Oscar 2022: Ariana DeBose wins award for West Side Story (as Rita Moreno did in 1961)

American actress-singer Ariana DeBose won the Oscars 2022 for the Best Actress in a Supporting Role for her excellent work in the remake of the musical "West Side Story."  DeBose was up against Jessie Buckley (The Lose Daughter), Judi Dench (Belfast), Kirsten Dunst (The Power Of The Dog) and Aunjanue Ellis (King Richard).

West Side Story is a 2021 American musical romantic drama film directed and co-produced by Steven Spielberg from a screenplay by Tony Kushner. It is the second feature-length adaptation of the 1957 stage musical of the same name. Ariana DeBose played the role of Anita, the girlfriend of Sharks gang leader Bernardo, and sings the famous number "America".

Rita Moreno played Anita in the original film. She also won an Oscar for the Best Supporting Actress role in 1962. With this Ariana became the only openly queer woman to win an Oscar and the second Latina actor to bag the coveted statuette.

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Earlier this year, DeBose had also taken home a Golden Globe for her role in 'West Side Story'. This was the first time that the actor was nominated for a Golden Globe and an Oscar. 'The West Side Story' is an American musical romantic drama film directed by Steven Spielberg from a screenplay by Tony Kushner. It is the second feature-length adaptation of the 1975 stage musical of the same name.

The movie stars Ansel Elgort and Rachel Zegler with DeBose, David Alvarez, Mike Faist and Rita Moreno in supporting roles. The 94th Academy Awards are being held at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood and the ceremony is being hosted by Regina Hall, Amy Schumer and Wanda Sykes. The nominations for the Oscars were announced on February 8 this year by actors Tracee Ellis Ross and Leslie Jordan.

DeBose also appeared in the filmed stage recording of Hamilton, which was released in 2020 on Disney+. She played Alyssa Greene in Netflix's The Prom (2020) and Emma in the Apple TV+ musical comedy series Schmigadoon! (2021).

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