Octavia Spencer

Biography:

Octavia Lenora Spencer is an American actor and writer who was born on May 25, 1970. In addition to being nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards, she has won other honors, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and a Golden Globe Award.

Spencer debuted in the drama A Time to Kill in 1996. Her breakthrough occurred in 2011 when she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of a maid in 1960s America in the drama film The Help, after ten years of small appearances in television and movies.

She appeared in the Fox drama series Red Band Society (2014–2015), had a recurring part in the CBS sitcom Mom (2013–2015), and earned the National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Ryan Coogler’s biopic Fruitvale Station (2013).

As a cleaning woman in the fantasy film The Shape of Water (2017) and as Dorothy Vaughan in the biopic Hidden Figures (2016), Spencer’s roles as other black women in 1960s America earned her two consecutive nominations for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, making her the first black actress to do so and the first to be nominated twice after winning.