Hattie McDaniel
Known for: Acting
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).
Filmography
Series
Explained
Self - First Black Oscar Winner (archive footage)
2018
Film
Gone with the Wind
Mammy
1939
Series
Hollywood Black
Self (archive footage)
2024
The Beulah Show
Beulah
1950
Film
Song of the South
Aunt Tempy
1946
Film
They Died with Their Boots On
Callie
1941
Film
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
1983
Film
Vivacious Lady
Hattie (uncredited)
1938
Film
Since You Went Away
Fidelia
1944
Film
I'm No Angel
Manicurist (uncredited)
1933
Film
The Mad Miss Manton
Hilda
1938
Film
Libeled Lady
Scrubwoman in Grand Plaza Hall (uncredited)
1936
Film
Thank Your Lucky Stars
Gossip in "Ice Cold Katie" Number
1943
Film
In This Our Life
Minerva Clay
1942
Series
1939: Secrets of Hollywood's Golden Year
2023
Film
China Seas
Isabel McCarthy, Dolly's Maid (uncredited)
1935
Film
Blonde Venus
Cora, Helen's Maid in New Orleans (uncredited)
1932
Film
1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year
Self (archive footage)
2009
Film
Cavalcade of the Academy Awards
Self
1940
Film
The Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind
Self (archive footage)
1988
Film
George Washington Slept Here
Hester
1942
Film
Hollywood: The Selznick Years
Self - Actress 'Gone with the Wind' screen test (archive footage) (uncredited)
1961
Film
Zenobia
Dehlia
1939
Film
Imitation of Life
Woman at Funeral (uncredited)
1934
Film
Affectionately Yours
Cynthia, Sue's Cook
1941
Film
Good-bye Love
Edna the Maid
1933
Film
Nothing Sacred
Mrs. Walker (uncredited)
1937
Film
Family Honeymoon
Phyllis
1948
Film
3 Is a Family
Maid
1944
Film
The Little Colonel
Becky "Mom Beck" Porter
1935
Film
Judge Priest
Aunt Dilsey
1934
Film
The Great Lie
Violet
1941
Film
Show Boat
Queenie
1936
Film
Maryland
Aunt Carrie
1940
Film
We're Only Human
Molly
1935
Film
The Bride Walks Out
Mamie
1936
Film
The Male Animal
Cleota
1942
Film
Beyond Tara: The Extraordinary Life of Hattie McDaniel
Self (archive footage)
2001
Film
King Kelly of the U.S.A.
Mop Buyer
1934
Film
Hello, Sister!
Woman in Apartment House
1933
Film
Musical Comedy Tonight III
1985
Film
Merry Go Round of 1938
Maid
1937
Film
The Flame
Celia
1947
Film
Never Say Goodbye
Cozy
1946
Film
Don't Tell the Wife
Mamie (uncredited)
1937
Film
The Shining Hour
Belvedere
1938
Film
Carefree
Hattie (uncredited)
1938
Film
Valiant Is the Word for Carrie
Ellen Belle
1936
Film
The Big Wheel
Minnie
1949
Film
Gone with the Wind – Makeup and Wardrobe Tests
Self (archive footage)
2020
Film
Can This Be Dixie?
Lizzie
1936
Film
The Shopworn Angel
Martha
1938
Film
Hypnotized
Powder Room Attendant
1932
Film
Star for a Night
Hattie
1936
Film
Becoming Marilyn
(archive footage)
2022
Film
True Confession
Ella
1937
Film
Operator 13
Annie (uncredited)
1934
Film
Alice Adams
Malena Burns - Maid Serving Dinner
1935
Film
Lost in the Stratosphere
Ida Johnson
1934
Film
Another Face
Nellie (uncredited)
1935
Film
The Crime Nobody Saw
Ambrosia
1937
Film
Saratoga
Rosetta
1937
Film
High Tension
Hattie
1936
Film
Margie
Cynthia
1946
Film
Merry Wives of Reno
Bunny's Maid (uncredited)
1934
Film
Babbitt
Rosalie (uncredited)
1934
Okay Toots!
Maid (uncredited)
1935
Film
The Singing Kid
Maid (uncredited)
1936
Film
The First Baby
Dora
1936
Film
Music Is Magic
Hattie (Amanda in credits)
1935
Film
Postal Inspector
Deborah
1936
Film
Racing Lady
Abby
1937
Film
Are You Listening?
Performer entering radio station
1932
Film
Janie
April, Conway's Maid
1944
Film
Wig-Wag
Cook
1935
Film
Everybody's Baby
Hattie
1939
Film
Mickey
Bertha
1948
Film
The Washington Masquerade
Maid (uncredited)
1932
Film
The Golden West
Mammy Lou
1932
Film
Johnny Come Lately
Aida
1943
Film
Sky Racket
Jenny
1937
Film
Battle of Broadway
Agatha
1938
Film
Flirtation
Abigail (uncredited)
1934
Film
The Chases of Pimple Street
Hattie - Gertrude's Maid (uncredited)
1934
Film
The Little Rascals - The ClassicFlix Restorations, Volume 5
2022
Film
Hi, Beautiful
Millie
1944
Film
Fate's Fathead
Mandy - the Maid
1934
Mississippi Moods
1937
Film
Janie Gets Married
April
1946
Film
Quick Money
Hattie (uncredited)
1937
Film
The Impatient Maiden
Injured Patient (uncredited)
1932
Film
Gentle Julia
Kitty Silvers
1936
Film
Anniversary Trouble
Maid
1935
Film
Arbor Day
Buckwheat's Mother (uncredited)
1936
Film
Murder by Television
Isabella
1935
Film
The Boiling Point
Caroline - the Cook (uncredited)
1932
Film
45 Fathers
Beulah
1937
Film
Traveling Saleslady
Martha Smith (uncredited)
1935
Film
Over the Goal
Hannah
1937
Film
City Park
Tessie
1934
Film
Reunion
Sadie
1936
Film
The Wildcatter
Pearl (uncredited)
1937
Film
Hattie McDaniel: or A Credit to the Motion Picture Industry
Self (archive footage)
2004
Film
Mickey's Rescue
Maid
1934