Hattie McDaniel

Hattie McDaniel was an American actress, singersongwriter, and comedian. She is best known for her role as Mammy in Gone with the Wind , for which she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, the first African American to win an Academy Award. She is also known for the voice of Hyacinth Hippo in the film Fantasia .

McDaniel was born June 10, 1895, in Wichita, Kansas, to former slaves. She was the youngest ofchildren. Her father, Henry McDaniel, fought in the Civil War with the 122nd USCT and her mother, Susan Holbert, was a singer of religious music. In 1900, the family moved to Colorado, living first in Fort Collins and then in Denver, where Hattie graduated from Denver East High School. Her brother, Sam McDaniel , played the butler in the 1948 Three Stooges short film Heavenly Daze. Her sister Etta McDaniel was also an actor.

Source: Wikipedia