Lee Daniels' Oscar Breakthrough
The Precious director became the first African-American director of a Best Picture nominee.
86 Years in the Making
Steve McQueen became the first black director to have a film win Best Picture and share in that win as a producer when 12 Years a Slave took the honor in 2014.
She Gets a Nomination!
Oprah Winfrey became the first black woman to earn a Best Picture nomination as part of the production team behind Selma in 2015.
Doubling Down on History
Birdman auteur Alejandro G. Iñárritu became the first Mexican director of a Best Picture winner in 2015—and then became only the third director in history after John Ford and Joseph L. Mankiewicz to win back to back when he repeated for The Revenant in 2016.
Back By Popular Demand
No matter how many times you thought you saw Billy Crystal (nine times so far, for the record), Bob Hope is the Oscar host, having emceed the ceremony 19 times.