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

Gone with the Wind

Explained

Hollywood Black

Song of the South

They Died with Their Boots On

Alice Adams

Since You Went Away

Blonde Venus

All Movies (97)

• Becoming Marilyn2022
• The Little Rascals - The ClassicFlix Restorations, Volume 52022
• 1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year2009 · as Self (archive footage)
• Hattie McDaniel: or A Credit to the Motion Picture Industry2004 · as Self (archive footage)
• The Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind1988 · as Self (archive footage)
• Musical Comedy Tonight III1985
• Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage1983 · as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
• The Big Wheel1949 · as Minnie
• Family Honeymoon1948 · as Phyllis
• Mickey1948 · as Bertha
• The Flame1947 · as Celia
• Song of the South1946 · as Aunt Tempy
• Never Say Goodbye1946 · as Cozy
• Margie1946 · as Cynthia
• Janie Gets Married1946 · as April
• Hi, Beautiful1944 · as Millie
• 3 Is a Family1944 · as Maid
• Janie1944 · as April, Conway's Maid
• Since You Went Away1944 · as Fidelia
• Thank Your Lucky Stars1943 · as Gossip in "Ice Cold Katie" Number
• Johnny Come Lately1943 · as Aida
• George Washington Slept Here1942 · as Hester
• In This Our Life1942 · as Minerva Clay
• The Male Animal1942 · as Cleota
• They Died with Their Boots On1941 · as Callie
• Affectionately Yours1941 · as Cynthia, Sue's Cook
• The Great Lie1941 · as Violet
• Cavalcade of the Academy Awards1940 · as Self
• Maryland1940 · as Aunt Carrie
• Gone with the Wind1939 · as Mammy
• Zenobia1939 · as Dehlia
• Everybody's Baby1939 · as Hattie
• The Shining Hour1938 · as Belvedere
• The Mad Miss Manton1938 · as Hilda
• Carefree1938 · as Hattie (uncredited)
• The Shopworn Angel1938 · as Martha
• Vivacious Lady1938 · as Hattie (uncredited)
• Battle of Broadway1938 · as Agatha
• True Confession1937 · as Ella
• Quick Money1937 · as Hattie (uncredited)
• 45 Fathers1937 · as Beulah
• Nothing Sacred1937 · as Mrs. Walker (uncredited)
• Merry Go Round of 19381937 · as Maid
• Over the Goal1937 · as Hannah
• Sky Racket1937 · as Jenny
• Saratoga1937 · as Rosetta
• Mississippi Moods1937
• The Wildcatter1937 · as Pearl (uncredited)
• The Crime Nobody Saw1937 · as Ambrosia
• Don't Tell the Wife1937 · as Mamie (uncredited)
• Racing Lady1937 · as Abby
• Reunion1936 · as Sadie
• Can This Be Dixie?1936 · as Lizzie
• Libeled Lady1936 · as Scrubwoman in Grand Plaza Hall (uncredited)
• Valiant Is the Word for Carrie1936 · as Ellen Belle
• Star for a Night1936 · as Hattie
• Postal Inspector1936 · as Deborah
• The Bride Walks Out1936 · as Mamie
• High Tension1936 · as Hattie
• Show Boat1936 · as Queenie
• Arbor Day1936 · as Buckwheat's Mother (uncredited)
• The Singing Kid1936 · as Maid (uncredited)
• Gentle Julia1936 · as Kitty Silvers
• The First Baby1936 · as Dora
• We're Only Human1935 · as Molly
• Another Face1935 · as Nellie (uncredited)
• Music Is Magic1935 · as Hattie (Amanda in credits)
• Murder by Television1935 · as Isabella
• Alice Adams1935 · as Malena Burns - Maid Serving Dinner
• China Seas1935 · as Isabel McCarthy, Dolly's Maid (uncredited)
• Wig-Wag1935 · as Cook
• Traveling Saleslady1935 · as Martha Smith (uncredited)
• Anniversary Trouble1935 · as Maid
• The Little Colonel1935 · as Becky "Mom Beck" Porter
• Okay Toots!1935 · as Maid (uncredited)
• The Chases of Pimple Street1934 · as Hattie - Gertrude's Maid (uncredited)
• Babbitt1934 · as Rosalie (uncredited)
• Imitation of Life1934 · as Woman at Funeral (uncredited)
• Fate's Fathead1934 · as Mandy - the Maid
• Lost in the Stratosphere1934 · as Ida Johnson
• Flirtation1934 · as Abigail (uncredited)
• Judge Priest1934 · as Aunt Dilsey
• King Kelly of the U.S.A.1934 · as Mop Buyer
• Operator 131934 · as Annie (uncredited)
• City Park1934 · as Tessie
• Merry Wives of Reno1934 · as Bunny's Maid (uncredited)
• Mickey's Rescue1934 · as Maid
• Good-bye Love1933 · as Edna the Maid
• I'm No Angel1933 · as Manicurist (uncredited)
• Hello, Sister!1933 · as Woman in Apartment House
• Hypnotized1932 · as Powder Room Attendant
• The Golden West1932 · as Mammy Lou
• Blonde Venus1932 · as Cora, Helen's Maid in New Orleans (uncredited)
• The Boiling Point1932 · as Caroline - the Cook (uncredited)
• The Washington Masquerade1932 · as Maid (uncredited)
• Are You Listening?1932 · as Performer entering radio station
• The Impatient Maiden1932 · as Injured Patient (uncredited)

All TV Shows (3)

• Hollywood Black2024 · as Self (archive footage)
• Explained2018 · as Self - First Black Oscar Winner (archive footage)
• The Beulah Show1950 · as Beulah