One after another, Ariana DeBose is marking historical wins in film awards through her breakthrough performance as Anita in West Side Story. Following her win at the SAG Awards as best supporting actress, she also snagged another Best Supporting Actress Award at the Oscars on Sunday. Along with a background in years of performing on Broadway and even receiving a Tony nomination for Best Featured Actress as the lead role in Summer: The Donna Summer Story, DeBose’s exceptional and groundbreaking acting earned her the Television Academy Award. This win is a huge triumph not only for the West Side Story actress, but also for the LGBTQ+ community being the openly queer women of color to be honored for the title. During her acceptance speech, she celebrated art for being the strength in life and teared up with joy saying, “To anybody who has ever questioned your identity…I promise you this, there is indeed a place for us.” This comes after DeBose told NPR in an interview that she infused her own uniqueness and personal experiences as an Afro-Latina into her character, “hoping that younger women who look like her can see themselves.” As a rising symbol of diversity and creating a new pathway for others, DeBose emphasized representation during her acceptance speech at the SAG Awards saying, “when you recognize one of us, you recognize all of us in a way.”
For longtime fans of the classic musical, this may be a déjavu and nostalgic moment with Rita Moreno, who also played Anita in the original 1961 musical film, taking home an Oscar Award for the same role. This accomplishment marks the Oscar record book as the first pair of women to ever continue this legacy. Honored with the Critics Choice Award earlier this month, DeBose dedicated her acceptance speech to her co-star and mentor Moreno. She sent her appreciation to her for “making space” for her to thrive and said, “I am not in front of you, I am not behind you, I am beside you. And that is the greatest gift you could’ve ever given me.”
Her Oscar plus one date was none other than her mother, Gina DeBose. Watching the award show every year was a family tradition and “a big deal” since Ariana was a young child, according to her mother. As a mother she has always believed in her daughter’s talents but tells how it is still sometimes surreal to her saying, “I guess more recently, in the past decade, I’ve seen where it could possibly be the case, but I never expected it this fast.” Ariana contributed her Instagram post to Gina with backstage photos of the mother-daughter pair and snapshots of Gina taking photos of her proud girl.
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For upcoming movies, fans can look forward to Debose starring as Calypso in Sony’s Marvel film, Kraven The Hunter, scheduled to be released on January 13 next year. The rising star is also set to make her appearance in Kingsman producer Matthew Vaughn’s upcoming spy film titled, Argylle.