Oscars 2022: Ariana DeBose makes history as first ‘openly queer woman of colour’ to win Best Supporting Actress
Actor played Anita in Steven Spielberg’s musical remake of West Side Story
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Ariana DeBose has won Best Supporting Actress at the Oscars 2022.
The actor won the award for her performance in Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story remake, in which she played Anita.
DeBose is the first openly queer woman of colour to win an acting Oscar. Rita Moreno won the Oscar for the same role in 1962.
Also competing for the award were Jessie Buckley (The Lost Daughter), Kirsten Dunst (The Power of the Dog), Judi Dench (Belfast) and Aunjanue Ellis (King Richard).
DeBose, who is known for her role in Netflix’s The Prom, had been a firm favourite to take home the prize.
Accepting the award, first-time nominee DeBose said: “You see an openly queer woman of colour, an Afro-Latina, who found her strength and life through art. And that is, I think, what we’re here to celebrate. So if anyone has ever questioned your identity, I promise you this – there is indeed a place for us.”
She also commented: “Now you see why Anita says, ‘I want to be in America’, because even in this weary world that we live in, dreams do come true. And that’s really a heartening thing right now.”
The Best Supporting Actress prize was the first award to be handed out during the televised Oscars ceremony, with a number of other awards being controversially announced by the Academy beforehand without TV cameras present.
Riz Ahmed was the recipient of one of these awards, taking home his first Oscar as the co-writer and star of the short film The Long Goodbye, which won in the Best Short Film (Live Action) category.
You can follow along with our Oscars 2022 live blog here.
Click here for a list of the winners, updated live as the ceremony progresses.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments