Hattie McDaniel Made Far Less Than Her ‘Gone With the Wind’ Co-Stars Despite Oscar Win
‘Gone With the Wind’ Oscar winner Hattie McDaniel once said she’d rather play a maid on-screen than be one in real life.
Published Feb. 29 2024, 2:04 p.m. ET
Actor Hattie McDaniel will forever be mentioned in Black History. On Feb. 29, 1940, Hattie became the first Black actor to win an Academy Award, period. She won Best Supporting Actress for her role as “Mammy” in Gone With the Wind, which debuted in 1939. The classic changed Hattie’s life forever and is still an honor only a handful of Black artists have received since.
Though Hattie’s win was supposed to be a joyous occasion, she undoubtedly faced hardships, including being harshly criticized by the Black audience at the time and overlooked by the white audience, plus the executives who ran Hollywood. What’s more, Hattie’s payment from Gone With the Wind would cause online discourse today.
How much money did Hattie McDaniel make from her role in ‘Gone With the Wind?’
Hattie appeared in several uncredited comedic movie roles in the 1930s before she booked the coveted role as Mammy in Gone With the Wind. In the dramatic role, Hattie played Vivien Leigh’s character, Scarlett O’Hara’s maid.
According to a write-up about Hattie from History Colorado, she earned $450 a week while filming Gone With the Wind. It’s unclear how long production ran for Gone With the Wind, though it’s safe to say Hattie earned significantly less than her white co-stars, especially the movie’s stars, Vivien and Clark Gable. Per Town and Country Magazine, Vivien made approximately $25,000 from the film, while Clark earned over $120,000.
While Hattie was one of the lower-paid stars of Gone With the Wind, History Colorado stated that the movie and her Oscar win allowed her to purchase her first home in 1942. However, the mental toll on Hattie for accepting the Mammy role was mentally expensive.
How did Hattie McDaniel die?
Almost as soon as she accepted the part, Hattie received backlash from the NAACP, stating her being in the movie did nothing for “racial advancement,” per Vanity Fair. Hattie was also not allowed to sit with her white co-stars at the 1940 Oscars and couldn’t attend Gone With the Wind’s premiere due to Atlanta, Ga.’s segregation laws.
Despite the backlash, Hattie has been credited for attempting not to make her character stereotypic. She also fought for several racist scenes to be removed from the movie in the final cut, such as the use of the N-word.
When she accepted the Academy award, Hattie also said she hoped the win would make her a pillar in her community.
"I want to thank each one of you who had a part in selecting me for one of the awards for your kindness,” she said during her acceptance speech. “It has made me feel very, very humble, and I shall always hold it as a beacon for anything I may be able to do in the future. I sincerely hope I shall always be a credit to my race and to the motion picture industry. My heart is too full to tell you just how I feel. And may I say thank you, and God bless you."
After her Oscar win, Hattie continued acting, and in the early 1950s, she booked a starring role as the titular character on CBS’s radio show, Beulah. Like her Oscar-winning role as Mammy, Hattie received harsh critiques from her Black audience, with one critic stating the radio show, “defiles and desecrates colored people,” per Vibe Magazine.
Hattie worked on Beulah until her health declined in the ‘50s. She became ill from breast cancer and diabetes complications and died in 1952. Unfortunately, the actor died penniless, with her Oscar and other belongings being sold to settle a $11,000 tax debt.
Did Hattie McDaniel have any kids before she died?
During her life, Hattie was married five times to Howard Hickman, George Langford, Nym Lankfard, James Llyod Crawford, and Larry Williams. None of the marriages resulted in children, though Vanity Fair said she experienced a “false pregnancy” at the age of 51.
Hattie’s legacy has continued, becoming the first Black Oscar winner whose likeness is on a U.S. postage stamp. Her Academy Award plaque is placed in Howard University’s Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts center, though the plaque is a replica.
After Hattie chose to leave the original plaque at Howard, it went missing for years. It was ultimately replaced by The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures and returned to the school.
Hattie’s extended family has also kept her legacy alive. Her great-great nephew, filmmaker Kevin John Goff, wrote a book about her life, Hattie McDaniel: A Reflective Life. The book will be released in early 2024, per the Hattie McDaniel website.
