Famous Black People

: Category: Famous Black People

This list of black Academy Award winners and nominees are current as of the 86th Academy Awards ceremony held on March 3, 2014.

Hattie McDaniel (June 10, 1895 – October 26, 1952) was an American actress. McDaniel was the first African-American to win an Academy Award. She won the award for Best Supporting Actress for her role of Mammy in Gone with the Wind (1939).

List of Black Academy Award Winners and Nominees

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Hattie McDaniel was the first African American to win an Academy Award.

Best Actor in a Leading Role

Year	Name	Film	Role	Status	Milestone
Best Actor in a Leading Role
1958	Sidney Poitier	The Defiant Ones	Noah Cullen	Nominated	First African-American actor to be nominated for Best Actor.
1963	Sidney Poitier	Lilies of the Field	Homer Smith	Won	First black male to win an Oscar. First African-American actor to win Best Actor. First African-American actor to receive two acting nominations (Best Actor). Youngest African-American actor to win Best Actor (age 37).
1970	James Earl Jones	The Great White Hope	Jack Jefferson	Nominated
1972	Paul Winfield	Sounder	Nathan Lee Morgan	Nominated	First film to feature African-American nominees for both Best Actor and Best Actress.
1986	Dexter Gordon	Round Midnight	Dale Turner	Nominated	First jazz musician to be nominated for Best Actor.
1989	Morgan Freeman	Driving Miss Daisy	Hoke Colburn	Nominated
1992	Denzel Washington	Malcolm X	Malcolm X	Nominated
1993	Laurence Fishburne	What's Love Got to Do with It	Ike Turner	Nominated	Second film to feature African-American nominees for both Best Actor and Best Actress.
1994	Morgan Freeman	The Shawshank Redemption	Ellis Boyd 'Red' Redding	Nominated
1999	Denzel Washington	The Hurricane	Rubin Carter	Nominated
2001	Denzel Washington	Training Day	Alonzo Harris	Won	Second African-American actor to receive the award for Best Actor. First time two African-American performers won in leading role Oscars in the same year (Halle Berry, Monster's Ball).
2001	Will Smith	Ali	Muhammad Ali	Nominated	First male hip hop artist to be nominated for an Academy Award. First time multiple African-American actors received Best Actor nominations.
2004	Jamie Foxx	Ray	Ray Charles	Won	First African-American actor to receive two acting nominations in the same year.
2004	Don Cheadle	Hotel Rwanda	Paul Rusesabagina	Nominated
2005	Terrence Howard	Hustle & Flow	DJay	Nominated
2006	Forest Whitaker	The Last King of Scotland	Idi Amin	Won
2006	Will Smith	The Pursuit of Happyness	Chris Gardner	Nominated
2009	Morgan Freeman	Invictus	Nelson Mandela	Nominated
2012	Denzel Washington	Flight	William "Whip" Whitaker	Nominated	Denzel Washington has the most nominations for an African-American Actor: Best Actor (4 nominations) and Best Supporting Actor (2 nominations).
2013	Chiwetel Ejiofor	12 Years a Slave	Solomon Northup	Nominated	First black British actor to be nominated for Best Actor.
2016	Denzel Washington	Fences	Troy Maxson	Nominated
2017	Denzel Washington	Roman J. Israel, Esq.	Roman J. Israel	Nominated	Denzel Washington has the most nominations for an African-American Actor: Best Actor (6 nominations) and Best Supporting Actor (2 nominations). First African-American actor to be nominated two years in a row
2017	Daniel Kaluuya	Get Out	Chris Washington	Nominated	Second black British actor to be nominated for Best Actor

Best Actress in a Leading Role

Year	Name	Film	Role	Status	Milestone
Best Actress in a Leading Role
1954	Dorothy Dandridge	Carmen Jones	Carmen Jones	Nominated	First African-American actress to be nominated for Best Actress.
1972	Diana Ross	Lady Sings the Blues	Billie Holiday	Nominated	First African-American actress to receive an Academy Award nomination for a debut film performance. First time multiple African-American actresses received Best Actress nominations.
1972	Cicely Tyson	Sounder	Rebecca Morgan	Nominated	First film to feature African-American nominees for both Best Actor and Best Actress. First time multiple African-American actresses received Best Actress nominations.
1974	Diahann Carroll	Claudine	Claudine	Nominated
1985	Whoopi Goldberg	The Color Purple	Celie Johnson	Nominated	First time multiple African-American actresses received nominations for the same film.
1993	Angela Bassett	What's Love Got to Do with It	Tina Turner	Nominated	Second film to feature African-American nominees for both Best Actor and Best Actress.
2001	Halle Berry	Monster's Ball	Leticia Musgrove	Won	First African-American actress to win Best Actress. First time two African-American performers won in leading role Oscars in the same year (Denzel Washington, Training Day).
2009	Gabourey Sidibe	Precious	Claireece "Precious" Jones	Nominated	Second film to feature African-American nominees for both Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress. Second African-American actress to receive a lead Academy Award nomination for a debut film performance.
2011	Viola Davis	The Help	Aibileen Clark	Nominated	Third film to feature African-American nominees for both Best Actress and Supporting Actress categories. Tied with Whoopi Goldberg as the most nominated African-American actress with 2 nominations.
2012	Quvenzhané Wallis	Beasts of the Southern Wild	Hushpuppy	Nominated	Youngest ever Best Actress nominee (aged 9). Third African-American actress to receive a lead Academy Award nomination for a debut film performance.
2016	Ruth Negga	Loving	Mildred Loving	Nominated	First black Irish actress to be nominated. First black African (Ethiopia) actress to be nominated in lead.

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

Year	Name	Film	Role	Status	Milestone
Best Actor in a Supporting Role
1969	Rupert Crosse	The Reivers	Ned	Nominated	First African-American actor to be nominated for Best Supporting Actor.
1981	Howard Rollins	Ragtime	Coalhouse Walker Jr.	Nominated
1982	Louis Gossett, Jr.	An Officer and a Gentleman	Gunnery Sergeant Emil Foley	Won	First African-American actor to win Best Supporting Actor.
1984	Adolph Caesar	A Soldier's Story	Sgt. Waters	Nominated
1987	Morgan Freeman	Street Smart	Fast Black	Nominated	First time multiple African-American actors received Best Supporting Actor nominations.
1987	Denzel Washington	Cry Freedom	Steve Biko	Nominated
1989	Denzel Washington	Glory	Pvt. Trip	Won	First African-American actor to receive two Best Supporting Actor nominations.
1992	Jaye Davidson	The Crying Game	Dil	Nominated	First black actor to receive an Academy Award nomination for a debut film performance. First black British actor to receive an Academy Award nomination.
1994	Samuel L. Jackson	Pulp Fiction	Jules Winnfield	Nominated
1996	Cuba Gooding, Jr.	Jerry Maguire	Rod Tidwell	Won	Youngest African-American male actor to win an Academy Award (age 29).
1999	Michael Clarke Duncan	The Green Mile	John Coffey	Nominated
2003	Djimon Hounsou	In America	Mateo	Nominated	First black actor born in Africa (specifically in Benin) to receive an Academy Award nomination.
2004	Morgan Freeman	Million Dollar Baby	Eddie 'Scrap-Iron' Dupris	Won	Oldest African-American actor to win an Academy Award (age 67).
2004	Jamie Foxx	Collateral	Max	Nominated	First African-American actor to receive two acting nominations in the same year.
2006	Djimon Hounsou	Blood Diamond	Solomon Vandy	Nominated
2006	Eddie Murphy	Dreamgirls	James 'Thunder' Early	Nominated	First film to feature African-American nominees for both Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress.
2013	Barkhad Abdi	Captain Phillips	Abduwali Muse	Nominated	Second black actor born in Africa (specifically in Somalia) to receive an Academy Award nomination. Second black actor to receive an Academy Award nomination for a debut performance.
2016	Mahershala Ali	Moonlight	Juan	Won	Second film to feature black nominees for both Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress. First Muslim actor to win an Oscar. First time two African-American performers won in supporting role Oscars in the same year (Viola Davis, Fences).
2018	Mahershala Ali	Green Book	Don Shirley	Won	Second time two African-American performers won supporting role Oscars in the same year (Regina King, If Beale Street Could Talk). First African-American actor to win two Oscars in the same category. Second African-American actor to win multiple competitive Academy Awards.

Best Actress in a Supporting Role

Year	Name	Film	Role	Status	Milestone
Best Actress in a Supporting Role
1939	Hattie McDaniel	Gone with the Wind	Mammy	Won	First black female to win an Oscar. First African-American person (or black person of any nationality) to win an Academy Award. First African-American person to be nominated for acting. First African-American actress to win Best Supporting Actress. Oldest African-American actress to win an Academy Award (age 44).
1949	Ethel Waters	Pinky	Mrs. Dicey Johnson (Pinky's Granny)	Nominated	Second African-American person to be nominated for an Academy Award.
1959	Juanita Moore	Imitation of Life	Annie Johnson	Nominated
1967	Carol Channing	Thoroughly Modern Millie	Muzzy Van Hosmere	Nominated	First time two African-American actresses were nominated in the same category.
1967	Beah Richards	Guess Who's Coming to Dinner	Mrs. Prentice	Nominated
1983	Alfre Woodard	Cross Creek	Geechee	Nominated
1985	Margaret Avery	The Color Purple	Shug Avery	Nominated	Second time multiple African-American actresses received Best Supporting Actress nominations. First time multiple African-American actresses received nominations for the same film.
1985	Oprah Winfrey	The Color Purple	Sofia	Nominated
1990	Whoopi Goldberg	Ghost	Oda Mae Brown	Won	First African-American actress to receive two acting nominations overall. Second African-American actress to win Best Supporting Actress.
1996	Marianne Jean-Baptiste	Secrets & Lies	Hortense Cumberbatch	Nominated	First black British actress to receive an Academy Award nomination.
2002	Queen Latifah	Chicago	Matron Mama Morton	Nominated	First female hip hop artist to be nominated for an Academy Award.
2004	Sophie Okonedo	Hotel Rwanda	Tatiana Rusesabagina	Nominated
2006	Jennifer Hudson	Dreamgirls	Effie White	Won	First African-American actor (male or female) to win an Academy Award for a debut film performance. Youngest African-American actress to win or be nominated for Best Supporting Actress. Youngest African-American actor (male or female) to win an Academy Award (age 25). First film to feature African-American nominees for both Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress. First African-American actress to win an Academy Award for a musical film.
2007	Ruby Dee	American Gangster	Mama Lucas	Nominated	Oldest African-American actress to be nominated for an Academy Award (age 83).
2008	Viola Davis	Doubt	Mrs. Miller	Nominated	Third time two African-American actresses were nominated in the same category.
2008	Taraji P. Henson	The Curious Case of Benjamin Button	Queenie	Nominated
2009	Mo'Nique	Precious	Mary Lee Johnston	Won	Second film to feature African-American nominees for both Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress.
2011	Octavia Spencer	The Help	Minny Jackson	Won	Third film to feature African-American nominees for both Best Actress and Supporting Actress.
2013	Lupita Nyong'o	12 Years a Slave	Patsey	Won	First black African (Kenyan) actress to be nominated. First black African to win in any category. Second black actor to win for a debut performance.
2016	Viola Davis	Fences	Rose Maxson	Won	Tied with Octavia Spencer as the most nominated black actress ever with three nominations. First time two African-American performers won in supporting role Oscars in the same year (Mahershala Ali, Moonlight).
	Naomie Harris	Moonlight	Paula	Nominated	Third black British actress to receive an Academy Award nomination Second film to feature black nominees for both Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress.
	Octavia Spencer	Hidden Figures	Dorothy Vaughan	Nominated	Third black actress following Whoopi Goldberg and Viola Davis to earn multiple Oscar nominations. First black actress to be nominated after previously winning.
2017	Octavia Spencer	The Shape of Water	Zelda Fuller	Nominated	First black actress to be nominated twice after previously winning. First black actress to be nominated two years in a row. Tied with Viola Davis as the most nominated black actress ever with three nominations.
2017	Mary J. Blige	Mudbound	Florence Jackson	Nominated	First black woman to receive multiple Oscar nominations in the same year. First person nominated for an Academy Award for acting and writing an original song in the same year. Her nomination made Dee Rees the first African-American woman to direct a film for which an actor or actress was nominated for an Academy Award.^[1]^[2]
2018	Regina King	If Beale Street Could Talk	Sharon Rivers	Won	Second time two African-American performers won in supporting role Oscars in the same year (Mahershala Ali, Green Book).

Best Animated Feature

Year	Name	Film	Status	Milestone
Academy Award for Best Animated Feature
2018	Peter Ramsey	Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse	Won	Shared with Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, Bob Persichetti & Rodney Rothman First African American to be nominated for Animated Feature. First African American to win for Animated Feature.

Best Cinematography

Year	Name	Film	Status	Milestone
Academy Award for Best Cinematography
1998	Remi Adefarasin	Elizabeth	Nominated	First black person to be nominated for Best Cinematography.
2016	Bradford Young	Arrival	Nominated	First African American to be nominated in the category.

Best Costume Design

Year	Name	Film	Status	Milestone
Academy Award for Best Costume Design
1992	Ruth E. Carter	Malcolm X	Nominated	First African-American person (male or female) to be nominated for Best Costume Design.
1997	Ruth E. Carter	Amistad	Nominated
2004	Sharen Davis	Ray	Nominated
2006	Sharen Davis	Dreamgirls	Nominated
2018	Ruth E. Carter	Black Panther	Won	First African American to win for Best Costume Design.

Best Director

Year	Name	Film	Status	Milestone
Academy Award for Best Director
1991	John Singleton	Boyz n the Hood	Nominated	First African-American person to be nominated for Best Director. Youngest person ever nominated in this category (age 24).
2009	Lee Daniels	Precious	Nominated	Second African-American person to earn a Best Director nomination. First African-American director to earn a Best Picture nomination.
2013	Steve McQueen	12 Years a Slave	Nominated	First black British person to earn a Best Director nomination. First black director to direct a Best Picture winning film. First black director to earn an Oscar for Best Picture.
2016	Barry Jenkins	Moonlight	Nominated	Second black director to direct a Best Picture winning film.
2017	Jordan Peele	Get Out	Nominated	First African American to earn a Best Director nomination and a Best Picture nomination for a debut film.
2018	Spike Lee	BlacKkKlansman	Nominated

Best Documentary Feature

Year	Name	Film	Status	Milestone
Academy Award for Documentary Feature
1990	Yvonne Smith (producer)	Adam Clayton Powell	Nominated	Shared with Richard Kilberg. First African-American producer to be nominated for Best Documentary Feature.
1997	Spike Lee(director) Samuel D. Pollard (producer)	4 Little Girls	Nominated	First African-American director to be nominated for Best Documentary Feature.
2004	Karolyn Ali (producer)	Tupac: Resurrection	Nominated
2012	T. J. Martin(director)	Undefeated	Won	First African-American person to win in this category. First African-American director to win in this category.
2016	Ava DuVernay(director/producer)	13th	Nominated
	Roger Ross Williams(director/producer)	Life, Animated	Nominated	Nominated with Julie Golden
	Raoul Peck (director) Hébert Peck(producer)	I Am Not Your Negro	Nominated	First Haitian to be nominated in this category.
	Ezra Edelman(director/producer)	O.J.: Made in America	Won
2017	Yance Ford(director)	Strong Island	Nominated	First openly transgender man to be nominated for any Academy Award. First openly transgender director to be nominated for any Academy Award. (Nominated with Joslyn Barnes)
2018	RaMell Ross (director)	Hale County This Morning, This Evening	Nominated	Nominated with Joslyn Barnes and Su Kim

Best Documentary Short Subject

Year	Name	Film	Status	Milestone
Academy Award for Documentary Short Subject
2000	Leelai Demoz	On Tiptoe: Gentle Steps to Freedom	Nominated	Shared nomination with Eric Simonson. First African-American person to be nominated for Best Documentary Short Subject.
2009	Roger Ross Williams	Music by Prudence	Won	Shared nomination with Elinor Burkett. First African-American person to win Best Documentary Short Subject.

Best Editing

Best Film Editing

Year	Name	Film	Status	Milestone
Academy Award for Film Editing
1969	Hugh A. Robertson	Midnight Cowboy	Nominated	First African-American person to be nominated for Best Editing.
2016	Joi McMillon	Moonlight	Nominated	First African-American woman to be nominated for Best Editing.

Best Original Score

Best Music, Original Score

Year	Name	Film	Status	Milestone
Academy Award for Original Music Score
1961	Duke Ellington	Paris Blues	Nominated	First African-American person to be nominated for Best Original Score.
1967	Quincy Jones	In Cold Blood	Nominated
1971	Isaac Hayes	Shaft	Nominated
1978	Quincy Jones	The Wiz	Nominated	First African-American person to be nominated in the Original Song Score and Its Adaptation or Adaptation Score (which is different from Best Original Score category).
1984	Prince	Purple Rain	Won	First African-American winner of Best Original Song Score (which is different from Best Original Score category); this category was retired afterwards.
1985	Quincy Jones Andrae Crouch Caiphus Semenya	The Color Purple	Nominated	Shared nomination with 9 other composers. Caiphus Semenya becomes the first black South African to be nominated for an Academy Award.
1986	Herbie Hancock	Round Midnight	Won	First African-American winner of Best Original Score.
1987	Jonas Gwangwa	Cry Freedom	Nominated	Shared nomination with George Fenton
2018	Terence Blanchard	BlacKkKlansman	Nominated

Best Original Song

Best Music, Original Song

Year	Name	Film	Song	Status	Milestone
Academy Award for Best Original Song
1967	Quincy Jones Bob Russell	Banning	"The Eyes of Love"	Nominated	First African-American people to be nominated for Best Original Song.
1968	Quincy Jones Bob Russell	For Love of Ivy	"For Love of Ivy"	Nominated	First African-American people to be nominated twice for Best Original Song.
1971	Isaac Hayes	Shaft	"Theme from Shaft"	Won	First African-American winner for Best Original Song. First African-American winner for any award other than in the acting categories.
1981	Lionel Richie	Endless Love	"Endless Love"	Nominated
1983	Irene Cara	Flashdance	"Flashdance... What a Feeling"	Won	First African-American woman to win a non-acting Academy Award. Shared nomination and win with composer Giorgio Moroder and co-lyricist Keith Forsey.
1984	Stevie Wonder	The Woman in Red	"I Just Called to Say I Love You"	Won
1984	Ray Parker, Jr.	Ghostbusters	"Ghostbusters"	Nominated
1985	Lionel Richie	White Nights	"Say You, Say Me"	Won
1985	Quincy Jones Lionel Richie	The Color Purple	"Miss Celie's Blues"	Nominated	Shared nomination with Rod Temperton
1988	Lamont Dozier	Buster	"Two Hearts"	Nominated	Shared nomination with Phil Collins.
1993	Jimmy Jam Terry Lewis Janet Jackson	Poetic Justice	"Again"	Nominated
1994	James Ingram	Beethoven's 2nd	"The Day I Fall In Love"	Nominated	Shared nomination with Carole Bayer Sager and Cliff Magness.
1995	James Ingram	Junior	"Look What Love Has Done"	Nominated	Shared nomination with Carole Bayer Sager, James Newton Howard and Patty Smyth.
2005	Juicy J Frayser Boy DJ Paul	Hustle & Flow	"It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp"	Won	First African-American rappers to win an Academy Award.
2006	Siedah Garrett	Dreamgirls	"Love You I Do"	Nominated	Shared nomination with composer Henry Krieger.
2007	Jamal Joseph Charles Mack Tevin Thomas	August Rush	"Raise It Up"	Nominated
2011	Siedah Garrett	Rio	"Real in Rio"	Nominated	Shared with rel="noopener"Sergio Mendes and Carlinhos Brown. Garrett is the most nominated African-American female songwriter (2 nominations).
2013	Pharrell Williams	Despicable Me 2	"Happy"	Nominated
2014	Common John Legend	Selma	"Glory"	Won
2015	DaHeala The Weeknd	Fifty Shades of Grey	"Earned It"	Nominated	Shared nomination with Belly & Stephan Moccio. The Weeknd & DaHeala are the first black Canadians nominated for Best Original Song.
2017	Mary J. Blige Raphael Saadiq Taura Stinson	Mudbound	"Mighty River"	Nominated	Blige is also the first black woman to receive multiple Academy Award nominations in the same year. First person nominated for an Academy Award for acting and writing an original song in the same year.
2017	Common	Marshall	"Stand Up for Something"	Nominated	Shared nomination with Diane Warren
2018	Kendrick Lamar Sounwave SZA Anthony Tiffith	Black Panther	"All the Stars"	Nominated

Best Picture

Year	Name	Film	Status	Milestone
Academy Award for Best Picture
1985	Quincy Jones	The Color Purple	Nominated	First African-American producer whose film was nominated for Best Picture.
2009	Lee Daniels	Precious	Nominated	First African-American director whose film was nominated for Best Picture. First time two films with African-American producers were nominated for Best Picture.
2009	Broderick Johnson	The Blind Side	Nominated	First time two films with African-American producers were nominated for Best Picture.
2012	Reginald Hudlin	Django Unchained	Nominated
2013	Steve McQueen	12 Years a Slave	Won	First black producer to win Best Picture.
2014	Oprah Winfrey	Selma	Nominated	First black female producer nominated for Best Picture.
2016	Denzel Washington	Fences	Nominated	First time that three films with black producers were nominated for Best Picture.
	Pharrell Williams	Hidden Figures	Nominated
	Kimberly Steward	Manchester by the Sea	Nominated
2017	Jordan Peele	Get Out	Nominated	First time an African American was honored with a Best Picture, Best Director and Best Screenplay (Original or Adapted) nominations in one year ^[3]
2018	Spike Lee	BlacKkKlansman	Nominated	The first Best Picture nominee to have more than one African American producer. Peele is the first African-American producer to be nominated for Best Picture twice. Shared nomination with Jason Blum, Raymond Mansfield, Sean McKittrick & Shaun Redick.

Best Production Design

Year	Name	Film	Status	Milestone
Academy Award for Best Production Design
2018	Hannah Beachler	Black Panther	Won	First African American to be nominated for Best Production Design. First African American to win for Best Production Design.

Best Short Film (Animated)

Year	Name	Film	Status	Milestone
Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film
2017	Kobe Bryant	Dear Basketball	Won	Shared nomination with Glen Keane. First African American to win Short Film (Animated). First former professional athlete to be nominated for and to win an Academy Award in any category.

Best Short Film (Live Action)

Year	Name	Film	Status	Milestone
Academy Award for Live Action Short Film
1991	David Massey	Last Breeze of Summer	Nominated	First African-American person (male or female) to be nominated for Short Film (Live Action).
1995	Dianne Houston	Tuesday Morning Ride	Nominated	First African-American female to be nominated for Short Film (Live Action).
2017	Kevin Wilson Jr.	My Nephew Emmett	Nominated

Best Sound Mixing

Year	Name	Film	Status	Milestone
Academy Award for Sound
1978	Willie D. Burton	The Buddy Holly Story	Nominated	First African-American person to be nominated for Best Sound.
1980	Willie D. Burton	Altered States	Nominated	First African-American person to be nominated multiple times for Best Sound.
1983	Willie D. Burton	WarGames	Nominated
1988	Willie D. Burton	Bird	Won	First African-American person to win Best Sound.
1989	Russell Williams	Glory	Won	Second African-American person to win Best Sound.
1990	Russell Williams	Dances with Wolves	Won	First African-American person to win multiple Academy Awards in any category.
1994	Willie D. Burton	The Shawshank Redemption	Nominated
1999	Willie D. Burton	The Green Mile	Nominated
2006	Willie D. Burton	Dreamgirls	Won	First African-American person to be nominated, and to win, after category was renamed "Sound Mixing".

Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

Year	Name	Film	Adapted From	Status	Milestone
Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay
1972	Lonne Elder	Sounder	Sounder by William H. Armstrong	Nominated	First African-American nominee for Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay).
1984	Charles Fuller	A Soldier's Story	A Soldier's Play by Charles Fuller	Nominated
2009	Geoffrey Fletcher	Precious	Push by Sapphire	Won	First African-American person to win a screenplay Academy Award.
2013	John Ridley	12 Years a Slave	Twelve Years a Slave by Solomon Northup	Won	Second African-American person to win a screenplay Academy Award. First African-American writer to have written a film that won the Best Picture award.
2016	Barry Jenkins	Moonlight	In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue by McCraney	Won
	Tarell Alvin McCraney	Moonlight	In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue by McCraney	Won
	August Wilson	Fences	Fences by August Wilson	Nominated	First African-American writer to receive a posthumous nomination in this category.
2017	Virgil Williams	Mudbound	Mudbound by Hillary Jordan	Nominated
2017	Dee Rees	Mudbound	Mudbound by Hillary Jordan	Nominated	Rees is the first black woman to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.^[4]
2018	Kevin Willmott	BlacKkKlansman	Black Klansman by Ron Stallworth	Won	Shared with Charlie Wachtel & David Rabinowitz
	Spike Lee	BlacKkKlansman	Black Klansman by Ron Stallworth	Won	Shared with Charlie Wachtel & David Rabinowitz
	Barry Jenkins	If Beale Street Could Talk	If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin	Nominated	African-American director and writer with most nominations in this category.

Best Writing (Original Screenplay)

Year	Name	Film	Status	Milestone
Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay
1972	Suzanne de Passe	Lady Sings the Blues	Nominated	Shared nomination with co-writers Chris Clark and Terence McCloy. First African-American nominee for Best Writing (Original Screenplay). First African-American female nominated for screen-writing.
1989	Spike Lee	Do the Right Thing	Nominated	First African-American male to be nominated for Best Writing (Original Screenplay).
1991	John Singleton	Boyz n the Hood	Nominated
2017	Jordan Peele	Get Out	Won	First African American to win for Best Writing (Original Screenplay) and the nomination overall, for a debut film.

Special Awards

Year	Name	Award
Special Awards
1948	James Baskett	Academy Special Award, for his characterization of Uncle Remus in Song of the South.
1995	Quincy Jones	Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award
2001	Sidney Poitier	Academy Honorary Award, "for his extraordinary performances and unique presence on the screen and for representing the industry with dignity, style and intelligence".
2011	James Earl Jones	Academy Honorary Award, "for his legacy of consistent excellence and uncommon versatility"
2011	Oprah Winfrey	Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award
2014	Harry Belafonte	Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award
2015	Spike Lee	Academy Honorary Award, "filmmaker, educator, motivator, iconoclast, artist....[and] a champion of independent film and an inspiration to young filmmakers"
2017	Charles Burnett	Academy Honorary Award
2018	Cicely Tyson	Academy Honorary Award

African American Academy Award List of Winners and Nominees Guide

Best Actor in a Leading Role

Best Actor in a Leading Role

Best Actress in a Leading Role

Best Actress in a Leading Role

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

Best Actress in a Supporting Role

Best Actress in a Supporting Role

Best Animated Feature

Best Animated Feature

Best Cinematography

Best Cinematography

Best Costume Design

Best Costume Design

Best Director

Best Director

Best Documentary Feature

Best Documentary Feature

Best Documentary Short Subject

Best Documentary Short Subject

Best Editing

Best Film Editing

Best Original Score

Best Music, Original Score

Best Original Song

Best Music, Original Song

Best Picture

Best Picture

Best Production Design

Best Production Design

Best Short Film (Animated)

Best Short Film (Animated)

Best Short Film (Live Action)

Best Short Film (Live Action)

Best Sound Mixing

Best Sound Mixing

Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

Best Writing (Original Screenplay)

Best Writing (Original Screenplay)

Special Awards

Special Awards

See also

See also

References

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