Octavia Spencer
Octavia Lenora Spencer (born May 25, 1970) is an American actress and author. She is best known for her role as Minny Jackson in the 2011 film The Help, for which she won the BAFTA, Golden Globe, SAG, Critics’ Choice, and Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Other notable films include Get on Up, Black or White, Smashed, Snowpiercer, The Divergent Series: Insurgent and Fruitvale Station.
Spencer created the character of Randi Rhodes, Ninja Detective for a children’s book series, releasing The Case of the Time-Capsule Bandit in 2013, and The Sweetest Heist in History in 2015.
At nineteen, she worked as an intern on the set of The Long Walk Home, a film starring Whoopi Goldberg.
Spencer made her film debut as a nurse in Joel Schumacher’s A Time to Kill based on the book by John Grisham. She was originally hired to work on casting, but asked Schumacher if she could audition for a small part. Other film credits include: Never Been Kissed, Big Momma’s House, Bad Santa, Spider-Man, Coach Carter, Win a Date with Tad Hamilton! and Pretty Ugly People. She has made a number of guest appearances on television series including Raising the Bar, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, The Big Bang Theory, Wizards of Waverly Place, Grounded for Life, ER, Titus, Becker, “30 Rock” and Dharma & Greg, plus a recurring role on Mom. She is best known for her starring roles as Serenity Johnson on Comedy Central’s Halfway Home, and Constance Grady, the amorous INS caseworker on Ugly Betty.
In 2003, she made her stage debut in Los Angeles, in Del Shores’ play, The Trials and Tribulations of a Trailer Trash Housewife, starring opposite veteran actress Beth Grant. It was her first and only play, as she told Back Stage Magazine that she suffers from “stage fright.” Later that year, she starred opposite Allison Janney in Tate Taylor’s critically lauded short feature Chicken Party.
In 2008, Spencer’s brief appearance in Seven Pounds as Kate, Rosario Dawson’s home care nurse, garnered her high praise and media attention. In April 2009, Entertainment Weekly listed Spencer in its list of 25 Funniest Actresses in Hollywood. In August 2009, Spencer appeared in Rob Zombie’s Halloween II. She also had a role in the American remake of the Danish classic Love at First Hiccup opposite Scout Taylor-Compton. Spencer starred in the hit web series-turned feature film Herpes Boy alongside Beth Grant, Ahna O’Reilly and Byron Lane; and, can be heard as the voice of “Minny” on the audio version of The Help, the “New York Times Best Seller” by Kathryn Stockett. Later that year, Spencer’s short film The Captain was honored by the CICFF as a finalist for the coveted REEL Poetry Award.
Content: Wikipedia
0