The 2021 Academy Awards are officially the most diverse yet with a record-breaking number of actors of color being nominated and two female directors receiving nods for the first time.
A total of nine actors of color have been nominated this year, including Steven Yeun, who is now the first Asian American to receive a nod in the best actor category for his work in Minari.
It is also the first time two female directors have ever been nominated in the best director category, with Chloé Zhao (Nomadland) and Emerald Fennell (Promising Young Woman) both receiving nods. Only five women have ever been nominated in the category before.
Zhao is also the first woman of color to ever be nominated for best director.
Biographical drama Mank led nominations for the 93rd Academy Awards with 10 nods, including best actor and best film.
The Father followed closely behind with seven nominations.
The nine people of color nominated in acting categories include Best Actor in a Leading Role nominees Riz Ahmed, Chadwick Boseman and Steven Yeun, Best Actress in a Supporting Role nominee Youn Yuh-jung, Best Actress in a Leading Role nominees Viola Davis and Andra Day and Best Actor in a Supporting Role nominees Daniel Kaluuya, Leslie Odom, Jr. and Lakeith Stanfield.
It is the first time in history that the best actor category isn’t majority white.
The last record for non-white actors being nominated was back in 2017 when seven actors of color were nominated, including Denzel Washington, Viola Davis, Mahershala Ali, Naomie Harris, Ruth Negga and Octavia Spencer.