Octavia Spencer Actress -

Born May 25, 1970 in Montgomery, Alabama, USA

Birth Name Octavia Lenora Spencer

Height 5' 2" (1.57 m)

Mini Bio (1) 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

Trade Mark (1) Her gap-toothed smile

In April 2009, she was named one of the '25 Funniest Actresses in Hollywood' by Entertainment Weekly.

Is one of 11 actresses to win the Critic's Choice Award, Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild, BAFTA, and Oscar in the same year, winning for The Help (2011). The others to achieve this are Julia Roberts for Erin Brockovich (2000), Renée Zellweger for Cold Mountain (2003), Reese Witherspoon for Walk the Line (2005), Helen Mirren for The Queen (2006), Jennifer Hudson for Dreamgirls (2006), Kate Winslet for The Reader (2008), Mo'Nique for Precious (2009), Natalie Portman for Black Swan (2010), Anne Hathaway for Les Misérables (2012), Cate Blanchett for Blue Jasmine (2013), Patricia Arquette for Boyhood (2014) and Julianne Moore for Still Alice (2014).

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).

Is good friends with Melissa McCarthy.

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 TV show City of Angels (2000) and in guest spots on shows like Chicago Hope (1994), The X-Files (1993) and Roswell (1999).

Graduated from Auburn University.

Was the 139th actress to receive an Academy Award for one of the two actress categories, either Best Actress or Best Supporting Actress; she won the Best Supporting Actress Award for The Help (2011) at The 84th Annual Academy Awards (2012) on February 26, 2012.

Friends with Viola Davis.

In 2017, Spencer became the first Black Actress to be nominated for an Academy Award after having already won one. She was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for a second time in 2017.

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.

Is a lover of antiques.

In 2017, Octavia's performance in Hidden Figures (2016) lost the Best Supporting Actress Oscar to colleague and The Help (2011) co-star Viola Davis's performance in Fences (2016).

The longest she has gone without an Oscar nomination is the 5 years between The Help (2011) and Hidden Figures (2016).

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.

Has guest-starred on the TV series "Mom" (2013) and starred in the movie "Ma" (2019), this time as the title character. Both productions co-star Allison Janney, who plays the title role in Mom.

Her mother, Dellsena (Owens), worked as a maid.

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?'

Meeting Oprah Winfrey, I cried like a baby. Meeting Steven Spielberg, I cried like a baby. Meeting Denzel Washington, I gushed like a crazy woman.