15 Black Actresses Who have Received Oscar Nominations

It’s disappointing to note that there have only been 15 black actresses who have received Oscar nominations since the Academy Awards began in 1929. As we all know, some of the best talent in the industry today is black talent, so this number will undoubtably rise in the coming years. But for now, let’s take a look back at these 15 women and recognize their achievements.

1. Hattie McDaniel – Best Actress in 1940 for Gone with the Wind

2. Dorothy Dandridge – Best Actress in 1954 for Carmen Jones

3. Juanita Moore – Best Actress in 1959 for Imitation of Life

4. Diana Ross – Best Actress in 1972 for Lady Sings the Blues

5. Cicely Tyson – Best Actress in 1974 for Sounder; Best Actress in 2018 for The Help

6. Diahann Carroll – Best Actress in 1973 for Claudine

7. Whoopi Goldberg – Best Actress in 1990 for Ghost; Best Supporting Actress in 1991 for The Color Purple; and again in 1996, 1999, 2002 and 2009 as host

8. Angela Bassett – Best Actress in 1993 for What’s Love Got to Do With It?

9. Halle Berry – Best Actress in 2001 For Monster’s Ball

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Black actors in Hollywood have been making their mark since the early days of cinema. Some of history’s greatest films have featured some of the world’s most talented black actors and actresses. The following list is a ranking of 15 such individuals that have been nominated for Academy Awards for Best Actress.

Since Hattie McDaniel became the first black performer to win an Oscar in 1940, only 12 other black actresses have managed to get nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role and only three other black actresses have won Oscars: Whoopi Goldberg, Halle Berry, and Jennifer Hudson.

The following list features 13 actresses who were nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role and two who were nominated for Best Supporting Actress. With the help of the Internet Movie Database (IMDb), we’ve ranked these 15 excellent actresses who received nominations from greatest to least based on the number of votes they received at the time this article was written. The list also includes each actress’ date of birth, years active, birthplace, and Oscar nomination year(s) so you can get to know these inspiring women a little bit more.

For too long, black women have been ignored and overlooked by Hollywood. But things are changing. The 2015 Oscar nominations included two black actresses for the first time ever, and this year’s list includes several more; hopefully this is a sign of things to come.

In celebration of all the talented actresses of color who have received Oscar nominations, here are 15 of the most iconic.

This year, Viola Davis became the first African-American actress to win an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series. She is also the first black woman to earn three Oscar nominations, and the first to receive two acting Oscar nominations. With her second nomination for Fences, Davis might just become the first black woman to win an Oscar for Best Actress. So let’s take a look back at the 15 Black actresses who have been nominated for an Academy Award.

In the history of the Academy Awards, only 15 black actresses have received Oscar nominations.

Here is a list of the 15 women who have been nominated for an Oscar:

1. Dorothy Dandridge – 1954 (Best Actress in a Leading Role)

2. Juanita Moore – 1960 (Best Actress in a Supporting Role)

3. Diana Ross – 1973 (Best Actress in a Leading Role)

4. Diahann Carroll – 1974 (Best Actress in a Leading Role)

5. Cicely Tyson – 1974 (Best Actress in a Leading Role)

6. Whoopi Goldberg – 1985 (Best Actress in a Leading Role)

7. Oprah Winfrey – 1986 (Best Actress in a Supporting Role)

8. Angela Bassett – 1994 (Best Actress in a Leading Role)

9. Alfre Woodard – 1983, 1999, 2004 (3 Nominations- Best Actress in a Supporting Role)

10. Vanessa Williams – 1996 (Best Actress in a Supporting Role)

11. Halle Berry – 2001 (Best Actress in a Leading Role)

12. Queen Latifah – 2002 (Best Actress in a Supporting Role)

13. Sophie Okonedo – 2004 (Best Supporting Actor)

14.

No Black actress has ever won the Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role. In fact, there have only been three Best Actress nominees who were also Black: Dorothy Dandridge, Whoopi Goldberg and Halle Berry. The last two of these women won their respective trophies, Dandridge losing to Grace Kelly in The Country Girl (1954) and Goldberg and Berry besting Juliette Binoche (The English Patient) and Nicole Kidman (The Hours), respectively.

That’s it. Fifteen nominations total among a community of hundreds of thousands of actresses.

Just think about that for a moment: By the time you finish reading this sentence, dozens of actors will have booked a role today — hundreds over the course of a week, thousands over the course of a month. But when you consider that there are only 15 Black actresses who have been nominated for an Oscar since 1929, it makes you realize just how hard it is for Black female performers to even get noticed in Hollywood, much less celebrated by their peers.

Halle Berry is the first black woman to win an Oscar for Best Actress.

1. Whoopi Goldberg, “The Color Purple” (1985)

2. Oprah Winfrey, “The Color Purple” (1985)

3. Margaret Avery, “The Color Purple” (1985)

4. Alfre Woodard, “Cross Creek” (1983)

5. Diahann Carroll, “Claudine” (1974)

6. Diana Ross, “Lady Sings the Blues” (1972)

7. Cicely Tyson, “Sounder” (1972)

8. Beah Richards, “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?” (1967)

9. Leslie Uggams, “Hallelujah Baby!” (1967)

10. Juanita Moore, “Imitation of Life” (1959)

11. Dorothy Dandridge, “Carmen Jones” (1954)/a>

12. Ethel Waters, “Pinky” (1949)

13. Hattie McDaniel, “Gone With the Wind” (1939) – won Best Supporting Actress Oscar in 1940

14. Louise Beavers, Imitation of Life” (19