Ava DuVernay Is Golden Globes’ First Black Female Director Nominee

With the 72nd Annual Golden Globe nominees announced this morning, the entertainment world rejoiced as Ava DuVernay became the first black female director to be nominated.

Live and direct from the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Kate Beckinsale, Peter Krause, Paula Patton, and Jeremy Piven joined the Hollywood Foreign Press Association in announcing the nominees for the awards ceremony. Selma, which stars David Oyelowo as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was nominated four times — Best Picture, Drama; Best Actor, Drama (David Oyelowo); Best Director (Ava DuVernay); and Best Original Song, Motion Picture (John Legend, “Gloryâ€).

As an entertainment rule of thumb, whomever the Golden Globe nominees are, historically, are what the Oscar nominees. Although this isn’t 100% accurate, it is interesting to note that Ava DuVernay, who has had a string of hits lately, could possibly be the first black female Oscar-nominated director. Hopeful cinephiles will have to wait until Jan. 15, Â for those announcements. The key takeaway is that Ava DuVernay, 42, makes history as the first black woman director to be nominated for a Golden Globe Award.

Previous nods went to Steve McQueen for his stellar pic, 12 Years a Slave, and Spike Lee for his comedy-drama Do the Right Thing. This means it marks 24 years that there was no black director (male or female) nominated in the Best Director in the Motion Picture category. In addition to the distinction, young starlet in the making, Quvenzhane Wallis, earned a nod for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Comedy/Musical, pegged to her role in Annie. Viola Davis snagged a Screen Actor’s Guild and Golden Globe nomination (Best Actress in a TV Series) for her role in How to Get Away With Murder.

Don Cheadle (House of Lies) and Uzo Aduba (Orange is the New Black) round out the other nominees for their performances.

On the next page, you can see the full list of nominees and share your thoughts on Ava DuVernay’s distinction in the comments section.