Ariana DeBose, before her epic Oscar win: the West Side Story star made history as the first LGBT woman of colour to win an Academy Award, but was already a well-known theatre name …

Apr 9 , 2022

Ariana DeBose on the red carpet before the 94th Academy Awards and her momentous win. Photo: Reuters

DeBose was in a nail salon when Steven Spielberg called to tell her she got the starring role of Anita in West Side Story – but it was the culmination of years of work

She’d already had smaller parts in Netflix’s The Prom alongside Nicole Kidman and in Schmigadoon; now she’s working alongside Samuel L. Jackson in Argylle

The Will Smith-Chris Rock brouhaha will most likely go down as one of the most explosive moments in Oscars history, eclipsing all other stories related to this year’s event. But for those paying closer attention, the 2022 Academy Awards also marked a turning point for diversity and inclusion in the industry.

Ariana DeBose won best actress in a supporting role for West Side Story, declaring herself a “queer woman of colour” in her acceptance speech – becoming the first openly LGBTQ+ woman of colour to win an Oscar in the event’s history.

Here are five things you need to know about the veteran theatre actress …

**1. She initially turned the West Side Story role down**

Ariana DeBose with co-star David Alvarez in a still from the colourful Steven Spielberg remake of West Side Story. Photo: Handout.

When she appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, DeBose revealed how she auditioned and subsequently got the part of Anita in West Side Story. When casting director Cindy Tolan called her late one night to ask her to do a last minute audition the next day with director Steven Spielberg, DeBose said she’d do it on one condition: that she just dance and sing. The actress was starring in Summer: The Donna Summer Musical at the time and performing eight times a week, leaving almost no time to learn a piece for the audition.

Tolan said it would be OK, but Spielberg nevertheless asked her to read some lines. DeBose bravely said no. “These are Tony Kushner-expanded scenes. They can be wordy, and they’re important, you got to nail it,” she told Fallon. “And, quite frankly, I’m not in the business of going into a room as a black woman and not getting it right. You got to come in prepared.”

A few weeks later, Spielberg called DeBose while she was getting her nails done to tell her she’d got the part.