Octavia Lenora Spencer (born May 25, 1970) is an American actress. She has received various accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and a Golden Globe Award, in addition to nominations for two Primetime Emmy Awards. Spencer made her film debut in the 1996 drama A Time to Kill. Following a decade of brief roles in film and television, her breakthrough came in 2011 when she played a maid in 1960s America in the drama film The Help, which won her the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. In ensuing years, she won the National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Ryan Coogler's biopic Fruitvale Station (2013), had a recurring role in the CBS sitcom Mom (2013–2015), and starred in the Fox drama series Red Band Society (2014–2015). Spencer's roles as other black women in 1960s America, as Dorothy Vaughan in the biopic Hidden Figures (2016) and a cleaning woman in the fantasy The Shape of Water (2017), earned her two consecutive nominations for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, becoming the first black actress to achieve such feat, as well as the first, and to date only, to be nominated twice after winning. She has since starred in The Divergent Series (2015–16), The Shack (2017), Gifted (2017), Instant Family (2018), Luce (2019), Ma (2019), Onward (2020), and Spirited(2022). She led the Apple TV+ drama series Truth Be Told (2019–2023). She was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie for portraying Madam C. J. Walker in the Netflix miniseries Self Made (2020). As an author, Spencer created the children's book series Randi Rhodes, Ninja Detective. She has published two books in the series: The Case of the Time-Capsule Bandit (2013) and The Sweetest Heist in History (2015). Description above from the Wikipedia article Octavia Spencer, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Filmography

• 2027Margie Claus — (voice)
• Ride or Die — Debbie Claybourne, Executive Producer
• 2026Tow — Barbara, Executive Producer
• Family Recipe Showdown — Host
• 2025Smurfs — Asmodius (voice)
• Lost Women of Highway 20 — Self - Narrator (voice), Executive Producer
• The Santa Stories — Detective Grinchauser
• 2022Spirited — Kimberly
• 2022The Quest for Sleep — Narrator
• 2021Encounter — Hattie Hayes
• 2021Thunder Force — Emily Stanton
• 2020Dolittle — Dab-Dab (voice)
• 2020Onward — The Manticore (voice)
• 2020Roald Dahl's The Witches — Grandma
• Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker — Madam C. J. Walker, Executive Producer
• 2020Superintelligence — Octavia Spencer (voice)
• 2019Luce — Harriet Wilson
• 2019Ma — Sue Ann, Executive Producer
• Truth Be Told — Poppy Scoville, Executive Producer
• 2018A Kid Like Jake — Judy
• 2018Green Book — Executive Producer
• 2018Instant Family — Karen
• 2018Small Town Crime — Kelly Banks, Executive Producer
• 2017Candid — Executive Producer
• 2017Gifted — Roberta Taylor
• 2017The Shack — Papa / Elouisa
• 2017The Shape of Water — Zelda Fuller
• Young Sheldon — Officer Rhonda Tomasson
• 2016Allegiant — Johanna Reyes
• 2016Bad Santa 2 — Opal
• 2016Car Dogs — Mrs. Barrett
• 2016Hidden Figures — Dorothy Vaughan
• Martha & Snoop's Potluck Dinner Party — Team Martha
• 2016The Free World — Linda Workman
• 2016Zootopia — Mrs. Otterton (voice)
• 2015Black or White — Rowena Jeffers
• 2015Fathers and Daughters — Dr. Corman
• 2015Insurgent — Johanna Reyes
• 2015The Great Gilly Hopkins — Miss Harris
• 2014Get On Up — Aunt Honey
• Red Band Society — Nurse Jackson
• black-ish — Octavia Spencer
• 2013Call Me Crazy: A Five Film — Dr. Nance
• Drunk History — Harriet Tubman
• 2013Fruitvale Station — Wanda, Co-Executive Producer
• 2013Jesus People — Angel Angelique
• 2013Lost on Purpose — Nurse Keller
• Mom — Regina Tompkins
• 2013Paradise — Loray
• 2013Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters — Martha (voice)
• 2013Snowpiercer — Tanya
• 2012Blues for Willadean — LeSonia Robinson
• 2012Smashed — Jenny
• 2011Flypaper — Madge Wiggins
• 2011Just Peck — Detention Teacher
• 2011The Help — Minny Jackson
• 2010Dinner for Schmucks — Madame Nora
• 2010Love and Distrust — Rhonda (segment "Auto Motives")
• 2010Peep World — Alison
• 2010Small Town Saturday Night — Rhonda Dooley
• Dollhouse — Professor Janack
• 2009Drag Me to Hell — Bank Co-Worker
• 2009Halloween II — Nurse Daniels
• 2009Herpes Boy — Rochelle
• 2009Love at First Hiccup — Mrs. Hambrick
• 2009The Soloist — Troubled Woman
• 2008Pretty Ugly People — Mary
• Raising the Bar — Arvina Watkins
• 2008Seven Pounds — Kate the Home Health Care Nurse
• 2008The Spleenectomy — Nurse
• 2008Wizards of Waverly Place: Wizard School — Dr. Evilini
• Cavemen
• Halfway Home
• The Big Bang Theory — Octavia
• 2007The Nines — Streetwalker
• Wizards of Waverly Place — Dr. Evilini
• 30 Rock — Octavia Spencer
• 2006Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing & Charm School — Ayisha Lebaron
• 2006Pulse — Landlady
• Standoff — Rapid Air Clerk
• The Minor Accomplishments of Jackie Woodman
• Ugly Betty — Constance Grady
• American Dad! — Shonteeva (voice)
• 2005Beauty Shop — Big Customer
• 2005Coach Carter — Mrs. Battle
• Medium — Jurist
• 2005Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous — Middle-Aged Woman
• 2005Pretty Persuasion — Woman
• 2004Breakin' All the Rules — Stylist
• CSI: NY — Child Welfare Rep
• LAX — Flight Attendant
• 2004Win a Date with Tad Hamilton! — Janine
• 2003Bad Santa — Opal
• 2003Chicken Party — Laqueta Mills
• 2003Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde — Security Guard
• 2003S.W.A.T. — Neighbor in Alley
• 2003Sol Goode — Unemployment Clerk
• 2002Little John — Waitress
• Presidio Med — Sheryl Washington
• 2002Spider-Man — Check-In Girl
• 2001Everything Put Together — Nurse B
• 2001Follow the Stars Home — Hildy
• Grounded for Life — Admitting Nurse
• 2001Missing Pieces — Elegant Guest (as Octavia L. Spencer)
• The Chronicle — Ruby Rydell
• 2001The Journeyman — Black Belly
• 2001The Sky is Falling — Nurse #2
• 2000American Virgin — Agnes Large
• 2000Auto Motives — Rhonda
• 2000Big Momma's House — Twila
• CSI: Crime Scene Investigation — Sherry
• 2000Four Dogs Playing Poker — Waitress
• Malcolm in the Middle — Cashier
• Titus — Ms. Alice Hays
• 2000What Planet Are You From? — Baby Nurse
• 1999Being John Malkovich — Woman in Elevator
• 1999Blue Streak — Shawna
• 1999Lansky — Evelyn
• 1999Never Been Kissed — Cynthia
• Roswell — Nurse
• Becker — Ticket Woman
• Brimstone — Duty Nurse
• L.A. Doctors — Bus Driver
• Dharma & Greg — Gloria
• Just Shoot Me! — Nurse
• 1997Sparkler — Wanda
• 1997The 6th Man — Nativity Watson
• 1996A Time to Kill — Roark's Nurse
• Moesha — Gloria
• 1996The Grass Harp — Extras Casting
• 1996Valley Girls — Cheerleader
• Chicago Hope — Nurse Jane
• ER — Maria Jones
• The X-Files — Nurse
• Hallmark Hall of Fame — Elegant guest, Hildy, Waitress
• Death of a Salesman — Linda Loman, Producer
• Deck the Y'alls — Gladys Gibbes
• Ma 2 — Sue Ann
• Nobody Nothing Nowhere — Producer
• The Heart
• Untitled Holiday Comedy Project

Appearances as themselves (26)

• Lost Women of Alaska — Self - Narrator (voice)
• My Happy Place — Self
• Number One on the Call Sheet — Self
• 2024Becoming bell hooks — Self
• Hollywood Black — Self (archive footage)
• 2022Norman Lear: 100 Years of Music and Laughter — Self
• The Jennifer Hudson Show — Self - Guest
• 2019HOMECOMING: A film by Beyoncé — Self
• The Kelly Clarkson Show — Self
• To Tell the Truth — Self - Panelist
• Close Up with The Hollywood Reporter — Self
• The Late Late Show with James Corden — Self - Guest
• Late Night with Seth Meyers — Self
• Off Camera with Sam Jones — Self
• The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon — Self, Self - Guest
• Variety Studio: Actors on Actors — Self
• Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen — Self - Guest
• The Graham Norton Show — Self
• The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson — Self
• Jimmy Kimmel Live! — Self, Self - Guest
• The Ellen DeGeneres Show — Self
• The View — Self
• The Daily Show — Self
• Entertainment Tonight — Self
• Saturday Night Live — Self - Host
• The Oscars — Self - Presenter