20 Black Women in Film Who Proved One Role Can Change Everything
This list honors 20 Black women in film whose breakout performances became instant cultural milestones. These weren't just great roles. They were turning points for Hollywood and for how we see Black women on screen.
Take Halle Berry in Monster's Ball. She became the first Black woman to win the Oscar for Best Actress. That moment was historic, but it also exposed how rare those moments are.
Lupita Nyong'o stunned the world in 12 Years a Slave. Her emotional performance earned her an Academy Award and solidified her place in cinematic history after just one role.
Then there's Gabourey Sidibe in Precious. Her raw debut helped shift conversations about Black girlhood, poverty, and body image in mainstream media.
Each of these Black women in film did more than act—they represented, they challenged, and they redefined what power looks like.
Some lit up indie films. Others carried major blockbusters. All brought something fresh, honest, and unforgettable to the screen.
Their performances proved that one moment—one chance—can change a life, spark a movement, and leave a legacy.
This list isn't just about success. It's about visibility, impact, and the cultural weight these women carry every time their scenes replay in our heads.
It's time to give them their flowers. Let's start with these 20.
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20 Black Women in Film Who Proved One Role Can Change Everything was originally published on wzakcleveland.com
1. Halle Berry – Monster's Ball (2001)
Berry made history as the first Black woman to win the Oscar for Best Actress for her raw, emotional performance. 2. Lupita Nyong'o – 12 Years a Slave (2013)
Her heartbreaking debut earned her an Academy Award and launched a global career rooted in grace and power.
3. Viola Davis – Doubt (2008)
Davis stunned with just one scene, earning an Oscar nomination and proving her unmatched dramatic presence. 4. Whoopi Goldberg – Ghost (1990)
Goldberg won an Oscar for her comedic and heartfelt role, showing the power of blending humor with soul.
5. Angela Bassett – What's Love Got to Do with It (1993)
Bassett's fierce portrayal of Tina Turner remains one of the most respected biopic performances ever. 6. Gabourey Sidibe – Precious (2009)
Sidibe's debut role was vulnerable, raw, and unforgettable—earning her Oscar nods and instant cultural relevance.
7. Cynthia Erivo – Harriet (2019)
Erivo embodied Harriet Tubman with strength and dignity, earning Oscar, Golden Globe, and Grammy nominations. 8. Danai Gurira – Black Panther (2018)
As Okoye, she became a global symbol of power, loyalty, and Black female leadership on screen.
9. Tiffany Haddish – Girls Trip (2017)
Haddish stole every scene and launched a comedy career off one unforgettable, meme-worthy performance. 10. Oprah Winfrey – The Color Purple (1985)
Though known as a media mogul, Oprah's first major acting role earned her an Oscar nomination and deepened her legacy.
11. Taraji P. Henson – Hustle & Flow (2005)
Her emotional performance and musical contribution ('It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp') helped the film win an Oscar. 12. Tessa Thompson – Dear White People (2014)
Thompson brought sharp wit and emotional depth to a film that challenged race and identity in America.
13. Lashana Lynch – No Time To Die (2021)
Lynch became the first Black female 007, breaking barriers in one of the world's biggest franchises. 14. Quvenzhané Wallis – Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012)
At just 9 years old, she became the youngest Best Actress Oscar nominee ever.
15. Adepero Oduye – Pariah (2011)
Her role as a queer Black teen in this indie film was quietly groundbreaking and deeply human. 16. Aja Naomi King – The Birth of a Nation (2016)
King's performance brought grace and grit to a controversial but historically significant film.
17. Kiki Layne – If Beale Street Could Talk (2018)
Layne delivered softness and strength in a poetic adaptation of Baldwin's work. 18. Saniyya Sidney – King Richard (2021)
Sidney's portrayal of Venus Williams added depth and energy to one of 2021's most celebrated biopics.
19. Tia Nomore – Earth Mama (2023)
With little acting experience, Nomore's raw, natural performance earned critical acclaim and spotlighted motherhood in crisis. 20. Teyonah Parris – Dear White People (2014)
Parris held her own with charm and fire in a satire that helped redefine modern Black cinema.
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"It seems most Black stories that are for mainstream consumption have to do with Black pain, have to do with Black trauma," Brown said. "So I thought, how awesome would it be to take this historical context but to still illuminate, [and] highlight, joy, hope, faith, love, etc." And for Kingsley, the story has broad appeal—"that universal story of us going through that harrowing narrative and pain in our past and triumphing over it." SUBSCRIBE TO THE PARTING SHOT WITH H. ALAN SCOTT ON APPLE PODCASTS OR SPOTIFY AND WATCH ON YOUTUBE Editor's Note: This conversation has been edited and condensed for publication. Sterling, you can always take top billing, but for this project you're supporting and producing. What about this inspired you to want to make it? Sterling K. Brown: It was the central character. It was a young boy who finds himself in the midst of slavery, but through the power of his imagination, of his hope, of his faith, is able to transcend his circumstances. And it's also the community that protected his dreams, right? Recognizing the power and importance of dreamers and how dreaming is contagious. I think that's why, oftentimes dreamers are sort of snuffed out and taken out, and why people need to protect them, because they recognize that, like so many of us, [they] are just trying to survive, or just trying to make it from day to day to day, until you come into the presence of a dreamer, and they say life is bigger than what you can currently imagine. And if you follow me, I can show you something bigger. That's who Washington is, and I've never seen that in the historical context of slavery, not allowing slavery to define who he is as a person, but allowing his creativity to be fully manifested and ultimately be like this brilliant creator, the seeker of love and beauty everywhere that he goes, and bringing that contagion with him. Pursued by Willard, Wash faces a life-altering choice. Meanwhile, tensions are on the rise between Tanna and McGee and Young Wash and Titch's Arctic journey, forces Young Wash to forge his own path forward. From... Pursued by Willard, Wash faces a life-altering choice. Meanwhile, tensions are on the rise between Tanna and McGee and Young Wash and Titch's Arctic journey, forces Young Wash to forge his own path forward. From Hulu's Washington Black. More Disney/Chris Reardon That's one of the things that I think I was so pleasantly moved by the story is that so often, when it comes to depictions of slavery in film and television, joy and hope are often not necessarily part of the story. And those stories are very important to tell. But I loved the aspect of hope that this story has. Brown: It was very important to me. Interesting enough, this project came to me before American Fiction. But American Fiction actually talks a lot about how it seems most of Black stories that are for mainstream consumption have to do with Black pain, have to do with Black trauma, right? So I thought, how awesome would it be to take this historical context but to still illuminate [and] highlight, joy, hope, faith, love, etc. And Ernest, taking on this role, the title role, that's a lot this early in your career. Did you feel the pressure of the title role? And how did you go about finding your version of Washington? Ernest Kingsley Jr.: Of course. Look, I did feel some pressure. It was quickly dissipated by the cast around me, the community around me, and someone like Sterling as well, who's been such a mentor and a friend and a brother. He definitely was showing me the ropes all along. I was really being supported by the talent and the love and care by our cast and crew. And in terms of research, I guess to start off with, definitely reading the book. The show kind of branches off from it. Reading the book was a great foundation for me, just to kind of initially get into the world of Washington Black and the epicness and the journey and the story, and then obviously, going deeper into other things and the time period. But it was definitely the book that launched me into it. WASHINGTON BLACK – 'St. George and the Dragon' – Young Wash and Titch evade capture, finding allies, threats, and shocking truths about Titch's family. In Halifax, Tanna's attempt to derail her engagement complicates her ties... WASHINGTON BLACK – 'St. George and the Dragon' – Young Wash and Titch evade capture, finding allies, threats, and shocking truths about Titch's family. In Halifax, Tanna's attempt to derail her engagement complicates her ties to Wash and Goff. As Wash's aquarium impresses Goff, danger looms, testing loyalty amid shifting ambitions. More Disney/Chris Reardon Even though this is a work of fiction, it does really illuminate part of Black history that not a lot of people know much about. Black pirates, for example. Was there any part of this history that you learned something from? Brown: I love the Dahomey, which also is echoed in [The] Woman King. I loved the sort of throughline of the Afro Nova Scotian community that we've discovered in Halifax, right? And I've worked in Charleston, South Carolina, on a TV show called Army Wives, for a long time and the Gullah accent [also called Geechee] I found very peculiarly in Halifax, Nova Scotia. And I was like, "You guys sound like you're from South Carolina." "No, we don't sound like we're from South Carolina. We're from up here." And I'm like, "Whoa, what are you talking about, man?" And it's sort of like the accent that Medwin uses, because I thought that 50 percent of all Africans that entered into the United States came through a port in South Carolina called Sullivan's Island, right? And so for me to hear that accent when I went to Halifax was this incredible moment, like, "Oh, wow. We really did make it." This underground railroad is not something that I just heard about. I see the evidence of it here in Nova Scotia while we're shooting on location. It was a magical moment for me. And Ernest, what about you? Did you learn anything about this history? Kingsley: I think Sterling kind of touched on it, the Afro Nova Scotia community. Obviously, we see how Medwin has really upheld and built that community at the time, but also just going there and filming and realizing that they'd been there for nearly seven generations. And just seeing the community they've built and how close-knit and tight they are, against all odds, against when they first arrived there, all those generations ago, they were given kind of terrible land, the unfertile land, and what they built from that, what they did, and they're still there in abundance. Just getting introduced to that kind of culture and community was really cool. There are also aspects of the characters in this that we so often don't see, particularly Black characters in science, space, flying, all of those things. Was it important to you for these characters to be doing things that, historically in entertainment, we've often only seen white characters do. Brown: Man, you're making my heart just crack open in the most beautiful way possible, because there is an active erasure of our history going on in the United States right now. To make it sound as if we just didn't exist. And there is no American history without Black history. And there's also a de-emphasis of our history of creativity, of innovation, of invention, right? And so, in order to put that on the screen, hopefully people will reverse engineer and be like, "You know what? I know it's a work of historical fiction, but what is the history of Black entrepreneurship, invention, creativity?" Because there's so much that we've done, but that's not highlighted for such a long time, especially as a young person growing up in the States, the idea of being smart and being cool was sort of seen as an anathema. They didn't cross over with each other, especially in the Black community, actively putting something on screen that shows a very, very cool, passionate, loving man who's so smart, who's so imaginative, who's so creative. I had a professor tell me once that Black history is American history, you can't really separate the two. But Ernest, for you, as someone who isn't American yet you're telling this uniquely American story, what was it like for you processing how this story is told? Kingsley: To be really honest, it's quite like universal in terms of the Black, British and American [experiences]. I feel like that universal story of us going through that harrowing narrative and pain in our past and triumphing over it. And also, just the thing of us not getting the credit for our inventions and beautiful things we've done spans across, unfortunately, history across the world. And so it was touching the core of the experience that is universal for us. And I think the thing about seeing this Black boy and him getting the visibility—obviously his credit is stolen, but like the visibility—just the narrative and seeing him build this invention, build this thing with his creativity. There's something about being seen and seeing that on a screen, as opposed to—like you were saying—you see a very common narrative of certain people do certain things, we don't see Black people in sci-fi, but you see that in the story. And it's like, that's evidence, and that's permission. So, yeah, it was really cool. To that, what is really powerful about Washington's experience is every time he looks to the sky and hopes or dreams. The power of the sky and stars in Black history, in spirituals, in the work of Harriet Tubman, it's really powerful. Brown: It does make sense, right? Because if you look just in your immediate circumstances, you may just see fields and places where you've labored throughout the day. And so the escape is the sky, right? Like sky is the limit, sky is the possibility, because it doesn't represent anything that's immediately around you. It's like, at least there's some expanse, there's space, there's distance, possibility exists up here. Reality is here [on land], possibility is there, right? Even with regards to Wash and the water, he's never gone into the ocean and didn't know how to swim, and then ultimately, my man had to throw you into the water, because the water also represents possibility. It's the unexplored, right? We've explored this part. Where can I go to be free, where can I go to be fully realized, right? And then you have a young boy who goes into the water and learns how to fly. Sterling, it seems like you've had one big project after another these past few years, picking up an Oscar nomination along the way. Do you not like taking breaks? And what is it that makes you want to keep producing projects like this? Brown: Thank you. That's very kind. There is a part of you that feels like you want to strike while the iron is hot. There is a part of you that feels like, "Oh, you know what? If you don't do something, then maybe they'll forget about you." Easy come, easy go sort of thing. I do take breaks. Like, I still assistant coach my son's NFL flag football team. I see my other son play soccer all the time. I take little breaks for myself, but I try to structure it in such a way [that] the TV show that I get a chance to do in the states keeps me at home for about half the year, and then I have the other half a year to play around with. And it's been a good formula for me, because my family knows where I am most of the time, and then I still have space to sort of scratch the creative itch inside of me, to just do something different. Variety is the spice of life, and I'm so fortunate H. Alan, in an industry that is undergoing a massive contraction; to be busy and people want to work with me that I feel like I should take advantage of this, because not a lot of people are having these opportunities. It's a blessing. WASHINGTON BLACK – 'If You See My Mama, Whisper Her This…' – In Morocco, Wash reunites with Titch and uncovers his father's true legacy. With Tanna, he journeys to his homeland on the Wind Sailer.... WASHINGTON BLACK – 'If You See My Mama, Whisper Her This…' – In Morocco, Wash reunites with Titch and uncovers his father's true legacy. With Tanna, he journeys to his homeland on the Wind Sailer. A dreamscape reunion provides answers to the past, as Wash's family embarks on a new horizon. More Disney/James Van Evers What does it mean for you to mentor someone like Ernest? Considering that you could have easily produced a project for yourself in the title role. Brown: Sometimes you see people try to make that part their part. I was like, "No, it's not my part." But if I'm in a position where I can help somebody, where it is their part, get an opportunity to do it, that means a lot to me, because your legacy isn't just the work that you do, it's the opportunities that you create for other people, and hopefully just make it a little bit easier. That's all you're trying to do. The people that come behind you, you want it to be just a little bit easier, right? I stand on the shoulders of Denzel [Washington], who stands on James Earl [Jones], who stands on Paul Robeson, like there is a legacy here of performance, and each one of those dudes made it a little bit easier for me. And hopefully I get a chance to do the same. And for you, Ernest, it's so rare for someone your age to have this kind of mentorship. What is it like for you to have this support? Kingsley: I don't think there's enough words that I could use to describe the level of gratitude. The level of support and love and care that Sterling has poured into me from when I was 21—I'm 24 now—has been second to none. The last three years, he's been nothing but support, like a pillar. We've seen how this industry can be, especially with the strikes and stuff, and it's not lost on me how rare it is to have that kind of support system with a star that Sterling is a gift, it's an absolute blessing. I'm really grateful.
New York Post
2 hours ago
- New York Post
Hugh Hefner's widow, Crystal, files to legally ditch his last name
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