Octavia Spencer Biography

Octavia Lenora Spencer (born May 25, 1970) 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, among other accolades including the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress, BAFTA for Best Supporting Actress, and Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role.

Early life and education

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 (1988"89), and received a bachelor's degree in Liberal Arts from Auburn University.

Career

At 16, 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. 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 " 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.

Filmography

Films & Television

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1996	A Time to Kill	Roark's Nurse
1997	The 6th Man	Nativity Watson
	Sparkler	Wanda
1999	Lansky (TV movie)	Evelyn the Maid
	Never Been Kissed	Cynthia
	Being John Malkovich	Woman in Elevator
	Blue Streak	Shawna
2000	The Sky Is Falling	Nurse No. 2
	Malcolm in the Middle	Cashier	TV series; season 2, episode 09
	Everything Put Together	Nurse B
	Missing Pieces (TV movie)	Elegant Guest
	American Virgin	Agnes Large
	What Planet Are You From?	Baby Nurse
	Auto Motives	Rhonda
	Big Momma's House	Twila
	Four Dogs Playing Poker	Waitress
2001	Sol Goode	Unemployment Clerk
	The Journeyman	Black Belly
	Follow the Stars Home (TV movie)	Hildy
2002	Spider-Man	Check-In Girl
	Little John (TV movie)	Waitress
2003	Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde	Security Guard
	S.W.A.T.	Neighbor in Alley
	Chicken Party	Laqueta Mills
	Bad Santa	Opal
2004	Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!	Janine
	Breakin' All the Rules	Stylist
2005	Coach Carter	Mrs. Battle
	Pretty Persuasion	Woman
	Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing & Charm School	Ayisha Lebaron
	Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous	Octavia " Bookstore
	Beauty Shop	Big Customer
	Wannabe	Lady Chanet Janney Jones
2006	Pulse	Landlady
2006"2007	The Minor Accomplishments of Jackie Woodman	Cheryl / Female Security Guard	TV series; 4 episodes
2007	The Nines	Streetwalker
	Halfway Home	Serenity Johnson	TV series; 10 episodes
	Ugly Betty	Constance Grady	TV series; "Sofia's Choice", "I'm Coming Out""Icing on the Cake", "Punch Out"
2008	Next of Kin	Grace
	Pretty Ugly People	Mary
	The Spleenectomy	Nurse
	The Big Bang Theory	DMV Employee
	Seven Pounds	Kate (Home Health Care Nurse)
	Wizards of Waverly Place	Dr. Evilini	TV series; 2 episodes
2009	The First Time (Love At First Hiccup)	Mrs. Hambrick
	Drag Me to Hell	Bank Co-Worker No. 1
	Jesus People: The Movie	Angel Angelique
	The Soloist	Troubled Woman
	Just Peck	Detention Room Teacher
	Halloween II	Nurse Daniels
	Dollhouse	Professor Jackie	TV series; 1 episode
	Herpes Boy	Rochelle
	Small Town Saturday Night	Rhonda Dooley
	Raising the Bar	Arvina Watkins	TV series; 5 episodes
2010	Dinner for Schmucks	Madame Nora
2011	The Help	Minny Jackson	Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress African American Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress 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 Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress " 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 " 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 " Black Reel Award for Breakthrough Performance Nominated " Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated " Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated " Detroit Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated " Detroit Film Critics Society Award for Best Ensemble Nominated " Houston Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated " Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated " London Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated " MTV Movie Award for Best On-Screen Duo Nominated " Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated " San Diego Film Critics Society Awards for Best Ensemble Performance Nominated " Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress " Motion Picture Nominated " St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated " Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Ensemble
	Peep World	Allison
	Flypaper	Madge Wiggins
2012	Smashed	Jenny
2013	30 Rock	Herself	TV series; Episode Game Over
	Call Me Crazy: A Five Film	Dr. Nance	Lifetime Original Movie
	Fruitvale Station	Wanda
	Snowpiercer	Tanya
	Paradise	Loray
2014	Black and White		Filming

See also

• List of actors who won the Academy, BAFTA, Golden Globe, SAG, and Critic's Choice Award for a single performance