Hattie McDaniel
Personal Info
Known for
Acting
Gender
Female
Birthday
1893-06-10
Day of Death
1952-10-26 (59 years old)
Place of Birth
Wichita, Kansas, USA
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
(2022)
(2014)
And the Oscar Goes To...
as Self (archive footage)
(2009)
1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year
as Self (archive footage)
(2004)
Hattie McDaniel: or A Credit to the Motion Picture Industry
as Self (archive footage)
(1988)
The Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind
as Self (archive footage)
(1985)
George Stevens: A Filmmaker's Journey
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
(1985)
(1983)
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
(1961)
Hollywood: The Selznick Years
as 'Gone with the Wind' screen test (archive footage) (uncredited)
(1949)
The Big Wheel
as Minnie
(1948)
Mickey
as Bertha
(1948)
Family Honeymoon
as Phyllis
(1947)
The Flame
as Celia
(1946)
Song of the South
as Aunt Tempy
(1946)
Never Say Goodbye
as Cozy
(1946)
Margie
as Cynthia
(1946)
Janie Gets Married
as April
(1944)
Since You Went Away
as Fidelia
(1944)
3 Is a Family
as Maid
(1944)
Janie
as April, Conway's Maid
(1944)
Hi, Beautiful
as Millie
(1943)
Thank Your Lucky Stars
as Gossip in "Ice Cold Katie" Number
(1943)
Johnny Come Lately
as Aida
(1942)
The Male Animal
as Cleota
(1942)
In This Our Life
as Minerva Clay
(1942)
George Washington Slept Here
as Hester
(1941)
They Died with Their Boots On
as Callie
(1941)
Affectionately Yours
as Cynthia, Sue's Cook
(1941)
The Great Lie
as Violet
(1940)
(1940)
Maryland
as Aunt Carrie
(1939)
Gone with the Wind
as Mammy
(1939)
Zenobia
as Dehlia
(1939)
Everybody's Baby
as Hattie
(1938)
Vivacious Lady
as Hattie - Maid at Prom Dance (uncredited)
(1938)
Carefree
as Hattie (uncredited)
(1938)
The Shopworn Angel
as Martha
(1938)
The Shining Hour
as Belvedere
(1938)
The Mad Miss Manton
as Hilda
(1938)
Battle of Broadway
as Agatha
(1937)
Nothing Sacred
as Mrs. Walker (uncredited)
(1937)
Sky Racket
as Jenny
(1937)
True Confession
as Ella
(1937)
Saratoga
as Rosetta
(1937)
Quick Money
as Hattie (uncredited)
(1937)
The Wildcatter
as Pearl (uncredited)
(1937)
The Crime Nobody Saw
as Ambrosia
(1937)
Racing Lady
as Abby
(1937)
Over the Goal
as Hannah
(1937)
Don't Tell the Wife
as Mamie (uncredited)
(1937)
45 Fathers
as Beulah
(1937)
Merry Go Round of 1938
as Maid
(1937)
(1936)
Libeled Lady
as Scrubwoman in Grand Plaza Hall (uncredited)
(1936)
Show Boat
as Queenie
(1936)
Valiant Is the Word for Carrie
as Ellen Belle
(1936)
High Tension
as Hattie
(1936)
Postal Inspector
as Deborah
(1936)
The Singing Kid
as Maid (uncredited)
(1936)
The Bride Walks Out
as Mamie
(1936)
Reunion
as Sadie
(1936)
The First Baby
as Dora
(1936)
Star for a Night
as Hattie
(1936)
Arbor Day
as Buckwheat's Mother (uncredited)
(1936)
Gentle Julia
as Kitty Silvers
(1936)
Can This Be Dixie?
as Lizzie
(1935)
Alice Adams
as Malena Burns - Maid Serving Dinner
(1935)
China Seas
as Isabel McCarthy, Dolly's Maid (uncredited)
(1935)
Murder by Television
as Isabella
(1935)
The Little Colonel
as Becky "Mom Beck" Porter
(1935)
Traveling Saleslady
as Martha Smith (uncredited)
(1935)
Another Face
as Nellie (uncredited)
(1935)
Music Is Magic
as Hattie (Amanda in credits)
(1935)
We're Only Human
as Molly
(1935)
Anniversary Trouble
as Maid
(1935)
Wig-Wag
as Cook
(1935)
Okay Toots!
as Maid (uncredited)
(1934)
Judge Priest
as Aunt Dilsey
(1934)
Imitation of Life
as Woman at Funeral (uncredited)
(1934)
Operator 13
as Annie (uncredited)
(1934)
Babbitt
as Rosalie (uncredited)
(1934)
City Park
as Tessie
(1934)
Lost in the Stratosphere
as Ida Johnson
(1934)
Fate's Fathead
as Mandy - the Maid
(1934)
King Kelly of the U.S.A.
as Mop Buyer
(1934)
Merry Wives of Reno
as Bunny's Maid (uncredited)
(1934)
Mickey's Rescue
as Maid
(1934)
Flirtation
as Abigail (uncredited)
(1934)
The Chases of Pimple Street
as Hattie - Gertrude's Maid (uncredited)
(1933)
I'm No Angel
as Manicurist (uncredited)
(1933)
Good-bye Love
as Edna the Maid
(1933)
Hello, Sister!
as Woman in Apartment House
(1932)
Blonde Venus
as Cora, Helen's Maid in New Orleans (uncredited)
(1932)
Are You Listening?
as Performer entering radio station
(1932)
Hypnotized
as Powder Room Attendant
(1932)
The Washington Masquerade
as Maid (uncredited)
(1932)
The Impatient Maiden
as Injured Patient (uncredited)
(1932)
The Boiling Point
as Caroline - the Cook (uncredited)