Hattie McDaniel, a trailblazing actress, left a lasting mark on the entertainment industry by becoming the first African American to win an Oscar in 1940.
Before her historic win, the Kansas native spent years performing as a vaudeville actress and established herself as one of the pioneering radio singers.
This led her to star in the hit radio sitcom The Beulah Show, as the voice of the titular character, Beulah.
After taking over the role in November 1947, McDaniel helped turn the show into a major hit.
Moreover, McDaniel became the first Black woman to star in her own network radio show, later reprising the role in the television sitcom of the same name.
From one major milestone to another, McDaniel continued to build her reputation as a seasoned actress and eventually joined the cast of the legendary film Gone With the Wind.
American actress Hattie McDaniel as she appeared in her role as Mammy in ‘Gone With The Wind’, circa 1939.Pictorial Parade/Archive Photos/Getty Images
She played Mammy, the fiercely loyal, sharp-witted house servant at the Tara plantation who also served as a confidante to Scarlett O’Hara, the main character played by Vivien Leigh.
While the 1939 film became the highest-grossing film of its era and grew into a major cultural phenomenon associated with Hollywood’s Golden Age, McDaniel’s portrayal earned her a place in Oscar history.
At the 12th Academy Awards in 1940, McDaniel won Best Supporting Actress at age 44, making her the first African American to win a competitive acting Oscar.
However, the ceremony was held at the segregated Cocoanut Grove nightclub inside the Ambassador Hotel.
McDaniel and her guest were seated separately from the film’s other nominees, reflecting the racial discrimination she faced despite her historic achievement.
Actress Hattie McDaniel is shown with the statuette she received for her portrayal in “Gone With The Wind” for winning Best Supporting Role by an Actress at the 12th annual Academy Awards ceremony.Bettmann Archive/Getty Images
Despite the discrimination, the actress’s victory sparked an emotional moment. McDaniel wore a turquoise gown embellished with rhinestones and white gardenias in her hair.
“You would have had the choke in your voice that all of us had,” syndicated gossip columnist Louella Parsons said, describing the emotion that filled the room, per The Hollywood Reporter.
McDaniel, whose parents had been enslaved before emancipation, delivered a heartfelt acceptance speech, saying, “It has made me feel very, very humble and I shall always hold it as a beacon for anything I may be able to do in the future. I sincerely hope I shall always be a credit to my race and to the motion picture industry.”
Following her death from breast cancer in 1952, the award-winning actress bequeathed her Academy Award plaque to Howard University in Washington, D.C.
The award was displayed in the university’s drama department until the late 1960s, when it disappeared from the university’s premises sometime in the late 1960s or early 1970s, under circumstances that remain unclear.
McDaniel’s family and supporters repeatedly asked the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to provide a replacement for the actress’s missing award, but the organization initially refused because its rules restricted the issuance of duplicate awards.
It was not until October 2023 that the Academy reversed its position and agreed to provide a replacement plaque
“Hattie McDaniel was a groundbreaking artist who changed the course of cinema and impacted generations of performers who followed her. We are thrilled to present a replacement of Hattie McDaniel’s Academy Award to Howard University,” Academy Museum Director and President Jacqueline Stewart and Academy CEO Bill Kramer said in a statement, as cited by Deadline. “This momentous occasion will celebrate Hattie McDaniel’s remarkable craft and historic win.”
Related: At 64, Diana Nyad swam 110 miles from Cuba to Florida in about 53 hours; it was her 5th attempt at the crossing, the first in 1978
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