Octavia Spencer
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Octavia Lenora Spencer (born May 25, 1970) is an American actress. She has received various accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and a Golden Globe Award, in addition to nominations for two Primetime Emmy Awards. Spencer made her film debut in the 1996 drama A Time to Kill. Following a decade of brief roles in film and television, her breakthrough came in 2011 when she played a maid in 1960s America in the drama film The Help, which won her the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. In ensuing years, she won the National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Ryan Coogler's biopic Fruitvale Station (2013), had a recurring role in the CBS sitcom Mom (2013–2015), and starred in the Fox drama series Red Band Society (2014–2015). Spencer's roles as other black women in 1960s America, as Dorothy Vaughan in the biopic Hidden Figures (2016) and a cleaning woman in the fantasy The Shape of Water (2017), earned her two consecutive nominations for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, becoming the first black actress to achieve such feat, as well as the first, and to date only, to be nominated twice after winning. She has since starred in The Divergent Series (2015–16), The Shack (2017), Gifted (2017), Instant Family (2018), Luce (2019), Ma (2019), Onward (2020), and Spirited(2022). She led the Apple TV+ drama series Truth Be Told (2019–2023). She was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie for portraying Madam C. J. Walker in the Netflix miniseries Self Made (2020). As an author, Spencer created the children's book series Randi Rhodes, Ninja Detective. She has published two books in the series: The Case of the Time-Capsule Bandit (2013) and The Sweetest Heist in History (2015). Description above from the Wikipedia article Octavia Spencer, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known for
Credits
Spider-Man (2002)
as Check-In Girl
Zootopia (2016)
as Mrs. Otterton (voice)
Snowpiercer (2013)
as Tanya
Hidden Figures (2016)
as Dorothy Vaughan
The Help (2011)
as Minny Jackson
Gifted (2017)
as Roberta Taylor
Smurfs (2025)
as Asmodius (voice)
Flypaper (2011)
as Madge Wiggins
Insurgent (2015)
as Johanna Reyes
The Shape of Water (2017)
as Zelda Fuller
Roald Dahl's The Witches (2020)
as Grandma
The Shack (2017)
as Papa / Elouisa
A Time to Kill (1996)
as Roark's Nurse
Coach Carter (2005)
as Mrs. Battle
Drag Me to Hell (2009)
as Bank Co-Worker
Onward (2020)
as The Manticore (voice)
Dolittle (2020)
as Dab-Dab (voice)
S.W.A.T. (2003)
as Neighbor in Alley
Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde (2003)
as Security Guard
Blue Streak (1999)
as Shawna
Allegiant (2016)
as Johanna Reyes
Big Momma's House (2000)
as Twila
Instant Family (2018)
as Karen
Being John Malkovich (1999)
as Woman in Elevator
Never Been Kissed (1999)
as Cynthia
Bad Santa (2003)
as Opal
Halloween II (2009)
as Nurse Daniels
Seven Pounds (2008)
as Kate the Home Health Care Nurse
Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters (2013)
as Martha (voice)
Ma (2019)
as Sue Ann
Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous (2005)
as Middle-Aged Woman
Tow (2026)
as Barbara
Get On Up (2014)
as Aunt Honey
Pulse (2006)
as Landlady
Beauty Shop (2005)
as Big Customer
Dinner for Schmucks (2010)
as Madame Nora
Fruitvale Station (2013)
as Wanda
Fathers and Daughters (2015)
as Dr. Corman
Bad Santa 2 (2016)
as Opal
Pretty Persuasion (2005)
as Woman
The Soloist (2009)
as Troubled Woman
Spirited (2022)
as Kimberly
Thunder Force (2021)
as Emily Stanton
The Nines (2007)
as Streetwalker
The 6th Man (1997)
as Nativity Watson
Sol Goode (2003)
as Unemployment Clerk
Superintelligence (2020)
as Octavia Spencer (voice)
HOMECOMING: A film by Beyoncé (2019)
as Self
Encounter (2021)
as Hattie Hayes
Black or White (2015)
as Rowena Jeffers
Win a Date with Tad Hamilton! (2004)
as Janine
Breakin' All the Rules (2004)
as Stylist
The Great Gilly Hopkins (2015)
as Miss Harris
Lansky (1999)
as Evelyn
Luce (2019)
as Harriet Wilson
Just Peck (2011)
as Detention Teacher
What Planet Are You From? (2000)
as Baby Nurse
Peep World (2010)
as Alison
Letters to Jackie: Remembering President Kennedy (2013)
as Self - Narrator (voice)
Small Town Crime (2018)
as Kelly Banks
Smashed (2012)
as Jenny
A Kid Like Jake (2018)
as Judy
Little John (2002)
as Waitress
Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing & Charm School (2006)
as Ayisha Lebaron
Small Town Saturday Night (2010)
as Rhonda Dooley
Call Me Crazy: A Five Film (2013)
as Dr. Nance
The Heart (—)
Actor
Norman Lear: 100 Years of Music and Laughter (2022)
as Self
American Virgin (2000)
as Agnes Large
Pretty Ugly People (2008)
as Mary
Herpes Boy (2009)
as Rochelle
The Free World (2016)
as Linda Workman
Valley Girls (1996)
as Cheerleader
Love and Distrust (2010)
as Rhonda (segment "Auto Motives")
Love at First Hiccup (2009)
as Mrs. Hambrick
The Journeyman (2001)
as Black Belly
Auto Motives (2000)
as Rhonda
Car Dogs (2016)
as Mrs. Barrett
Jesus People (2013)
as Angel Angelique
Missing Pieces (2001)
as Elegant Guest (as Octavia L. Spencer)
Wizards of Waverly Place: Wizard School (2008)
as Dr. Evilini
Paradise (2013)
as Loray
Sparkler (1997)
as Wanda
The Spleenectomy (2008)
as Nurse
Chicken Party (2003)
as Laqueta Mills
Ma 2 (—)
as Sue Ann
Follow the Stars Home (2001)
as Hildy
Four Dogs Playing Poker (2000)
as Waitress
Death of a Salesman (—)
as Linda Loman
The Sky is Falling (2001)
as Nurse #2
Everything Put Together (2001)
as Nurse B
Lost on Purpose (2013)
as Nurse Keller
Nobody Nothing Nowhere (—)
Actor
Deck the Y'alls (—)
as Gladys Gibbes
Blues for Willadean (2012)
as LeSonia Robinson
Untitled Holiday Comedy Project (—)
Actor
Becoming bell hooks (2024)
as Self
The Quest for Sleep (2022)
as Narrator