Biography

Octavia Spencer

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Spencer is a native of Montgomery, Alabama, which she claims is the proverbial buckle of the Bible belt. She's the sixth of seven siblings and holds a BS in Liberal Arts from Auburn University. A "closet" lover of acting, this practical Alabamian knew that she'd someday work in the film industry, but never dreamed it would be in front of the camera. In 1995, acclaimed director Joel Schumacher changed all that by giving her a small part opposite Sandra Bullock in the hit film A Time to Kill, and Spencer was on her way. In 1996, she teamed up with Bullock again in Bullock's directorial debut of Making Sandwiches, a short film that premiered at the 1997 Sundance Film Festival.

Spencer made her stage debut in Los Angeles and originated the role of "LaSonia" (pronounced lasagna) in famed writer/director Del Shore's, The Trials and Tribulations of a Trailer Trash Housewife, starring opposite veteran actors Beth Grant, Dale Dickey and David Steen (2003). The play garnered Spencer and her fellow cast mates critical acclaim and a bevy of awards. Since then, Spencer has continued to see success as an actor in both film and television, working alongside Hollywood's elite. In February 2009, she was lauded by Los Angeles Times publication: The Envelope, for her brief but memorable performance in the Will Smith drama Seven Pounds.
- IMDb mini biography by: anonymous

Is one of 8 African-American actresses to win the Oscar in a competitive category. The others in chronological order are Hattie McDaniel for Gone with the Wind (1939), Whoopi Goldberg for Ghost (1990), Halle Berry for Monster's Ball (2001), Jennifer Hudson for Dreamgirls (2006), Mo'Nique for Precious (2009), Viola Davis for Fences (2016), and Regina King in If Beale Street Could Talk (2018).
A lifelong fan of the horror/fantasy film genre, she claims to have seen every film directed and executive produced by Guillermo del Toro.
As a dyslexic, Octavia has to learn her character's lines by acting out the gist of the dialogue.
Between 1996 and 2013, Spencer has played a nurse at least 16 different times, including in movies such as A Time to Kill (1996) and Seven Pounds (2008), as a regular on the television series City of Angels (2000) and in guest spots on series like Chicago Hope (1994), The X-Files (1993) and Roswell (1999).
As of 2018, she has been in 3 films that were Oscar nominated for Best Picture: The Help (2011), Hidden Figures (2016), and The Shape of Water (2017). She was nominated for Best Supporting Actress in all three of those films. The Shape of Water (2017) is a Best Picture winner.

I was not a Girl Scout, but I try to be very prepared. I triple-Spanx!
[on 'Smashed'] To say we did it on a shoestring budget would be putting it mildly. We did it on a dental-floss budget.
I was always a closet lover of acting. My mom was very practical. She never, ever restricted our dreams, always told us we could do or be anything. Then I said, 'Maybe I want to be an actor'. And she said, 'Maybe not that'.
[on her role as an alcoholic teacher in 'Smashed'] The subject matter is so relevant.People have been having issues with substance abuse since the dawn of time, I imagine, since they started fermenting fruit and vegetables, for God's sake. It was definitely an enlightening part to play. I'll say that I don't think you can throw a stone and not come in contact with someone who knows someone or has problems with substance abuse.
You can't rest on your laurels. Because if you go in there and stink up the room, they go, 'They gave that one an Oscar?'

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