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America Ferrera has received her first Oscar nomination in the Best Supporting Actress category for the Barbie movie. And it would have been a shame if that powerful monologue hadn’t gotten the recognition it deserved.
But above all, the actress is ecstatic by the diversity of women receiving recognition in the Academy Awards’ supporting actress category. Along with Danielle Brooks for The Colour Purple and Da’Vine Joy Randolph for The Holdovers, Ferrera is one of three persons of color nominated for supporting actress. As Fererra has expressed to Variety:
“It feels great to see the range of women that are being acknowledged in the supporting actress category and so excited that Lily Gladstone was in the Best Actress category as well.”
Ferrera has been a vocal advocate for the possibilities and rights of people of color in Hollywood. The 39-year-old actress has wanted to be an actress since she was nine years old. As she revealed in her April 2019 TED Talk, she never saw anyone who looked like her on television or in films. She continued,
“My family, friends, and teachers all constantly warned me that people like me didn’t make it in Hollywood. But I was an American. I had been taught to believe that anyone could achieve anything, regardless of the color of their skin, the fact that my parents immigrated from Honduras, and the fact that I had no money.”
Ferrera has made it a point to speak out about the difficulties she faces in Hollywood as a woman of color. Over the years, as she has battled to land a job “that wasn’t a poorly written stereotype,” Fernera has encountered the notion that her identity is a barrier she must get past. Years later nevertheless, Ferrera is now seen as an inspiration for all women who are perceived as “different.” So, what exactly is America Ferrera’s ethnicity?
Is America Ferrera Latina?
America Ferrera was born in Los Angeles on April 18, 1984, to Honduran parents who emigrated to the United States from Honduras in the mid-1970s. Her parents, América Griselda Ayes and Carlos Gregorio Ferrera were originally from Tegucigalpa, giving America Ferrera an indigenous Honduran descent. The actress herself revealed that she traces her ancestry to the Lencas.
The Lenca, also known as Lepa Wiran, meaning “Jaguar People” or “People of The Jaguar” are an Indigenous people from present-day southwest Honduras and eastern El Salvador in Central America. Ferrera’s father went back to Honduras after her parents divorced when she was seven years old. She was estranged from her father when he passed away there in 2010.
But despite everything, Ferrera feels proud of her ethnicity and recently expressed her joy at being able to represent her community on a global stage, (via CNN)
“I’m so proud to get to bring Latiné representation to this year’s Academy Awards, along with my fellow Latiné nominees. May the diversity of voices acknowledged by the Academy continue to grow!”
The actress emphasized that it was encouraging to see that there were possibilities for women of color to shine and participate in the year’s top films this year. From her career-defining role as Ana in Real Women Have Curves, to Gloria in Barbie, Ferrera has come a long way. Yet, she continues to be an inspiration for people who dream big, regardless of their age, ethnicity, or body type.