Hattie Mcdaniel Biography Essay

Hattie McDaniel was born on June 10, 1893 in Wichita, Kansas. Some other biographies document her year of birth as 1895, since they do not know the real year she was born on. She was the 13th and last child in her family (Hattie McDaniel, Biography). Her father was a veteran from the civil war while her mother was a domestic worker. Eventually they moved to Denver, where she attended 24th Street Elementary School. She had a natural talent for singing. She would sing at church, at school and even at home. Because of this, she gained popularity among her classmates. At first, McDaniel was a Vaudeville performer. She would sing, dance and do mini scenes. In 1911, she got married to Howard Hickman. Eventually she reached to the point where she

In 1930 she was able to play an extra in a Hollywood Musical. After that she had to take up odd role such as a servant or a slave. Since she was black, it was apparently “The perfect role” for her. She was criticized because she portrayed a negative stereotype against her color. But the most famous role she played was Mammy in “ Gone With the Wind”. She was the first African American to win an Oscar. McDaniel passed away on October 26, 1952 due to cancer. Once the news was found that she passed away, she was immediately put in the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame and got her own postage stamp on memory of her in 2006 (Hattie McDaniel. Biography). Hattie McDaniel has made a huge impact in Hollywood and Vaudeville. She was the first African American woman to accept an Oscar. But she was barred from seeing the film that she earned her Oscar from, Gone With the Wind”, because she was black. But she was thankful that she as never treated like the 74 roles she had as maids. Her famous saying is “"I'd rather play a maid than be a maid,"(The Hollywood Reporter). She would say this because during this time period, many colored people were working under the higher class as a