Andra Day becomes the 2nd Black woman to win best drama actress Golden Globe

Andra Day
(Image credit: Handout/Biden Inaugural Committee via Getty Images)

Andra Day just scored a lead drama actress Golden Globe, becoming only the second Black woman to do so in history.

At Sunday's Golden Globes, Day won the award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture — Drama for The United States vs. Billie Holiday. She's just the second Black winner of this prize, the first being Whoopi Goldberg, who won in 1986 for The Color Purple.

In fact, throughout the almost 80-year history of the Golden Globes, there have only ever been 12 Black nominees in this category, according to Gold Derby. Another one of the 12 came this year, as Viola Davis was also nominated for Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, and previous Black nominees include Diana Ross, Halle Berry, and Cynthia Erivo.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

The Golden Globes have long been criticized over a lack of diversity at the show, and it was recently revealed that the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the organization that selects the winners, doesn't have a single Black member. During Sunday's show, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association acknowledged that the organization has "work to do."

Explore More
Brendan Morrow

Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.