Octavia Spencer

OCTAVIA SPENCER receives the Breakthrough Performance Award at the Palm Springs International Film Festival Awards Gala.

She was born May 25, 1970 in Montgomery, Alabama.

She’s the sixth of seven siblings and holds a BS in Liberal Arts from Auburn University.

Spencer got her first real taste of acting in 1995 with a small part in the film “A Time to Kill,” starring Sandra Bullock. A year later she teamed up with Bullock a second time in the short film “Making Sandwiches.”

She transitioned to the stage in 2003, taking the role of “LaSonia” (pronounced lasagna) in writer/director Del Shore’s, The Trials and Tribulations of a Trailer Trash Housewife. The play earned Spencer and the play’s other stars a number of awards. It also served a key turning point in her career.

Since then, she has made various appearances on the big screen and TV.

In February 2009 she received recognition for her minor role in the film “Seven Pounds,” featuring Will Smith, from the Los Angeles Times publication: The Envelope.

A couple months later in April, EntertainmentWeekly.com put her on it’s list of 25 Funniest Actresses in Hollywood.

In 2011 she starred in “The Help,” where she played a 1960s housekeeper who defies the tight-lipped culture to stand up against racism in the film.

Information courtesy: The Internet Movie Database and Wikipedia.