Hattie McDaniel
Acting
Born: June 10, 1893 · Wichita, Kansas, USA
Died: October 26, 1952 (aged 59)
Highest Rated
Biography
Hattie McDaniel (June 10, 1893 - October 26, 1952) was an American actress whose portrayal of Mammy in Gone with the Wind (1939) won her the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress, making her the first black person to win an Academy Award. After working as early as the 1910s as a band vocalist, Hattie McDaniel debuted as a maid in The Golden West (1932). Her maid-mammy characters became steadily more assertive, showing up first in Judge Priest (1934) and becoming pronounced in Alice Adams (1935). In this one, directed by George Stevens and aided and abetted by star Katharine Hepburn, she makes it clear she has little use for her employers' pretentious status seeking. By The Mad Miss Manton (1938) the character she portrays actually tells off her socialite employer Barbara Stanwyck and her snooty friends. This path extends into the greatest role of McDaniel's career, Mammy in Gone with the Wind (1939). Mammy is, in a number of ways, superior to most of the white folk surrounding her. From that point, McDaniel's roles unfortunately descended, with the characters becoming more and more menial. McDaniel played on the "Amos and Andy" and Eddie Cantor radio shows in the 1930s and 1940s, the title character in her own radio show "Beulah" (1947-51), and the same part on TV (Beulah, 1950).
Photos (3)
Movies (90)
Gone with the Wind
Mammy
Song of the South
Aunt Tempy
Since You Went Away
Fidelia
They Died with Their Boots On
Callie
Vivacious Lady
Hattie (uncredited)
The Mad Miss Manton
Hilda
In This Our Life
Minerva Clay
Alice Adams
Malena Burns - Maid Serving Dinner
China Seas
Isabel McCarthy, Dolly's Maid (uncredited)
Libeled Lady
Scrubwoman in Grand Plaza Hall (uncredited)
I'm No Angel
Manicurist (uncredited)
Never Say Goodbye
Cozy
The Male Animal
Cleota
Saratoga
Rosetta
Blonde Venus
Cora, Helen's Maid in New Orleans (uncredited)
Carefree
Hattie (uncredited)
The Little Colonel
Becky "Mom Beck" Porter
Imitation of Life
Woman at Funeral (uncredited)
Affectionately Yours
Cynthia, Sue's Cook
Nothing Sacred
Mrs. Walker (uncredited)
True Confession
Ella
The Shining Hour
Belvedere
Johnny Come Lately
Aida
The Big Wheel
Minnie
Merry Go Round of 1938
Maid
The Flame
Celia
The Great Lie
Violet
Judge Priest
Aunt Dilsey
Becoming Marilyn
(archive footage)
Hello, Sister!
Woman in Apartment House
Zenobia
Dehlia
Family Honeymoon
Phyllis
Thank Your Lucky Stars
Gossip in "Ice Cold Katie" Number
The Washington Masquerade
Maid (uncredited)
Wig-Wag
Cook
Music Is Magic
Hattie (Amanda in credits)
Valiant Is the Word for Carrie
Ellen Belle
Margie
Cynthia
Show Boat
Queenie
King Kelly of the U.S.A.
Mop Buyer
Don't Tell the Wife
Mamie (uncredited)
Musical Comedy Tonight III
1985
The Bride Walks Out
Mamie
The Shopworn Angel
Martha
Postal Inspector
Deborah
Over the Goal
Hannah
High Tension
Hattie
The Boiling Point
Caroline - the Cook (uncredited)
George Washington Slept Here
Hester
Babbitt
Rosalie (uncredited)
Hypnotized
Powder Room Attendant
City Park
Tessie
Racing Lady
Abby
Star for a Night
Hattie
The Crime Nobody Saw
Ambrosia
Are You Listening?
Performer entering radio station
The Impatient Maiden
Injured Patient (uncredited)
Reunion
Sadie
Traveling Saleslady
Martha Smith (uncredited)
The Golden West
Mammy Lou
The Singing Kid
Maid (uncredited)
Anniversary Trouble
Maid
Another Face
Nellie (uncredited)
Can This Be Dixie?
Lizzie
3 Is a Family
Maid
We're Only Human
Molly
Janie Gets Married
April
Good-bye Love
Edna the Maid
Operator 13
Annie (uncredited)
Battle of Broadway
Agatha
Gentle Julia
Kitty Silvers
Janie
April, Conway's Maid
45 Fathers
Beulah
Everybody's Baby
Hattie
The First Baby
Dora
The Chases of Pimple Street
Hattie - Gertrude's Maid (uncredited)
Lost in the Stratosphere
Ida Johnson
The Little Rascals - The ClassicFlix Restorations, Volume 5
2022
Sky Racket
Jenny
The Wildcatter
Pearl (uncredited)
Flirtation
Abigail (uncredited)
Murder by Television
Isabella
Merry Wives of Reno
Bunny's Maid (uncredited)
Maryland
Aunt Carrie
Quick Money
Hattie (uncredited)
Arbor Day
Buckwheat's Mother (uncredited)
Hi, Beautiful
Millie
Mickey
Bertha
Fate's Fathead
Mandy - the Maid
Mickey's Rescue
Maid
TV Shows (1)
Self / Appearances (10)
Explained
Self - First Black Oscar Winner (archive footage) · 1 eps
Hollywood Black
Self (archive footage) · 4 eps
1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year
Self (archive footage)
Hollywood: The Selznick Years
Self - Actress 'Gone with the Wind' screen test (archive footage) (uncredited)
Cavalcade of the Academy Awards
Self
Gone with the Wind – Makeup and Wardrobe Tests
Self (archive footage)
The Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind
Self (archive footage)
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Beyond Tara: The Extraordinary Life of Hattie McDaniel
Self (archive footage)
Hattie McDaniel: or A Credit to the Motion Picture Industry
Self (archive footage)