Ariana DeBose, before her epic Oscar win: the West Side Story star made history as the first LGBT woman of colour to win an Academy Award, but was already a well-known theatre name …
- DeBose was in a nail salon when Steven Spielberg called to tell her she got the starring role of Anita in West Side Story – but it was the culmination of years of work
- She’d already had smaller parts in Netflix’s The Prom alongside Nicole Kidman and in Schmigadoon; now she’s working alongside Samuel L. Jackson in Argylle
The Will Smith-Chris Rock brouhaha will most likely go down as one of the most explosive moments in Oscars history, eclipsing all other stories related to this year’s event. But for those paying closer attention, the 2022 Academy Awards also marked a turning point for diversity and inclusion in the industry.
Ariana DeBose won best actress in a supporting role for West Side Story, declaring herself a “queer woman of colour” in her acceptance speech – becoming the first openly LGBTQ+ woman of colour to win an Oscar in the event’s history.
Here are five things you need to know about the veteran theatre actress …
1. She initially turned the West Side Story role down
When she appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, DeBose revealed how she auditioned and subsequently got the part of Anita in West Side Story. When casting director Cindy Tolan called her late one night to ask her to do a last minute audition the next day with director Steven Spielberg, DeBose said she’d do it on one condition: that she just dance and sing. The actress was starring in Summer: The Donna Summer Musical at the time and performing eight times a week, leaving almost no time to learn a piece for the audition.
Tolan said it would be OK, but Spielberg nevertheless asked her to read some lines. DeBose bravely said no. “These are Tony Kushner-expanded scenes. They can be wordy, and they’re important, you got to nail it,” she told Fallon. “And, quite frankly, I’m not in the business of going into a room as a black woman and not getting it right. You got to come in prepared.”
A few weeks later, Spielberg called DeBose while she was getting her nails done to tell her she’d got the part.
2. She won a dance competition where the prize was Cold Stone Creamery ice creams for life
Back in 2006, US ice cream chain Cold Stone Creamery held a YouTube dance contest. Finalists were flown to New York to see who could dance the best to Fergie’s song London Bridge. A then 15-year-old DeBose won the contest, met the Black Eyed Peas member, and bagged herself US$15,000 in prize money – plus free Cold Stone Creamery milkshakes, ice creams and smoothies for life, according to Buzzfeed.
She has often reflected on how winning the contest helped her in the earlier stages of her career, telling James Corden that when she would run out of peanut butter or jam or couldn’t afford coffee for breakfast, she would stroll down to 42nd street and into Cold Stone to get ice cream instead.
3. She appeared on So You Think You Can Dance
She may have come out on top in the Cold Stone Creamery dance contest, but her experience on So You Think You Can Dance was a completely different story. She was first to be eliminated on the show. However, she said in an interview afterwards that she was still thankful for the experience and that getting knocked out had only motivated her to work harder.
4. She had TV roles before West Side Story
Until West Side Story, DeBose was best known for her extensive theatre resume, playing parts in Hamilton and Les Misérables, among others. But not everyone remembers that she also had major roles in both Netflix’s adaptation of Broadway musical The Prom starring Nicole Kidman and Meryl Streep, and in Apple TV+’s musical comedy series Schmigadoon.
In The Prom, DeBose plays Alyssa, a closeted teenager. After the show, she teamed up with co-star Jo Ellen Pellman to launch the Unruly Hearts Initiative, which aims to help LGBTQ+ youth.
5. She isn’t resting on her laurels
Just because she won an Oscar doesn’t mean the actress is planning on slowing down. People magazine recently reported that DeBose is next set to appear in the space thriller I.S.S. alongside Chris Messina, and that she will also join Henry Cavill, Bryce Dallas Howard, Bryce Cranston, Catherine O’Hara, John Cena and Samuel L. Jackson in spy thriller Argylle.