Early roles In 1996, Spencer made her film debut as a nurse in
Joel Schumacher's
A Time to Kill, based on
the book by
John Grisham. She was originally hired to work on casting, but asked Schumacher if she could audition for a part. In 1997, she moved to Los Angeles on the advice of her friend
Tate Taylor, the future director of
The Help, in which Spencer would later star.
2000s Other film credits include:
Never Been Kissed (1999), ''
Big Momma's House (2000), Spider-Man (2002), S.W.A.T. (2003), Bad Santa (2003), Win a Date with Tad Hamilton! (2004), Coach Carter (2005), Miss Congeniality 2 (2005) and Pretty Ugly People (2008). She has made a number of guest appearances on television series, including Raising the Bar, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, The Big Bang Theory, Wizards of Waverly Place, Grounded for Life, ER, Titus, Becker, 30 Rock and Dharma & Greg,
plus a recurring role on the sitcom Mom''. She is also known for her starring roles as Serenity Johnson on
Comedy Central's
Halfway Home, and Constance Grady, the amorous
INS caseworker on
Ugly Betty. In 2003, Spencer made her stage debut in Los Angeles, in
Del Shores' play,
The Trials and Tribulations of a Trailer Trash Housewife, starring opposite veteran actress
Beth Grant. It was her first and only play, as, she once explained, she suffers from what she called "intense
stage fright". Later that year, she starred opposite
Allison Janney in
Tate Taylor's short feature
Chicken Party. In 2008, Spencer's brief appearance in
Seven Pounds as Kate,
Rosario Dawson's home care nurse, garnered her high praise and media attention. In April 2009,
Entertainment Weekly listed Spencer as among its "25 Funniest Actresses in Hollywood". In May 2009, Spencer had a role in
Sam Raimi's horror film
Drag Me to Hell, and in August 2009, she appeared in
Rob Zombie's
Halloween II. She also had a role in the American remake of the Danish classic
Love at First Hiccup, opposite Scout Taylor-Compton. Spencer starred in the feature film
Herpes Boy, alongside Beth Grant,
Ahna O'Reilly and Byron Lane. She played the voice of "Minny" on the audio version of novel
The Help, by Kathryn Stockett. Later that year, Spencer's short film
The Captain was honored by the CICFF as a finalist for the REEL Poetry Award.
2010s In July 2010, Spencer appeared with
Steve Carell, and
Paul Rudd in the comedy
Dinner for Schmucks. In August 2011, she joined
Viola Davis,
Emma Stone and
Bryce Dallas Howard in the period drama film
The Help, an adaptation of the novel of the same name. She played the feisty and unflappable maid Minny Jackson. The film was written, produced and directed by
Tate Taylor, and produced by Brunson Green,
Chris Columbus,
Michael Barnathan, and Mark Radcliffe. She won the
2012 Golden Globe Award for
Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture for her work in
The Help. On February 12, 2012, Spencer won a
BAFTA for Best Supporting Actress for her Performance in
The Help, and on February 26 she won the
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for the same performance; it was her first Oscar nomination and first win. Spencer was given a standing ovation at the ceremony, and was moved to tears during her acceptance speech. In June 2012, Spencer was invited to join the
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. In 2013, she appeared alongside
Michael B. Jordan in
Fruitvale Station, a film chronicling the last day of
Oscar Grant, who was killed at a
Bay Area Rapid Transit station in 2009. In September 2013, it was announced that she would reunite with
The Help director Taylor in the biopic on singer
James Brown Get On Up, opposite her
The Help co-star Viola Davis. The film was released in 2014. From September 2014 until February 2015, she starred in
Steven Spielberg's
Fox drama television series
Red Band Society. Spencer co-starred alongside
Kevin Costner in the drama film
Black or White (2014) and co-starred as Johanna Reyes in the second installment of the
Divergent series,
The Divergent Series: Insurgent (2015). She reprised the role in
The Divergent Series: Allegiant (2016). She voiced Mrs. Otterton in Disney's
Zootopia (2016), which marked her animated film debut. In 2016, she starred alongside
Taraji P. Henson and
Janelle Monáe in
Hidden Figures, a film about African-American mathematicians at NASA who were critical to its success in the 1960s in the
Space Race, and who each had careers there. She played mathematician and human computer
Dorothy Vaughan. The role garnered her a
Golden Globe Award and
Screen Actors Guild Award for her performance and earned Spencer a second nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, making her the first black actress to follow up an Oscar victory with another nomination, having previously won for
The Help. In honor of
Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Spencer bought out a Los Angeles screening of
Hidden Figures to treat low-income families that would have been unable to afford to see the film otherwise. In 2017, Spencer starred in the Christian drama film
The Shack and the family drama film
Gifted. She co-starred with
Sally Hawkins in
Guillermo del Toro's
dark fantasy drama film The Shape of Water, which follows a mute custodian at a high-security government laboratory who befriends a captured humanoid-
amphibian creature. The film was screened in the main competition section of the
74th Venice International Film Festival, where it premiered to positive reviews on August 31, 2017, and was awarded the
Golden Lion for best film in the competition. It also screened at the
2017 Toronto International Film Festival. Spencer earned Golden Globe and BAFTA Award nominations for her portrayal, while receiving her third Academy Award nomination in the Best Supporting Actress category, making her the first black actress to receive two consecutive Oscar nods in back-to-back years. She then received praise for her starring role as Sue Ann "Ma" Ellington in the psychological horror film
Ma, which was directed by frequent collaborator Tate Taylor. For the latter, she received a nomination for the
Saturn Award for Best Actress. Also in 2019, Spencer returned to television by executive producing and starring in the
Apple TV+ drama series
Truth Be Told.
2020s In January 2020, Spencer had a voice role as Dab-Dab, an enthusiastic duck with a metal leg, in the fantasy comedy film
Dolittle, starring
Robert Downey Jr. as the
titular character. She also voiced a
manticore restaurant owner in the
Pixar animated fantasy film
Onward, which was released in March 2020 to positive reviews. Spencer executive produced and starred as
Madam C. J. Walker in the
Netflix biographical limited series
Self Made, which was released on March 20, 2020. For her performance in the series, Spencer received a nomination for the
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie. Spencer starred alongside
Anne Hathaway in
Robert Zemeckis's horror comedy
The Witches, which released on October 22, 2020. In 2021, Spencer co-starred with
Melissa McCarthy as women who suddenly develop superpowers in the superhero comedy film
Thunder Force. In 2022, she starred in the
Apple TV+ musical comedy film
Spirited with
Will Ferrell and
Ryan Reynolds. She will reunite with her
The Help co-star
Jessica Chastain for a holiday comedy film. ==Personal life==