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- BBC News World
March 28, 2022 at 02:06 GMT
Updated 2 hours
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Ariana DeBose wins her Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her role in West Side Story.
“Imagine this girl in the back seat of a white Ford Focus. Look her straight in the eye, a strange woman of color strange and Afro-Latina who found her strength in life through art. And I think that’s what we want to celebrate here.”
So began her speech Ariana DeBose, who won the Academy Award for Supporting Actress for her role as Anita in Steven Spielberg’s reimagining of the classic musical West Side Story.
The 31-year-old American actress became the first openly black woman strangeto win an Oscar.
Referring to the musical’s hit, he added: “To anyone who has ever questioned his identityor have you ever lived in the gray rooms, i assure you there is indeed a place for us.
“Dreams come true,” he added.
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Rita Moreno (center) won the same award for the same role as Ariana DeBose (right) in 1961.
A relative newcomer to feature films, DeBose won recognition for her spirited portrayal of Anita, an outspoken Puerto Rican who showcases her singing and dancing talents on the song “America.”
He also won a Golden Globe, a Screen Actors Guild Award and a British Academy Film Award for his performance.
DeBose trained in dance and has had roles in productions of Broadway as Hamilton and Summer: The Donna Summer Musical before appearing on the Netflix television musical The Prom as a cheerleader struggling to get out.
DeBose is Afro-Latino and openly queer. “i am americahe told OUT magazine in November. “I’m a member of almost every marginalized community.”
This is the second time someone has won an Oscar for the role of Anita. Rita Moreno was the first Latina actress to receive the award for her role in the 1962 version of West Side Story.
Brown90, joined the new version of Spielberg as the pharmacist Valentina, a new character written specifically for her.
DeBose beat out fellow nominees Kirsten Dunst for The Power of the Dog, Aunjanue Ellis for King Richard, Judi Dench for “Belfast,” and Jessie Buckley for “The Lost Daughter.”
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