Octavia Spencer Academy Awards 2012 Best Supporting Actress Winner

First Posted: 02/26/2012 9:15 pm Updated: 02/27/2012 12:05 pm

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Octavia Spencer plowed through awards season as the frontrunner for Best Supporting Actress, and the veteran character actress didn't disappoint on Oscar night. At the 84th annual Academy Awards on Sunday, Spencer won Best Supporting Actress for her performance in "The Help." She becomes the fifth black actress to win an Oscar in the category; Hattie McDaniel (1940), Whoopi Goldberg (1991), Jennifer Hudson (2006) and Mo'nique (2009) were previous Supporting Actress winners.

The announcement of Spencer's win was greeted with a standing ovation. "Thank you Academy for giving me the hottest guy in the room," she said before breaking down in tears. "I share this with everybody."

In "The Help," Spencer played Minny Jackson, a brash and outspoken maid in Jackson, Miss., who -- pushed by her friend Abileen (fellow Oscar nominee Viola Davis) -- helps a young white journalist (Emma Stone) write an expose about the living conditions of black domestic workers. In Spencer's most memorable scene, she does a "terrible awful" to the racist Hilly Holbrook (Bryce Dallas Howard) by giving her a contaminated pie.

Spencer, who also won a Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award, defeated fellow "Help" star Jessica Chastain, as well as Melissa McCarthy ("Bridesmaids"), Berenice Bejo ("The Artist") and Janet McTeer ("Albert Nobbs"), to win the award -- her first Oscar.

She'll next be seen in "Smashed," which debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in January.

PHOTOS:

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  • 84th Annual Academy Awards - Arrivals

    Anne-Sophie Bion, nominated for Film Editing for 'The Artist' arrives at the 84th Annual Academy Awards.

  • 84th Annual Academy Awards - Arrivals

    Actress Rooney Mara arrives at the 84th Annual Academy Awards

  • Actor Nick Nolte arrives on the red carp

    Actor Nick Nolte arrives on the red carpet for the 84th Annual Academy Awards.

  • 84th Annual Academy Awards - Arrivals

    Actress-writer Kristen Wiig arrives at the 84th Annual Academy Awards

  • 84th Annual Academy Awards - Arrivals

    Actress Jessica Chastain arrives at the 84th Annual Academy Awards

  • 84th Annual Academy Awards - Arrivals

    Songwriter Brett McKenzie arrives at the 84th Annual Academy Awards.

  • 84th Annual Academy Awards - Arrivals

    Actor George Clooney and Stacy Kiebler arrive at the 84th Annual Academy Awards.

  • 84th Annual Academy Awards - Arrivals

    Musician Sean 'Diddy' Combs arrives at the 84th Annual Academy Awards.

  • Actress Natalie Portman arrives on the r

    Actress Natalie Portman arrives on the red carpet for the 84th Annual Academy Awards

  • 84th Annual Academy Awards - Arrivals

    Songwriter Brett McKenzie arrives at the 84th Annual Academy Awards.

  • 84th Annual Academy Awards - Arrivals

    Actress Emma Stone arrives at the 84th Annual Academy Awards

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    Entertainer Jennifer Lopez arrives at the 84th Annual Academy Awards

  • 84th Annual Academy Awards - Arrivals

    HOLLYWOOD, CA - FEBRUARY 26: Actress Natalie Portman and Benjamin Millepied arrive at the 84th Annual Academy Awards held at the Hollywood & Highland Center on February 26, 2012 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Michael Buckner/Getty Images)

  • 84th Annual Academy Awards - Arrivals

    TV personality Kelly Ripa arrives at the 84th Annual Academy Awards

  • 84th Annual Academy Awards - Arrivals

    HOLLYWOOD, CA - FEBRUARY 26: Actress Angelina Jolie arrives at the 84th Annual Academy Awards held at the Hollywood & Highland Center on February 26, 2012 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images)

  • 84th Annual Academy Awards - Arrivals

    Actor Colin Firth and Livia Giuggioli arrive at the 84th Annual Academy Awards

  • 84th Annual Academy Awards - Arrivals

    Actress Berenice Bejo arrives at the 84th Annual Academy Awards.

  • 84th Annual Academy Awards - Arrivals

    Actress Missi Pyle arrives at the 84th Annual Academy Awards.

  • 84th Annual Academy Awards - Arrivals

    Anne-Sophie Bion, nominated for Film Editing for 'The Artist' arrives at the 84th Annual Academy Awards

  • 84th Annual Academy Awards - Arrivals

    Actor Kenneth Branagh arrives at the 84th Annual Academy Awards

  • Actress Michelle Williams arrives on the

    Actress Michelle Williams arrives on the red carpet for the 84th Annual Academy Awards

  • 84th Annual Academy Awards - Arrivals

    HOLLYWOOD, CA - FEBRUARY 26: TV personality Kelly Ripa arrives at the 84th Annual Academy Awards held at the Hollywood & Highland Center on February 26, 2012 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

  • 84th Annual Academy Awards - Arrivals

    Actor Jonah Hill arrives at the 84th Annual Academy Awards.

  • 84th Annual Academy Awards - Arrivals

    Actress Jane Seymour arrives at the 84th Annual Academy Awards.

  • 84th Annual Academy Awards - Arrivals

    Actress Gwyneth Paltrow arrives at the 84th Annual Academy Awards

  • 84th Annual Academy Awards - Arrivals

    Robert Gould, nominated for Art Direction for "The Artist," arrives at the 84th Annual Academy Awards.

  • 84th Annual Academy Awards - Arrivals

    Actress Penelope Ann Miller arrives at the 84th Annual Academy Awards

  • 84th Annual Academy Awards - Arrivals

    Actor Robert Forster arrives at the 84th Annual Academy Awards

  • 84th Annual Academy Awards - Arrivals

    Actress Maya Rudolph arrives at the 84th Annual Academy Awards

  • 84th Annual Academy Awards - Arrivals

    TV personality Nancy O'Dell arrives at the 84th Annual Academy Awards held at the Hollywood & Highland Center on February 26, 2012 in Hollywood, California.

  • Berenice Bejo and Michel Hazanavicius ar

    Actress Berenice Bejo and director Michel Hazanavicius arrive on the red carpet for the 84th Annual Academy Awards.

  • 84th Annual Academy Awards - Arrivals

    Actress Melissa McCarthy arrives at the 84th Annual Academy Awards

  • 84th Annual Academy Awards - Arrivals

    Actor Sacha Baron Cohen, dressed as his character 'General Aladeen,' arrives at the 84th Annual Academy Awards

  • 84th Annual Academy Awards - Arrivals

    Actress Viola Davis arrives at the 84th Annual Academy Awards

  • 84th Annual Academy Awards - Arrivals

    Actor-producer Zachary Quinto arrives at the 84th Annual Academy Awards held at the Hollywood & Highland Center on February 26, 2012 in Hollywood, California.

  • Christopher Plummer arrives on the red c

    Actor Christopher Plummer arrives on the red carpet for the 84th Annual Academy Awards

  • 84th Annual Academy Awards - Arrivals

    Actress Milla Jovovich arrives at the 84th Annual Academy Awards .

  • 84th Annual Academy Awards - Arrivals

    Actress Penelope Ann Miller arrives at the 84th Annual Academy Awards

  • 84th Annual Academy Awards - Arrivals

    Actress Ellie Kemper arrives at the 84th Annual Academy Awards.

  • 84th Annual Academy Awards - Arrivals

    HOLLYWOOD, CA - FEBRUARY 26: Actress Glenn Close arrives at the 84th Annual Academy Awards held at the Hollywood & Highland Center on February 26, 2012 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images)

  • 84th Annual Academy Awards - Arrivals

    Actress Bingbing Li arrives on the red carpet at the 84th Annual Academy Awards

  • 84th Annual Academy Awards - Arrivals

    TV personality Giuliana Rancic arrives at the 84th Annual Academy Awards

  • 84th Annual Academy Awards - Arrivals

    Model Stacy Keibler arrives on the red carpet for the 84th Annual Academy Awards.

  • 84th Annual Academy Awards - Arrivals

    TV personalities Maria Menounos (L) and Mario Lopez arrive at the 84th Annual Academy Awards held at the Hollywood & Highland Center on February 26, 2012 in Hollywood, California.

  • 84th Annual Academy Awards - Arrivals

    Actress Busy Philipps arrives at the 84th Annual Academy Awards.

  • 84th Annual Academy Awards - Arrivals

    Actor Christopher Plummer and actress Elaine Taylor arrive at the 84th Annual Academy Awards

  • 84th Annual Academy Awards - Arrivals

    TV personality Lara Spencer arrives at the 84th Annual Academy Awards held at the Hollywood & Highland Center on February 26, 2012 in Hollywood, California.

  • 84th Annual Academy Awards - Arrivals

    Actress Judy Greer arrives at the 84th Annual Academy Awards.

  • 84th Annual Academy Awards - Arrivals

    Actress Meryl Streep arrives at the 84th Annual Academy Awards

  • 84th Annual Academy Awards - Arrivals

    Sheri Shepherd arrives at the 84th Annual Academy Awards

  • 84th Annual Academy Awards - Arrivals

    Actress Tina Fey arrives at the 84th Annual Academy Awards

Also on HuffPost:

FOLLOW MOVIEFONE

'FONE FINDS
Octavia Spencer plowed through awards season as the frontrunner for Best Supporting Actress, and the veteran character actress didn't disappoint on Oscar night. At the 84th annual Academy Awards on Su...
Octavia Spencer plowed through awards season as the frontrunner for Best Supporting Actress, and the veteran character actress didn't disappoint on Oscar night. At the 84th annual Academy Awards on Su...
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Ml Vaan Horne
8 Fans
01:17 PM on 02/27/2012
YAAAAAAYYYYY OCTAVIA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Very cool! She was charming and lovely accepting the award! I LOVE HER!
Permalink  |
Omar Norwood
8 Fans
12:41 PM on 02/27/2012
The article states that Octavia becomes only the fifth black female to win an Oscar? What about Holly Berry whom I didnt see listed. I could have sworn Holly Berry won an Oscar for "Monster's Ball". Is this correct?
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Joanne B
Enjoy this day!
106 Fans
03:03 PM on 02/27/2012
I thought Halle won 4 Momsters Ball as well??
Permalink  |
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
mercedes1947
GOP: "We don't got to show you no stinking facts."
657 Fans
04:39 PM on 02/27/2012
"Supporting" actress Halle won Best Actress
Permalink  |
AS8
30 Fans
10:39 AM on 02/27/2012
Octavia was so sweet. I am glad she won!
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Donna Schra
22 Fans
11:19 AM on 02/27/2012
I also think she should have been the part up for best actress, not supporting, in this movie, and would probably have won that category too.
Permalink  |
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bertysing
187 Fans
12:44 PM on 02/27/2012
that's what I was thinking, she was oozing genuineness.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
debnaert
184 Fans
10:13 AM on 02/27/2012
I was thrilled to see Meryl win big this time... I saw this movie and I must say It truly was the MOST SUPERB acting I have ever seen on the screen. SUPERB.
Permalink  |
havjulia
9 Fans
10:06 AM on 02/27/2012
Magnificent!
Permalink  |
Arekg12
4 Fans
09:54 AM on 02/27/2012
Does anyone need further proof that ANYONE can act?
Permalink  |
gharr4321
0 Fans
10:06 AM on 02/27/2012
What's that suppose to mean?
Permalink  |
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
mercedes1947
GOP: "We don't got to show you no stinking facts."
657 Fans
04:40 PM on 02/27/2012
X2
Permalink  |
mrsatees
182 Fans
09:45 AM on 02/27/2012
I am glad she won, but she couldv'e stopped acting now. It was kindof a little overboard. I never saw one tear......
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Gloria Howard
41 Fans
09:42 AM on 02/27/2012
I enjoyed watching this movie. No violence, no cursing, just women being themselves. Yes, racial overtones when it came to certain scenes; but this is to give one the feel of how it was in the south. Never dislike the message. Congratulations, on your win Octavia Spencer.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Kelly Carroll
72 Fans
01:01 PM on 02/27/2012
What? One of the best lines in the whole movie contained a curse word...and it was HILLARIOUS! Remember the pie scene? AHAHAHAHA! Love this movie.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
mercedes1947
GOP: "We don't got to show you no stinking facts."
657 Fans
04:41 PM on 02/27/2012
Good point. You are both right.
Permalink  |
clematisvine
355 Fans
09:37 AM on 02/27/2012
Really, did anyone think she wouldn't cry.
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pbgardenpet
434 Fans
09:34 AM on 02/27/2012
Who cares.
Permalink  |
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
brokenleoheart
265 Fans
10:45 AM on 02/27/2012
no one asked for your 5 cent of opinion
Permalink  |
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pbgardenpet
434 Fans
01:14 PM on 02/27/2012
Just thought the majority should speak.
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Bettaman
Former Republican - now sane
3785 Fans
09:32 AM on 02/27/2012
I'm very happy for this lovely and charming and incredibly talented actress. Well done, Octavia! You earned it.
Permalink  |
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
mercedes1947
GOP: "We don't got to show you no stinking facts."
657 Fans
04:43 PM on 02/27/2012
One of THE best film characters of ALL time.
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tiffanypiano1
50 Fans
09:31 AM on 02/27/2012
My summation: The blacks and the Iranians were well represented last night. I would have never recognized Nick Nolte and Penelope Cruz has had a nose job.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Susan Ramsey
57 Fans
09:30 AM on 02/27/2012
we know why she won
Permalink  |
gharr4321
0 Fans
09:51 AM on 02/27/2012
Because she is a great actress!
Why else?
Permalink  |
manmi1
1536 Fans
09:17 AM on 02/27/2012
THE HELP should have won far more than it did. It was a great film, very well written, extremely well acted and wasn't given the credit it deserved.
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Donna Schra
22 Fans
11:25 AM on 02/27/2012
Getting tired of see high tech, machine made movies take over for truly superb movies acted by real people. I almost feel the types need to be separated, completely, it is not fair for actors/actresses who play the entire part themselves to go up against computer generated characters. Somehow the Academy and all the other award shows need to come up with totally new catagories for the advancement in film making today. It is like, for TV awards, putting a 1/2 show up against a miniseries in the same category? How are they anything alike, they aren't. Hugo up against the Descendants, how are they anything alike, they aren't. Computer movies versus human movies, two categories, two choices in best film types. So there isn't "ONE" best film of the year, at least the actors and people involved will start getting credit for their work when one biggee comes along that wipes out anything a human alone can act!
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JCLOTW
101 Fans
09:05 AM on 02/27/2012
Congrats to Octavia Spencer. Also glad to see Christopher Plummer win. I've enjoyed watching him since his role as King Herod in 1977's Jesus of Nazareth.
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