Hattie McDaniel - ©Theda Bara

The actress I highlight is from the era of talkies. Hattie McDaniel was the first black actress to win the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in Hollywood, acting in the epic film: “Gone With the Wind”, released in 1940, living the character “Mammy”, maid of “Scarlett O’Hara”, character of the protagonist, the British actress born in India of the British Empire, Vivien Leigh. This was an important achievement for a 47-year-old black woman who, a decade after the Oscars began, won her statuette.

The actress has two stars on the Los Angeles Walk of Fame, at 6933 Hollywood Boulevard, in the Radio category and in the Cinema category, at 1719 Vine Street.

Hattie was the youngest of 13 children born to a couple of freed slaves who fled to Kansas because of extreme poverty.

The actress was born in Wichita, Kansas, United States, on June 10, 1893, and died suddenly working at the Motion Picture & Television Fund studios, in Los Angeles, California, United States, on October 26, 1952, aged 59. McDaniel was supposed to be buried in the Hollywood Cemetery, along with some of her film partners, but the site's owner, Jules Jack Roth (1927-2004), refused to allow a black woman to be buried in his cemetery. Thus, Hattie came to be buried in the Angelus Rosedale Cemetery, in Los Angeles, United States.

Hattie was married four times. First with George Langford (1896-1922) in 1922, whom she was widowed days after their marriage, when he was shot and killed in a fight; the second marriage was to Howard J. Hickman (1890-1915) from 1938 to 1940; the third marriage was to James Lloyd Crawford (1895-1973) from 1941 to 1945; and finally with the singer and pianist Larry Williams (1935-1980), in a controversial marriage of just one year, from 1949 to 1950. His last three marriages ended in divorce. When she died, she ironically left Williams a dollar.