“They told me I didn’t have enough to make it in Hollywood… and I ended up being the first African American woman to win an Oscar for Best Actress. ”
Halle Berry made history when she took home the Best Actress in a Leading Role Oscar for her role in the 2001 film Monster’s Ball. But two decades later, she’s still the only Black woman to hold the title, and she’s not happy about it.
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Halle won the prestigious award during the 74th Academy Awards at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood on March 24, 2002. The notable win goes down in history not only for breaking barriers but also for her memorable reaction.
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“Oh my God,” Halle said during her acceptance speech. “Oh my God. I’m sorry. This moment is so much bigger than me. This moment is for Dorothy Dandridge, Lena Horne, Diahann Carroll. It’s for the women that stand beside me, Jada Pinkett, Angela Bassett, Vivica Fox.”
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“And it’s for every nameless, faceless woman of color that now has a chance because this door tonight has been opened. Thank you. I’m so honored. I’m so honored. And I thank the Academy for choosing me to be the vessel for which His blessing might flow.”
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Before Halle, only six Black women had been nominated for the Oscar. After her win, only seven Black women have been nominated since. Covering Marie Claire’s September Changemaker Issue, Halle opened up about the pivotal career moment and why she thought there’d be a long list of fellow Black winners in that category by now.
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“I’m still eternally miffed that no Black woman has come behind me for that best actress Oscar,” The Union star told the magazine.
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“I’m continually saddened by that year after year. And it’s certainly not because there has been nobody deserving.”
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To put things more into perspective, this year marked the 96th Academy Award ceremony, which means that out of the 96 years, only 14 Black women have ever been nominated, and only one has one. Halle’s 2002 win was also the first time any woman of color had won the award and the first time two Black actors won in the same night — Denzel won Best Actor in a Leading Role for Training Day.
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In total, only 10 Black women have won in the acting categories for Best Actress or Best Supporting Actress.
The Oscars debuted in 1929. The first Black person to be nominated was Hattie McDaniel in 1940 for her role as Mammy in Gone with the Wind; she took home the gold for Best Supporting Actress. But even then, she was sitting at a segregated “Blacks only” section in the room.
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