Since the Academy Awards were first handed out in 1929, only 22 Oscars have been awarded to performances given by Black actresses and actors. Hattie McDaniel made history for Black performers by winning for “Gone With the Wind” (supporting in 1939), while Sidney Poitier was the first such male actor to prevail for “Lilies of the Field” (lead in 1963). Denzel Washington became the first two-time African-American acting champion when he claimed victory for “Glory” (supporting in 1989) and “Training Day” (lead in 2001), with Mahershala Ali joining him years later for “Moonlight” (supporting in 2016) and “Green Book” (supporting in 2018). 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 nine including recent champ Ariana DeBose for “West Side Story” (2021). Tour our photos below to see every Black actress and actor who won Academy Awards. Gallery originally published 2020.
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Hattie McDaniel
Image Credit: Clarence Sinclair Bull/Selznick/MGM/REX/Shutterstock “Gone with the Wind” (1939)
McDaniel’s win for playing to strong-willed house slave in this Oscar-winning epic was the first ever for an African-American performer.
1939 Best Supporting Actress Nominees:
Olivia de Havilland, “Gone with the Wind”
Geraldine Fitzgerals, “Wuthering Heights”
Hattie McDaniel, “Gone with the Wind”
Edna May Oliver, “Drums Along the Mohawk”
Maria Ouspenskaya, “Love Affair” -
Sidney Poitier
Image Credit: United Artists/REX/Shutterstock “Lilies of the Field” (1963)
Poitier plays Homer Smith, a gentle handyman who assists a group of German nuns with building a chapel. Poitier was the first black actor to win an Oscar in this category, and only the second to win in any competitive Oscar race.
1963 Best Actor Nominees:
Albert Finney, “Tom Jones”
Richard Harris, “This Sporting Life”
Rex Harrison, “Cleopatra”
Paul Newman, “Hud”
Sidney Poitier, “Lilies of the Field” -
Louis Gossett Jr.
Image Credit: Paramount/REX/Shutterstock “An Officer and a Gentleman” (1982)
Gossett was only the third black performer in history to win an Oscar, and the first to win in this category, earning his trophy for his role as a brutal drill sergeant.
1982 Best Supporting Actor Nominees:
Charles Durning, “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas”
Louis Gossett Jr., “An Officer and a Gentleman”
John Lithgow, “The World According to Garp”
James Mason, “The Verdict”
Robert Preston, “Victor Victoria” -
Denzel Washington
Image Credit: Tri Star/REX/Shutterstock “Glory” (1989)
Washington won his first Oscar for his role as a former slave who reluctantly fights for the Union Army in this Civil War-era drama.
1989 Best Supporting Actor Nominees:
Danny Aiello, “Do the Right Thing”
Dan Akroyd, “Driving Miss Daisy”
Marlon Brando, “A Dry White Season”
Martin Landau, “Crimes and Misdemeanors”
Denzel Washington, “Glory” -
Whoopi Goldberg
Image Credit: Paramount/REX/Shutterstock “Ghost” (1990)
Goldberg was a popular winner for her role of a psychic who reluctantly helps the ghost of a murdered man (Patrick Swayze).
1990 Best Supporting Actress Nominees:
Annette Bening, “The Grifters”
Lorraine Bracco, “Goodfellas”
Whoopi Goldberg, “Ghost”
Diane Ladd, “Wild at Heart”
Mary McDonnell, “Dances with Wolves” -
Cuba Gooding Jr.
Image Credit: Andrew Cooper/Columbia Tri Star/REX/Shutterstock “Jerry Maguire” (1996)
The actor’s exuberant acceptance speech almost overshadowed his winning performance as a flamboyant professional football player.
1996 Best Supporting Actor Nominees:
Cuba Gooding Jr., “Jerry Maguire”
William H. Macy, “Fargo”
Armin Mueller-Stahl, “Shine”
Edward Norton, “Primal Fear”
James Woods, “Ghosts of Mississippi” -
Halle Berry
Image Credit: Jeanne Louise Bulliard/Lions Gate/REX/Shutterstock “Monster’s Ball” (2001)
Berry’s win for playing a poverty-stricken woman who develops a relationship with a racist prison guard was the first, and to date only, win by an African-American woman in this category.
2001 Best Actress Nominees:
Halle Berry, “Monster’s Ball”
Judi Dench, “Iris”
Nicole Kidman, “Moulin Rouge”
Sissy Spacek, “In the Bedroom”
Renee Zellweger, “Bridget Jones’s Diary” -
Denzel Washington
Image Credit: Robert Zuckerman/Outlaw/Warner Bros/REX/Shutterstock “Training Day” (2001)
After winning a Supporting Actor statue for “Glory” in 1989, Washington won his first Best Actor prize playing a corrupt Los Angeles narcotics officer.
2001 Best Actor Nominees:
Russell Crowe, “A Beautiful Mind”
Sean Penn, “I Am Sam”
Will Smith, “Ali”
Denzel Washington, “Training Day”
Tom Wilkinson, “In the Bedroom” -
Morgan Freeman
Image Credit: Warner Bros./REX/Shutterstock “Million Dollar Baby” (2004)
After three previous nominations, Freeman won his first Oscar for his role as a janitor and former boxer in this Best Picture winner directed by Clint Eastwood.
2004 Best Supporting Actor Nominees:
Alan Alda, “The Aviator”
Thomas Haden Church, “Sideways”
Morgan Freeman, “Million Dollar Baby”
Jamie Foxx, “Collateral”
Clive Owen, “Closer” -
Jamie Foxx
Image Credit: Nicola Goode/Universal/REX/Shutterstock “Ray” (2004)
Foxx dominated the awards derby for his intense performance as the legendary R&B singer in Taylor Hackford’s Oscar-nominated biopic.
2004 Best Actor Nominees:
Don Cheadle, “Hotel Rwanda”
Leonard DiCaprio, “The Aviator”
Johnny Depp, “Finding Neverland”
Clint Eastwood, “Million Dollar Baby”
Jamie Foxx, “Ray” -
Forest Whitaker
Image Credit: Fox Searchlight/REX/Shutterstock “The Last King of Scotland” (2006)
Whitaker won his Oscar for playing the bloodthirsty and maniacal Ugandan president, Idi Amin.
2006 Best Actor Nominees:
Leonardo DiCaprio, “Blood Diamond”
Ryan Gosling, “Half Nelson”
Peter O’Toole, “Venus”
Will Smith, “The Pursuit of Happyness”
Forest Whitaker, “The Last King of Scotland” -
Jennifer Hudson
Image Credit: Snap Stills/REX/Shutterstock “Dreamgirls” (2006)
The former “American Idol” finalist won for playing Effie White, the outspoken member of a singing group in this adaptation of the Tony-winning Broadway musical.
2006 Best Supporting Actress Nominees:
Adriana Barazza, “Babel”
Cate Blanchett, “Notes on a Scandal”
Abigail Breslin, “Little Miss Sunshine”
Jennifer Hudson, “Dreamgirls”
Rinko Kikuchi, “Babel” -
Mo’Nique
Image Credit: Lee Daniels Entertainment/REX/Shutterstock “Precious” (2009)
The actress and comedian won for her terrifying portrayal of an abusive mother in the drama based of the novel “Push” by Sapphire.
2009 Best Supporting Actress Nominees:
Penelope Cruz, “Nine”
Vera Farmiga, “Up in the Air”
Maggie Gyllenhall, “Crazy Heart”
Anna Kendrick, “Up in the Air”
Mo’Nique, “Precious” -
Octavia Spencer
Image Credit: Snap Stills/REX/Shutterstock “The Help” (2011)
The veteran character actress earned a standing ovation for her portrayal of an opinionated maid in 1960s Mississippi.
2011 Best Supporting Actress Nominees:
Berenice Bejo, “The Artist”
Jessica Chastain, “The Help”
Melissa McCarthy, “Bridesmaids”
Janet McTeer, “Albert Nobbs”
Octavia Spencer, “The Help” -
Lupita Nyong’o
Image Credit: Regency Enterprises/REX/Shutterstock “12 Years a Slave” (2013)
In her feature film debut, Nyong’o plays Patsey, a slave girl who endures brutal treatment on a cotton plantation in this Oscar winner for Best Picture.
2013 Best Supporting Actress Nominees:
Sally Hawkins, “Blue Jasmine”
Jennifer Lawrence, “American Hustle”
Lupita Nyong’o, “12 Years a Slave”
Julia Roberts, “August: Osage County”
June Squibb, “Nebraska” -
Viola Davis
Image Credit: David Lee/Paramount Pictures/REX/Shutterstock “Fences” (2016)
Davis plays Rose, the wife of a waste collector struggling to raise his family in 1950s America in this adaptation of August Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play, directed by Denzel Washington.
2016 Best Supporting Actress Nominees:
Viola Davis, “Fences”
Naomie Harris, “Moonlight”
Nicole Kidman, “Lion”
Octavia Spencer, “Hidden Figures”
Michelle Williams “Manchester by the Sea” -
Mahershala Ali
Image Credit: A24 “Moonlight” (2016)
Ali plays Juan, a drug dealer and surrogate father to a young man struggling to find his place in the world while growing up in a rough Miami neighborhood. This film also won Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Picture.
2016 Best Supporting Actor Nominees:
Mahershala Ali, “Moonlight”
Jeff Bridges, “Hell or High Water”
Lucas Hedges, “Manchester by the Sea”
Dev Patel, “Lion”
Michael Shannon, “Nocturnal Animals” -
Mahershala Ali
Image Credit: Universal “Green Book” (2018)
Ali swept the season and picked up his second Oscar in this category in three years for playing a talented concert pianist touring through the 1960s deep South with an Italian-American bouncer (Viggo Mortensen).
2018 Best Supporting Actor Nominees:
Mahershala Ali, “Green Book”
Adam Driver, “BlacKkKlansman”
Sam Elliott, “A Star Is Born”
Richard E. Grant, “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”
Sam Rockwell, “Vice” -
Regina King
Image Credit: Annapurna “If Beale Street Could Talk” (2018)
King won her first Oscar for her performance as a mother helping her daughter (KiKi Layne) clear her boyfriend’s (Stephan James) name after he’s falsely accused of rape.
2018 Best Supporting Actress Nominees:
Amy Adams, “Vice”
Marina de Tavira, “Roma”
Regina King, “If Beale Street Could Talk”
Emma Stone, “The Favourite”
Rachel Weisz, “The Favourite” -
Daniel Kaluuya
Image Credit: Warner Bros. “Judas and the Black Messiah” (2020)
Kaluuya won for portraying civil rights activist Fred Hampton, who was murdered by police in 1969 at age 21. The movie star became the first Black British actor to win an acting Oscar.
2020 Best Supporting Actor nominees:
Sacha Baron Cohen (“Trial of the Chicago 7”)
Daniel Kaluuya (“Judas and the Black Messiah”)
Leslie Odom Jr. (“One Night in Miami”)
Paul Raci (“The Sound of Metal”)
LaKeith Stanfield (“Judas and the Black Messiah”) -
Will Smith
Image Credit: Chiabella James/Warner Bros “King Richard” (2021)
Smith’s victory for playing Richard Williams, the father/mentor of tennis legends Venus and Serena Williams, was overshadowed by what happened earlier on Oscars night, when he slapped Chris Rock in the face on live TV for making a bald joke about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.
2021 Best Actor Nominees:
Javier Bardem, “Being the Ricardos”
Benedict Cumberbatch, “The Power of the Dog”
Andrew Garfield, “tick, tick… Boom!”
Will Smith, “King Richard”
Denzel Washington, “The Tragedy of Macbeth” -
Ariana DeBose
Image Credit: 20th Century Studios “West Side Story” (2021)
For her role as Anita in Steven Spielberg’s musical remake, DeBose made history as the first openly queer woman of color to win an Oscar for acting, on top of being the first Afro-Latina actress to do so.
2021 Best Supporting Actress Nominees:
Jessie Buckley, “The Lost Daughter”
Ariana DeBose, “West Side Story”
Judi Dench, “Belfast”
Kirsten Dunst, “The Power of the Dog”
Aunjanue Ellis, “King Richard” -
Who’s next?
Image Credit: Disney/Apple Original Films At the 2023 Oscars, two Black performers received nominations: Angela Bassett for “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” as Queen Ramonda and Brian Tyree Henry for “Causeway” as James Aucoin. Will either of them prevail on Oscar night, March 12? Stay tuned.
2022 Best Supporting Actress Nominees:
Angela Bassett, “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”
Hong Chau, “The Whale”
Kerry Condon, “The Banshees of Inisherin”
Jamie Lee Curtis, “Everything Everywhere All at Once”
Stephanie Hsu, “Everything Everywhere All at Once”2022 Best Supporting Actor Nominees:
Brendan Gleeson, “The Banshees of Inisherin”
Brian Tyree Henry, “Causeway”
Judd Hirsch, “The Fabelmans”
Barry Keoghan, “The Banshees of Inisherin”
Ke Huy Quan, “Everything Everywhere All at Once”
