Octavia Lenora Spencer (born May 25, 1972) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Minny, the outspoken maid in the 2011 film The Help, for which she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and the BAFTA for Best Supporting Actress, among other accolades, including the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role.
Early life
Born in Montgomery, Alabama, she is the sixth of seven children. Her mother worked as a maid. Spencer graduated from Jefferson Davis High School in 1988, spent two years at Auburn Montgomery studying drama (1988â€"89), and received a bachelor's degree in Liberal Arts from Auburn University.
Career
At 19, she worked as an intern on the set of The Long Walk Home, a film starring Whoopi Goldberg.
Spencer made her film debut as a nurse in Joel Schumacher's A Time to Kill based on the book by John Grisham. She was originally hired to work on casting, but asked Schumacher if she could audition for a small part. Other film credits include: Never Been Kissed, Big Momma's House, Bad Santa, Spider-Man, Coach Carter, Win a Date with Tad Hamilton! and Pretty Ugly People. She has made a number of guest appearances on television series including Raising the Bar, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, The Big Bang Theory, Wizards of Waverly Place, Grounded for Life, ER, Titus, Becker and Dharma & Greg, plus a recurring role on Mom. She is best known for her starring roles as Serenity Johnson on Comedy Central's Halfway Home, and Constance Grady, the amorous INS caseworker on Ugly Betty.
In 2003, she made her stage debut in Los Angeles, in Del Shores' play, The Trials and Tribulations of a Trailer Trash Housewife, starring opposite veteran actress Beth Grant. It was her first and only play, as she told Back Stage Magazine that she suffers from "stage fright." Later that year, she starred opposite Allison Janney in Tate Taylor's critically lauded short feature, Chicken Party.
In 2008, Spencer's brief appearance in Seven Pounds as Kate, Rosario Dawson's home care nurse, garnered her high praise and media attention. In April 2009, Entertainment Weekly listed Spencer in its list of 25 Funniest Actresses in Hollywood. In August 2009, Spencer appeared in Rob Zombie's Halloween II. She also had a role in the American remake of the Danish classic Love at First Hiccup opposite Scout Taylor-Compton. Spencer starred in the hit web series-turned feature film Herpes Boy alongside Beth Grant, Ahna O'Reilly, and Byron Lane; and, can be heard as the voice of "Minny" on the audio version of The Help, the "New York Times Best Seller" by Kathryn Stockett. Later that year, Spencer's short film The Captain was honored by the CICFF as a finalist for the coveted REEL Poetry Award.
In August 2010, Spencer joined Viola Davis, Emma Stone and Bryce Dallas Howard in DreamWorks' production of The Help, in which she played the feisty and unflappable domestic Minny Jackson. The film was directed by Tate Taylor, and produced by Brunson Green, Chris Columbus, Michael Barnathan, and Mark Radcliffe. Her role garnered her critical acclaim, and started talk of various awards nominations. She won the 2012 Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress â€" Motion Picture for her work in The Help.
On February 12, 2012, she won a BAFTA for Best Supporting Actress for her Performance in The Help, and on February 26 she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for the same performance; making it her first Oscar nomination and first win. Spencer was so thrilled to win that she could hardly speak at the ceremony and was given a standing ovation and was moved to tears during her acceptance speech. In June 2012, Spencer was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
In 2013, she appeared alongside Michael B. Jordan in Fruitvale Station, a film chronicling the last day of Oscar Grant, who was killed at a Bay Area Rapid Transit station in 2009.
In September 2013, it was announced that she would reunite with The Help director Tate Taylor in a biopic on singer James Brown. The film Get On Up was released in 2014. In January 2014, it was announced that plans for Spencer to appear as the lead in a remake of Murder, She Wrote had been cancelled. Spencer is set to play the supporting role of Johanna Reyes in the second installment of the Divergent series, titled The Divergent Series: Insurgent, which is scheduled to release on 20 March 2015.
From September 2014 until February 2015, she starred on the Steven Spielberg Fox television series Red Band Society.
Released in January, 2015, Spencer starred alongside Kevin Costner in drama film Black or White.
Filmography
Film
Television
Awards and nominations
The Help
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
African American Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress
Alliance of Women Film Journalists Award for Best Supporting Actress
Awards Circuit Community Award for Best Cast
BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Black Film Critics Circle for Best Supporting Actress
Black Film Critics Circle for Best Ensemble
Black Reel Award for Best Supporting Actress
Black Reel Award for Best Ensemble
Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress
Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Acting Ensemble
Gold Derby Film Award for Best Supporting Actress
Gold Derby Film Award for Best Ensemble Cast
Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress â€" Motion Picture
Hollywood Film Festival Award for Best Ensemble
NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture
National Board of Review Award for Best Acting by an Ensemble
Nevada Film Critics Society for Best Ensemble Cast
Oklahoma Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress
Palm Springs International Film Festival Award for Breakthrough Performance
Satellite Award for Best Cast â€" Motion Picture
Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role
Southeastern Film Critics Association Award for Best Ensemble
Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress
Women Film Critics Circle for Best Ensemble
Nominated â€" Alliance of Women Film Journalists Award for Best Ensemble Cast
Nominated â€" Alliance of Women Film Journalists Award for Unforgettable Moment
Nominated â€" Awards Circuit Community Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated â€" Black Reel Award for Breakthrough Performance
Nominated â€" Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated â€" Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated â€" Detroit Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated â€" Detroit Film Critics Society Award for Best Ensemble
Nominated â€" Houston Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated â€" Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated â€" London Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated â€" MTV Movie Award for Best On-Screen Duo
Nominated â€" Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated â€" San Diego Film Critics Society Awards for Best Ensemble Performance
Nominated â€" Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress â€" Motion Picture
Nominated â€" St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated â€" Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Ensemble
Fruitvale Station
National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated â€" AACTA International Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated â€" Black Reel Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated â€" Denver Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated â€" Houston Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated â€" NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture
Nominated â€" San Francisco Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated â€" Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress