Viola Davis just reached a four-midable milestone. She received her fourth Oscar nomination on Monday, setting a record for the most acting nominations for a Black actress, according to Netflix.
Davis, who won the Best Supporting Actress Academy Award for “Fences” in 2017, was tied with Octavia Spencer, with three nominations, until her name was called for the Best Actress category Monday as the title character in “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.” That also makes her the first Black woman to earn two Best Actress nominations, said Netflix, which released the screen adaptation of the August Wilson play.
Whoopi Goldberg is the only other female Black actor with multiple nods, winning Best Supporting Actress for “Ghost” in 1991 after a Best Actress nomination for “The Color Purple” in 1986, Entertainment Weekly noted.
Davis has repeatedly called out the racial divide in Hollywood. Her “pay me what I’m worth” plea for equality at a 2018 Women in the World once again went viral last summer.
Both Davis and her late “Ma Rainey’s” co-star Chadwick Boseman will be chasing history in the Best Actress and Best Actor categories.
The last (and only) Black Best Actress winner was Halle Berry for “Monster’s Ball” in 2002. The last for the men was Forest Whitaker for “The Last King of Scotland” in 2007.
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