The first African-American to win an Academy Award Hattie McDaniel is best known for her role as 'Mammy' in the movie Gone With The Wind (1939) - one of the most successful movies of American cinema.

Before entering Hollywood McDaniel performed as a singer-songwriter with her brother Otis's troupe and later embarked on a radio career. However, to make her ends meet she also worked as a washroom attendant, waitress, and maid.

The talented actress, who was also a comedian, began her journey in Hollywood in the early 1930s. One of her earliest screen appearances was in 1932 in the movie The Golden West in which she was cast in the role of a maid - a character that she would later play several times in her career and which eventually would fetch her an Academy Award. However, it was only a couple of years later that McDaniel appeared in her first major role in the movie Judas Priest (1934). Apart from playing one of the leading characters in the film, McDaniel also got a chance to showcase her singing skills in the movie. Subsequently, she appeared in major roles in films such as Saratoga (1937), The Shopworn Angel (1938), The Mad Miss Manton (1938).

The year 1939 turned out to be a defining year in McDaniel's career as she was cast as Mammy in the movie Gone With The Wind. McDaniel's won the Best Supporting Actor Award at the 12th Academy Awards in 1940. Post her success with Gone With The Wind, the actress starred in films such as The Great Lie (1941), Since You Went Away (1944), Never Say Goodbye (1946), and The Big Wheel (1949).

In the later stages of her life, the actress suffered from breast cancer and passed away on October 26, 1952.