Partially thanks to the places that shaped them, Black talent continues to make groundbreaking strides during Hollywood’s biggest night — the Oscars.
Also known as the Academy Awards, this year’s show is expected to be no different when it comes to Black actors and directors taking home success in the form of golden statuettes. In fact, 2025’s Ryan Coogler-directed Sinners — starring Michael B. Jordan, Wunmi Mosaku, and Delroy Lindo — has broken the previously held record for a single film having the most nominations before award night. Heading into the 98th Academy Awards, the Mississippi Delta-based film has a ceiling-breaking 16 nods. Among them is a nomination for Best Picture.
And while reflecting on their career trajectories and success, many Black actors have highlighted the destinations that shaped them. The majority of the hometowns below are where the Black Oscar winners listed — of the world’s best performers — harnessed their early star power.
Below, scroll through the unique connections between Black Oscar winners and the places they’ve called home.
Halle Berry — Cleveland, Ohio
Halle Berry changed the game forever when she won the Best Actress Oscar for her role in 2001’s Monster’s Ball. As of this reporting, she remains the only Black woman to have ever received that award. The actress was born in Cleveland, Ohio, a city that draws in visitors from all over the world thanks to its iconic Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Berry’s indomitable ambition was forged in Cleveland’s suburbs, in the face of discrimination. In 2017, she shared in a PEOPLE interview that her mother placed her and her sister into a school in the suburbs after fearing potential violence the girls may face in the inner-city. The biracial star said that once in high school, she experienced racism at a predominantly white school. Despite that, she ultimately led the pack, becoming an honor student, newspaper editor, mascot, cheerleader, and class president.
“Because my mother was white and my father was Black … we got called Oreos and names. And kids just didn’t understand, so we were different. We were the brunt of a lot of jokes,” she reflected. “So, I think my need to please and my desire to achieve was because I was constantly trying to prove that I was as good as the other white students. I felt very ‘less than,’ and I thought, ‘If I can beat them at everything, then I can be as good as them.'”
Octavia Spencer — Montgomery, Alabama
If headed to Montgomery, Alabama, exploring its wealth of Black and civil rights history should definitely be on your itinerary.
Octavia Spencer is a proud native who frequently opens up about her roots and giving back to the city that shaped her. In 2012, she won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role as Minny Jackson in The Help. In her acceptance speech for that award, she thanked the state of Alabama and her family there. Later, in a Garden & Gun interview, the Black Oscar winner said she was “grateful to Alabama” for “the rearing” she had there.
More recently, in 2023, the actress shook things up when she shared on the WTF with Marc Maron podcast that she “felt more racism” when she first moved to Los Angeles in the ’90s than she ever did in her hometown.
Lupita Nyong’o — Nairobi, Kenya
Kenyan-Mexican actress Lupita Nyong’o was born in Mexico City, grew up in Nairobi, Kenya, and later spent more time in Mexico, where she learned Spanish at age 16. This was all before she moved to the United States for further education at Hampshire College and the Yale School of Drama.
Throughout her life and many travels, Nairobi has remained a through-line for Nyong’o both professionally and personally. Back in December 2023, the star shared a photo dump on Instagram that documented a trip home filled with family and friend visits.
“The reason I am an actor is because of this fabulous woman to my right. My Aunty Amondi started me off performing in front of my family when I was 5 years old. She was my number one hype woman and still is. (Shout-out to my cousin Wema in the background. Love a family picnic!),” Nyong’o noted of the fourth photo in the roundup.
As the actress displayed in her post, Nairobi is a vibrant city with much to do. Foodies in particular will enjoy grabbing a bite to eat and drinks at top restaurants or snacking on street food. There’s also learning how to make local dishes, and about local farming and harvesting.
Daniel Kaluuya — London, England
Daniel Kaluuya became the first Black British person to win an acting Oscar in 2021 thanks to his role in Judas and the Black Messiah. His award was in the Best Supporting Actor category.
Of Ugandan descent, the proud Londoner grew up in the Camden borough. In his acceptance speech, he thanked everyone “from London town to Kampala.”
In 2024, the actor was celebrated with a permanent statue in London’s Leicester Square that people can still visit while strolling the popular area. The likeness depicts the cinematic moment where Kaluuya’s 2017 Get Out character fell into the Sunken Place. The BBC reported that at the unveiling, the actor answered whether he’d gone more Hollywood than London.
“Come on, bruv, I am in Hollywood, I work in Hollywood, but I feel like I’m a real guy that just fell in love with my job,” he reportedly said. “London is me, I am London, I really come from here.”
Denzel Washington — Mount Vernon, New York
Leading Black Oscar winner Denzel Washington is proud of his upbringing in Mount Vernon, New York, and the appreciation is mutual. So much so that in 2015, the Denzel Washington School of the Arts opened up in the city for artistic and creative children in grades 6 through 12.
Accessible via public transportation from New York City, Mount Vernon is home to the 18th-century St. Paul’s Church National Historic Site (perfect for Revolutionary War buffs) and Willson’s Woods Park (a 23-acre green space with a million-gallon pool and water park).
In a 2025 CBS Sunday Morning interview, the film titan said, “What’s the definition of a Hollywood actor? Myself, I’m from Mount Vernon, so I’m a ‘Mount Vernon actor.’ I don’t know what ‘Hollywood’ means.”
