Actress Hattie McDaniel became the first African American to win an Academy Award on this day in history, Feb. 29, 1940.
McDaniel won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Mammy in the film “Gone With The Wind.”
In her acceptance speech, McDaniel said it was “one of the happiest moments of my life.”
“I want to thank each one of you who had a part in selecting me for one of the awards for your kindness. 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,” she said.
McDaniel continued, “I sincerely hope I shall always be a credit to my race and to the motion picture industry. My heart is too full to tell you just how I feel. And may I say thank you and God bless you.”
Actress Hattie Mc Daniel won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Role by an Actress on Feb. 29, 1940, at the 12th Academy Awards. (Getty Images)
McDaniel was also a professional singer-songwriter, comedian, stage actress, radio performer and TV star.
While McDaniel’s Oscars win was a historic first for the Academy, she almost did not get to attend the ceremony.
The 1940 Academy Awards were held at the Cocoanut Grove Nightclub in the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles.
At the time, the hotel was segregated and did not permit Black patrons.
Producer David O. Selznick had to request a favor from the hotel so that McDaniel could attend the event.
Even so, she had to sit in the back of the room, away from her co-stars, who were seated up front, according to many sources.
McDaniel won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar in 1940 for her portrayal of Mammy in “Gone with the Wind.” She’s seen here with Vivien Leigh as Scarlett O’Hara. McDaniel was the first Black American to win an Academy Award. The youngest of 13 children, McDaniel was born to former slaves. (Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images)
In addition to McDaniel’s win for Best Supporting Actress, “Gone With the Wind” also won Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Actress, Art Direction, Color Cinematography, Directing, Film Editing, and Writing – Screenplay.
After McDaniel’s death due to breast cancer on Oct. 26, 1952, she left her Oscar plaque to Howard University’s theater department in Washington, D.C., according to the Associated Press.
UNEARTHED SHOOTING SCRIPT FROM ‘GONE WITH THE WIND’ SHOWS SCENES DEPICTING HORRORS OF SLAVERY
(The winners for Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress did not receive statuettes until 1943, and instead were awarded plaques, noted the publication.)
What follows, however, is a mystery: At some point in the late 1960s or 1970s, her award disappeared.
The location of the original award remains unknown to this day.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures issued a replacement award, pictured here, after McDaniel’s original went missing sometime in the 1960s or 1970s. (Eric Lee for The Washington Post via Getty Images)
On Oct. 1, 2023, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures replaced the award in a ceremony called “Hattie’s Come Home.”
“The ceremony will celebrate the life and legacy of McDaniel, her historic Academy Award win, and reunite her Academy Award with Howard University as she originally intended,” said a press release from The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences ahead of the event.
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The Academy Award plaque is now kept at the Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts at Howard University.
McDaniel has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Hollywood: one for her contributions to radio at 6933 Hollywood Boulevard, and one for motion pictures at 1719 Vine Street, according to the iconic location.
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In 1975, she was inducted into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame. In 2006, she became the first Black Oscar winner honored with a U.S. postage stamp.
McDaniel was born on June 10, 1895, in Wichita, Kansas, to former slaves. She grew up in Denver, Colorado, the youngest of 13 children.
This year’s Oscars — the 96th Academy Awards — will take place on Sunday, March 10.
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