Hattie McDaniel was the first African American woman to win an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for which film?

• A. Gone With the Wind
• B. The Color Purple
• C. Dreamgirls
• D. The Help

Answer: (A)

The main idea is recognizing a historic Oscar milestone tied to Hattie McDaniel and the film that earned her the award. She won Best Supporting Actress for Gone with the Wind (1939) for portraying Mammy, making her the first African American woman to win an Oscar. This achievement stands out because it happened during a period of severe racial barriers in Hollywood, highlighting both progress and the complex ways Black actors were represented at the time. The other films listed feature Black actresses who won Oscars in different years for different roles (Whoopi Goldberg for The Color Purple, Jennifer Hudson for Dreamgirls, Octavia Spencer for The Help), but none of those are the film for which McDaniel earned her historic win. So the film associated with her win is Gone with the Wind.