This is article is a List of awards and nominations received by Octavia Spencer.
Octavia Spencer is an American actress, author, and producer. She has received several awards including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award, and three Actor Awards as well as nominations for two Primetime Emmy Awards.
For her roles on film, she received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for playing Minny Jackson, a maid from the South, in the period drama The Help (2011). The role earned her a BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role, a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture and a Actor Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress. She was Oscar-nominated for her playing mathematician Dorothy Vaughan in the drama Hidden Figures (2016), and Zelda Fuller, a custodian in the romantic fantasy film The Shape of Water (2017).
Spencer is the first black actress to receive two consecutive Academy Award nominations in back-to-back years, the first black actress to receive two Academy Award nominations after a win, and the second-most nominated black actress to date behind Viola Davis with four nominations. She was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female for playing a history teacher in the drama Luce (2019). Spencer has also won two Critics' Choice Movie Awards and three National Board of Review Awards as well as the Producers Guild of America Visionary Award in 2020.
For her work in television, she won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Narrator for the Investigation Discovery documentary series Lost Women of Alaska (2026). She also received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for her performance as Madam C. J. Walker in the Netflix series Self Made (2020) and the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Narrator for the Investigation Discovery documentary series Lost Women of Highway 20 (2024).
Major awards Academy Awards Year Category Nominated work Result 2012 Best Supporting Actress The Help 2017 Hidden Figures 2018 The Shape of Water
Actor Awards Year Category Nominated work Result 2012 Outstanding Actress in a Supporting Role The Help Outstanding Cast in a Motion Picture 2017 Hidden Figures Outstanding Actress in a Supporting Role
BAFTA Awards Year Category Nominated work Result British Academy Film Awards 2012 Best Actress in a Supporting Role The Help 2018 The Shape of Water
Emmy Awards Year Category Nominated work Result Primetime Emmy Awards 2020 Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Movie Self Made 2024 Outstanding Narrator Lost Women of Highway 20 (for "Vanished") 2026 Lost Women of Alaska (for "The Missing")
Golden Globe Awards Year Category Nominated work Result 2012 Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture The Help 2017 Hidden Figures 2018 The Shape of Water
Other awards and nominations Organizations Year Category Work Result African American Film Critics 2011 Best Supporting Actress The Help 2014 Black or White Best Ensemble Get on Up 2017 Hidden Figures Alliance of Women Film Journalists 2011 Best Supporting Actress The Help Best Cast Unforgettable Moment 2016 Best Supporting Actress Hidden Figures AACTA Awards 2014 Best International Supporting Actress – Cinema Fruitvale Station Award Circuit Community Award 2011 Best Supporting Actress The Help Best Cast Black Film Critics Circle 2011 Best Supporting Actress The Help Best Ensemble Breakthrough Performance Black Reel Awards 2012 Best Supporting Actress The Help Best Breakthrough Performance 2013 Best Supporting Actress Smashed Best Supporting Actress: Television Movie/Cable Call Me Crazy: A Five Film 2014Best Supporting Actress Fruitvale Station 2015 Snowpiercer Best Ensemble Get on Up 2017 Hidden Figures 2019 Best Supporting Actress The Shape of Water 2020 Luce 2021 Outstanding Voice Performance Onward Black Reel TV Awards 2020 Outstanding Actress, TV Movie/Limited Series Self Made Outstanding TV Movie or Limited Series 2024Outstanding Lead Performance in a Drama Series Truth Be Told Critics' Choice Movie Awards 2012 Best Movie Supporting Actress The Help Best Movie Cast 2016 Hidden Figures 2018 Best Movie Supporting Actress The Shape of Water Hasty Pudding Theatricals 2017 Woman of the Year Independent Spirit Award 2019 Best Supporting Female Luce NAACP Image Awards 2012 Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture The Help 2014 Fruitvale Station 2015 Get on Up 2017 Hidden Figures 2018 Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture Gifted 2020 Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture Luce Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special Truth Be Told 2021 Outstanding Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic SpecialSelf Made Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special 2022Outstanding Actress in a Drama SeriesTruth Be Told 2024 National Board of Review 2011 Best Ensemble Cast The Help 2013 Best Supporting Actress Fruitvale Station 2016 Best Ensemble Cast Hidden Figures Producers Guild of America Awards 2020 Visionary Award Satellite Awards 2011 Best Performance by an Ensemble Cast – Motion Picture The Help Best Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama 2017 Best Performance by an Ensemble Cast – Motion Picture Hidden Figures Best Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama Saturn Awards 2018 Best Film Supporting Actress The Shape of Water 2019 Best Film Lead Actress Ma
Critics awards
Organizations Year Category Work Result African-American Film Critics Association 2017 Best Ensemble Hidden Figures Austin Film Critics Association 2018 Best Supporting Actress The Shape of Water Chicago Film Critics Association Awards 2011 The Help Best Supporting Actress 2020 Luce Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards 2011Best Supporting Actress The Help 2017 The Shape of Water Denver Film Critics Society 2013Best Supporting Actress Fruitvale Station 2016 Hidden Figures Detroit Film Critics Society Awards 2011 Best Supporting Actress The Help Best Ensemble Florida Film Critics Circle Awards 2016 Best Supporting Actress Hidden Figures 2017 Best Cast The Shape of Water Hawaii Film Critics Society 2016Best Supporting Actress Hidden Figures 2018 The Shape of Water Hollywood Film Festival 2011 Best Ensemble The Help Houston Film Critics Society 2011 Best Supporting Actress The Help 2013 Fruitvale Station 2016 Hidden Figures 2017 The Shape of Water Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award 2011Best Supporting Actress The Help 2016Hidden Figures Best Ensemble London Film Critics Circle Awards 2011 Best Supporting Actress The Help Los Angeles Online Film Critics Society 2017 Best Supporting Actress The Shape of Water MTV Movie & TV Awards 2011 Best On-Screen Duo The Help North Texas Film Critics Association Awards 2011Best Supporting Actress The Help 2016 Hidden Figures 2017 The Shape of Water Oklahoma Film Critics Circle Awards 2011 Best Supporting Actress The Help Online Film & Television Association Awards 2016 Best Supporting Actress Hidden Figures Online Film Critics Society Awards 2016 Best Supporting Actress Hidden Figures 2017 Best Ensemble The Shape of Water Palm Springs International Film Festival 2011 Breakthrough Performance The Help 2016 Ensemble Performance Hidden Figures Phoenix Critics Circle Award 2017 Best Supporting Actress The Shape of Water Phoenix Film Critics Society Award 2011 Best Supporting Actress The Help San Diego Film Critics Society Awards 2011 Best Ensemble Performance The Help 2016 Hidden Figures 2020 Best Supporting Actress Luce San Francisco Film Critics Circle Awards 2013 Best Supporting Actress Fruitvale Station Southeastern Film Critics Association Awards 2011 Best Ensemble The Help St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association 2011Best Supporting Actress The Help 2017 The Shape of Water Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Awards 2011 Best Supporting Actress The Help Best Ensemble 2013Fruitvale Station Best Supporting Actress Women Film Critics Circle Awards 2011 Best Ensemble The Help 2016 Hidden Figures
References
External links List of awards and nominations at IMDb