Halle Berry is “continually saddened” by Black representation at Academy Awards
Halle Berry has spoken about her disappointment with the Academy Awards, as she remains the only Black woman to have taken home the ‘Best Actress’ award.
The Oscars have been celebrating cinematic excellence for almost a century now, with the first ceremony taking place in 1929. This year marked the 96th edition of the awards, but the Academy are still failing to celebrate Black talent in the industry, according to Berry.
In the existence of the Academy Awards, only five Black men have taken home the ‘Best Actor’ title. Those are Sidney Poitier, Denzel Washington, Jamie Foxx, Forest Whitaker, and, most recently, Will Smith. In the same time period, only one Black woman has ever taken home the ‘Best Actress’ title, which was Berry.
In 2001, 72 years into the existence of the Academy Awards, Berry became the first Black woman to take home the coveted award for her performance in Marc Forster’s Monster’s Ball. She was up against some fierce competition in the category, including Judi Dench and Nicole Kidman.
During her acceptance speech, Berry honoured the Black women who had come before her, as well as her peers. “This moment is so much bigger than me,” she declared, “This moment is for Dorothy Dandridge, Lena Horne, Diahann Carroll. It’s for the women that stand beside me, Jada Pinkett, Angela Bassett, Vivica Fox. And it’s for every nameless, faceless woman of colour that now has a chance because this door tonight has been opened.”
Just over two decades later, Berry still remains the only Black woman to have taken home the award. “I’m still eternally miffed that no Black woman has come behind me for that best actress Oscar,” she shared during a recent conversation with Marie Claire, “I’m continually saddened by that year after year.”
Berry also went on to state that it’s “certainly not because there has been nobody deserving,” citing Andra Day in 2001’s The United States vs. Billie Holiday and Viola Davis in Ma Rainey‘s Black Bottom as examples of award-worthy performances.
Day didn’t even receive a nomination for her performance in the Billie Holiday biopic, while Davis lost out on the award to Frances McDormand for Nomadland. This marked McDormand’s second award within four years, following her win for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri in 2017.
Despite her frustrations and disappointment with the Academy, Berry went on to state that she would much rather have a “kickass, robust, soaring career as a Black woman” than awards.
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