Oscars Still So White? Data Says Yes – But For Some Groups, It's Slowly Getting Better

To be considered for an Oscars statuette – a symbol of the best of the best in the film industry – it helps to have a large role in a blockbuster, have support from a major movie studio and be white. 

A look back at nominees chosen for the four major acting categories of the Academy Awards from 2000 to 2022 shows that nominees continue to be mostly white actors, with some awards seasons having only one or no actors with Black, African, Asian, Latino, Arab or Indigenous heritages. 

The lack of representation at the Oscars embroiled the awards ceremony in controversy, after nominees for Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress were awarded to only white actors in 2015, and then again in 2016. 

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#OscarsSoWhite they asked to touch my hair. 😒

— April (@ReignOfApril) January 15, 2015

April Reign sparked a public identity crisis for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences when her #OscarsSoWhite tweet launched a social movement for more representation in Hollywood. The backlash was swift, and overwhelming – Hollywood heavyweights like Spike Lee, Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith called for an Oscars boycott that year.

The audience followed, with numbers dropping by 16% for the broadcast. 

The Academy, led by then-President Cheryl Boone Isaacs (who was also its first Black president), promised to change. It imposed new diversity standards for nominations consideration – films are required to meet new "diversity standards" to be considered for best picture, for instance, and hundreds of new members were invited to join its traditionally white and male membership pool from minority groups.

The number of Black actors nominated in a major acting category jumped from zero to six for 2017 – a new record.

But representation in the four major acting categories is still somewhat inconsistent for the years following the #OscarsSoWhite controversy. While 2016, 2020 and 2022 were notable years for representation in the acting category, only actors with largely European heritage have been consistently represented year after year.

Overall, of the 140 nominees for a major acting category from 2016 onward, 102 were white – approximately five out of every seven nominees. 

The findings are consistent across acting categories, with white actors of both genders representing 75% to 85% of the pool of nominees per category.

Compared to the general U.S. populace, nominees for a best acting Oscar have started to reflect the average moviegoer in the wake of the #OscarsSoWhite controversy, if said moviegoer were White, Black or Asian. 

While the number of white nominees have dropped to accommodate actors from underrepresented communities, the shift has largely benefited Black and Asian actors – Latino actors in particular are still a rare sight on the Oscars award stage. There have only been four Latino actors nominated for a best in acting category within the last seven years: Yalitza Aparicio and Marina de Tavira for "Roma" in 2018, Ariana DeBose for "West Side Story" in 2021 and Ana de Armas for "Blonde" in 2022. 

By contrast, actors with Asian heritage have taken home four nominations in 2022 alone, thanks to sci-fi awards dark horse "Everything, Everywhere All At Once": Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan and Stephanie Hsu were nominated for Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress respectively, while Hong Chau was nominated for her role in "The Whale."