This year, seven out of the 20 acting Oscar nominees are represented by people of color.
All seven of the performers – Lily Gladstone, Danielle Brooks, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, America Ferrera, Colman Domingo, Sterling K. Brown and Jeffrey Wright – are first-time Oscar nominees.
The Best Supporting Actress category is the most diverse of them all, with Brooks, Randolph and Ferrera nominated for their roles in The Color Purple, The Holdovers and Barbie, respectively.
Ferrera spoke to ABC Audio at the Oscar Nominees Luncheon on February 12, where she talked about what the recognition means to her.
“I had a crazy dream to have a fabulous career as an actress. And I think this is, for so many people, the mountain top, right?” Ferrera said. “I remember watching Halle Berry win and Julia Roberts win and, you know, kind of feeling like that seems like an impossible gulf to cross from here to there. But you’ve got to try, right? And you’ve got to have something to aim for.”
Ferrera becomes the first person of Honduran descent to be nominated for an Oscar in any category. Additionally, Domingo is the first Afro-Latino nominated in the Best Actor category, for his work in Rustin.
With Gladstone’s Best Actress nomination, they became the first-ever Native American performer nominated in the category. However, they are not the first Indigenous nominee. Other known Indigenous Best Actress nominees include Yalitza Aparicio Martínez for Alfonso Cuarón‘s 2018 film Roma and Keisha Castle-Hughes for 2003’s Whale Rider.
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