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Black actresses make their mark in Oscar race

By Patricia Reaney

LOS ANGELES (Reuters Life!) - With Viola Davis and Taraji P. Henson vying for the best supporting actress Oscar it is a banner year for black actresses at the Academy Awards.

Despite more than a dozen nominations, only three black actresses, Hattie McDaniel for "Gone With the Wind" in 1939, Whoopi Goldberg for "Ghost" in 1990 and Jennifer Hudson in 2006's "Dreamgirls," have won the supporting actress award since the first Oscar was handed out in 1929.

If either Davis, who was nominated for her role in "Doubt" or Henson, acknowledged for her performance in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" win, she would only be the fourth.

"It is an exciting year, and wonderful to see two roles that are not stereotypical, not anything that has any controversy around it, just deep, layered performances," said Angela Burt-Murray the editor-in-chief of Essence magazine ahead of its black women in Hollywood luncheon.

The only other time two black actresses were nominated for best supporting actress in the same year was in 1985 when Margaret Avery and Oprah Winfrey received nods for their roles in "The Color Purple." Neither won the Oscar ... more

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