Hattie McDaniel
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).
Known For
Acting
1939
asMammy
1934
asAunt Dilsey
1934
asMop Buyer
1936
asQueenie
1932
asCora, Helen's Maid in New Orleans (uncredited)
1946
asAunt Tempy
1935
asIsabella
1942
asHester
1938
asHattie (uncredited)
1944
asFidelia
1946
asCozy
1942
asMinerva Clay
1938
asHilda
1935
asMalena Burns - Maid Serving Dinner
1941
asViolet
1937
asRosetta
1941
asCallie
1947
asCelia
1941
asCynthia, Sue's Cook
1949
asMinnie
1948
asPhyllis
1938
asMartha
1939
asDehlia
1938
asBelvedere
1946
asCynthia
1938
asAgatha
1937
asElla
1937
asAmbrosia
1932
asCaroline - the Cook (uncredited)
1932
asPerformer entering radio station
1983
asSelf (archive footage) (uncredited)
1934
asMaid
1944
asApril, Conway's Maid
1946
asApril
1948
asBertha
1940
asAunt Carrie
1938
asHattie - Maid at Prom Dance (uncredited)
1937
asMaid
1937
asJenny
1937
asHannah
1932
asPowder Room Attendant
1937
asPearl (uncredited)
1961
as'Gone with the Wind' screen test (archive footage) (uncredited)
1933
asManicurist (uncredited)
1936
asBuckwheat's Mother (uncredited)
1935
asMolly
2004
asSelf (archive footage)
1932
asMaid (uncredited)
1942
asCleota
1937
asMamie (uncredited)
1937
asHattie (uncredited)
1935
asHattie (Amanda in credits)
1936
asEllen Belle
1934
asMandy - the Maid
1935
asIsabel McCarthy, Dolly's Maid (uncredited)
1934
asTessie
1936
asMamie
1936
asDeborah
1937
asAbby
1934
asBunny's Maid (uncredited)
1934
asAbigail (uncredited)
1935
asMartha Smith (uncredited)
1933
asWoman in Apartment House
1936
asHattie
1944
asMaid
1943
asAida
1936
asScrubwoman in Grand Plaza Hall (uncredited)
1943
asGossip in "Ice Cold Katie" Number
1936
asSadie
1939
asHattie
1944
asMillie
2022
as
1936
asMaid (uncredited)
1937
as
1934
asRosalie (uncredited)
1932
asInjured Patient (uncredited)
1935
asBecky "Mom Beck" Porter
1936
asHattie
1933
asEdna the Maid
1940
asSelf
1935
asCook
1988
asSelf (archive footage)
1985
asSelf (archive footage) (uncredited)
2009
asSelf (archive footage)
2014
asSelf (archive footage)
1934
asAnnie (uncredited)
1934
asWoman at Funeral (uncredited)
1935
asNellie (uncredited)
1936
asDora
1985
as
1936
asKitty Silvers
1934
asIda Johnson
1936
asLizzie
1937
asBeulah
1935
asMaid (uncredited)
1934
asHattie - Gertrude's Maid (uncredited)
1935
asMaid
1937
asMrs. Walker (uncredited)
asBeulah
asSelf - First Black Oscar Winner (archive footage)
Production
Crew
Directing
