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