, but today, my focus is going to be on Black actors.
Split amongst the Best Lead Actor, Best Lead Actress, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Supporting Actor categories, there have been a total of 23 Oscars doled out to Black performers. So, here are all 23 of them, chronologically ordered.
Hattie McDaniel – Gone With The Wind (1939)
The very first Black winner for an acting Academy Award, Hattie McDaniel won it for Best Supporting Actress with her portrayal of Mammy in Gone With the Wind.
And, even though it’s a racial stereotype role, McDaniel’s character was often the most sensible and attention-grabbing character on the screen. It’s a landmark victory for Black people in cinema.
Sidney Poitier – Lilies Of The Field (1963)
One of Sidney Poitier’s best movies, Lilies of the Field, which is about a handyman who helps a group of nuns build a chapel, was actually Poitier’s second nomination for Best Lead Actor.
His first was for 1958’s The Defiant Ones, which was a movie that he mostly shared with Tony Curtis. Lilies of the Field, however, was a leading role purely for Poitier, and he ended up becoming the first Black Actor to ever win the award. Great stuff!
Louis Gossett Jr. – An Officer And A Gentleman (1982)
In this romantic drama that also stars Richard Gere, Louis Gossett Jr. plays a hard-nosed drill instructor who really challenges his cadets.
Before there was R. Lee Ermey in one of my favorite Kubrick films, Full Metal Jacket, there was Louis Gossett Jr. berating his troops. He was the first Black man to win a Best Supporting Acting trophy, and it was justly awarded. He’s really good in this.
Denzel Washington – Glory (1989)
Denzel Washington’s first Academy Award was a supporting one for his role as a private in the Civil War drama, Glory.
As both a leader to the men in his regiment, but also a soldier who must follow orders, Washington’s character shows the duality of a Black man in uniform. Him deciding to hold up the flag for the charge is one of the most iconic scenes in late ‘80s cinema.
Whoopi Goldberg – Ghost (1990)
An EGOT recipient (though, not the only one on this list), Whoopi Goldberg received a Best Supporting Actress Award for her role as the medium, Oda Mae Brown, in the hit Ghost.
The romance between Swayze and Moore’s character is what defines this film, but it wouldn’t be nearly as enjoyable without Goldberg’s humor, and seriousness when the moment calls for it.
Cuba Gooding Jr. – Jerry Maguire (1996)
For this sports comedy-drama, Cuba Gooding Jr. received a Best Supporting Actor award for his role as a cocky but steadfast wide receiver who wants to be shown the money.
Gooding Jr.’s performance is full of energy, and it makes this romantic comedy feel even sweeter when his and Tom Cruise’s characters share more than just a player and client relationship and actually become good friends.
Halle Berry – Monster’s Ball (2001)
The only Black woman who has ever won Best Lead Actress, Halle Berry, took home the trophy for her role as a conflicted woman who takes on a relationship with the man who helped execute her husband.
Berry’s character is highly vulnerable, and the events of the movie are stressful beyond belief. Still, her character, as flawed as she is (everybody’s flawed in this film) weathered the storm, and earned Berry a Best Actress statue for her troubles.
Denzel Washington – Training Day (2001)
Washington’s second trophy came as the Best Lead Actor, for playing a cop in Training Day who definitely didn’t follow the rules.
Washington’s character was both charming and terrifying, often in the same scene. Say it with me, people: King Kong ain’t got nothing on him!
Morgan Freeman – Million Dollar Baby (2004)
Morgan Freeman actually had a supporting role in two of Clint Eastwood’s best movies, those being Unforgiven, and Million Dollar Baby. And, both films won Best Picture.
However, it was in the latter film where Freeman picked up the Best Supporting Actor statue, for playing a grizzled former boxer and gym assistant. It’s a mostly quiet role, but a memorable one.
Jamie Foxx – Ray (2004)
In one of the best music movies of all time, Jamie Foxx scored a much deserved Best Lead Actor award for his role as the famous blind musician, Ray Charles.
Foxx even had his eyes glued shut for the sake of authenticity. Anything for the craft, right?
Jennifer Hudson – Dreamgirls (2006)
Another EGOT recipient on this list, Jennifer Hudson, scored a Best Supporting Actress trophy in her VERY FIRST ACTING GIG!
It’s little wonder why though. Hudson’s portrayal of Effie White in Dreamgirls is powerful. Going from lead singer to starting all over again, Hudson did a “Supreme” job (Do you see what I did there?) in her very first role.
Forest Whitaker – The Last King of Scotland (2006)
Forest Whitaker’s best performance is by far his role as Idi Amin in The Last King of Scotland.
In a role that netted him a Best Lead Actor award, Whitaker is utterly terrifying, but also somewhat funny, in the way that only Whitaker can be.
Mo’Nique – Precious (2009)
After watching Mo’Nique as the abusive mother in Precious, it’s hard to watch her again in one of the best Black TV shows, The Parkers. It just seems like such a smoke screen.
Anyway, Mo’Nique was awarded a Best Supporting Actress trophy for this performance, and I haven’t looked at her the same way since.
Octavia Spencer – The Help (2011)
Though The Help hasn’t aged well, Octavia Spencer’s role as a maid who was fired for using a guest bathroom is still one of her best performances.
Spencer won Best Supporting Actress for a role where she got to take a dump in somebody’s pie. It’s a feel good film.
Lupita Nyong’o – 12 Years a Slave (2013)
In her career-defining role in 12 Years a Slave, Lupita Nyong’o plays a violently abused slave.
It is one of the most brutal (and likely most realistic) portrayals of slavery ever put to screen, and Nyong’o won a Best Supporting Actress Award for her performance.
Viola Davis – Fences (2016)
In this adaptation of a play in August Wilson’s Pittsburgh Cycle, Viola Davis plays a wronged but loyal wife.
The third EGOT recipient on this list, Davis should have several Oscars, but this is her sole win, and it’s in the Best Supporting Actress category.
Mahershala Ali – Moonlight (2016)
Though only in Moonlight for one act, Mahershala Ali’s performance as a caring drug dealer was so powerful that he won the Best Supporting Actor trophy.
It would be his first of two Academy Awards so far.
Regina King – If Beale Street Could Talk (2018)
In If Beale Street Could Talk, Regina King plays the mother of a young woman whose boyfriend has been convicted of rape, and she tries to convince the victim that it wasn’t him.
King won a Best Supporting Actress Award for her quiet, but searing performance.
Mahershala Ali – Green Book (2018)
In Ali’s second Best Supporting Actor win, the skilled performer played real-life pianist Don Shirley in this Best Picture winner.
Ali’s character in this film is completely different from that in Moonlight, but that sense of vulnerability still persists, which was worthy of the award.
Daniel Kaluuya – Judas And The Black Messiah (2020)
Playing the “Black Messiah,” Daniel Kaluuya portrayed the inspirational Fred Hampton in this riveting biopic.
He won Best Supporting Actor, beating out the “Judas” (Bill O’Neal) in this picture, played excellently by LaKeith Stanfield, who was also nominated.
Ariana DeBose – West Side Story (2021)
In this second adaptation of the famed musical West Side Story, Ariana DeBose won Best Supporting Actress playing Anita, who was portrayed by Rita Moreno in the first theatrical adaptation.
DeBose is absolutely magnetic in the role, firmly earning her win.
Will Smith – King Richard (2021)
Though the unfortunate slap is likely what many people remember most about this ceremony and Will Smith’s award, his Best Lead Actor-winning turn really does deserve a second look.
Playing the tenacious father to Venus and Serena Williams, Smith definitely deserved the award for his work in the lauded film.
Da’Vine Joy Randolph – The Holdovers (2023)
And finally, the most recent winner, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, won Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of a quietly grieving mother in The Holdovers.
This film speaks to me as a teacher, yes, but also as a parent. I can thankfully only imagine the pain that her character Is going through.
That’s all of them! We’ll see if Zoe Saldaña, Colman Domingo, or Cynthia Erivo pick up a trophy at the 2025 Academy Awards.