West Side Story‘s Ariana DeBose has just become the first openly queer woman, as well as the first Latina performer, to win an individual award at the Screen Actors Guild Awards with her supporting actress honor. She also received the first acting Oscar nomination for an openly queer woman of color.
DeBose’s role of Anita in Steven Spielberg’s take on Tony Kusher’s classic musical beat out an impressive group of nominees, including Caitríona Balfe (“Belfast”), Cate Blanchett (“Nightmare Alley”), Kirsten Dunst (“The Power of the Dog”), and Ruth Negga (“Passing”).
“We here! And we queer,” DeBose said on SAG Awards red carpet. “It is exciting and I’m very proud of these moments because I think they’re indicative of the fact that they will not be the last. That’s how I choose to look at them and it’s like, if we can have these conversations around me, that just means the door is open, so come on in.”
The only other openly queer winner of a SAG award was Ian McKellen’s supporting actor win in 2002 for The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.
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