Ariana DeBose made history on Sunday night as she won the Best Supporting Actress at this year's Oscars at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.
The 94th annual edition of the Academy Awards saw the actress presented the gong for her performance as Anita in Steven Spielberg's West Side Story.
She is the second woman to win the award for the role following Rita Morena's victory in 1962.
Ariana becomes the first openly queer woman of colour to win an acting Oscar after beating rivals in her category; Jessie Buckley (The Lost Daughter), Kirsten Dunst (The Power of the Dog), Judi Dench (Belfast) and Aunjanue Ellis (King Richard).
Ariana, 31, had been the bookies' favourite to take home the award and didn't disappoint on the night.
Accepting the award, which was her first Oscars nomination, the actress said: "You see an openly queer woman of colour, an Afro-Latina, who found her strength and life through art.
"And that is, I think, what we’re here to celebrate. So if anyone has ever questioned your identity, I promise you this – there is indeed a place for us.”
She continued: "Now you see why Anita says, ‘I want to be in America’, because even in this weary world that we live in, dreams do come true. And that’s really a heartening thing right now.”
The award was the first televised gong on the night after several were handed out before the live show, much to the dismay of many onlookers.
Elsewhere on the night, Dune won a host of awards, including Best Sound, Best Cinematography, Best Music and Best Film Editing.
Meanwhile, the ceremony's hosts were the cause of controversy after Regina Hall's comments regarding male actors was met with mixed opinion.
Viewers complained about double standards as the actress lusted over actors such as Bradley Cooper.
She joked that their PCR tests had got "lost" and instead of re-swabbing the stars, she joked that she would swab the back of their throats using her tongue.
Despite some viewers loving the quip, others branded it poor taste.
One Twitter user wrote: "If any man ever even THOUGHT about rubbing down a couple of actresses the way that Regina Hall just did those two actors…c’mon now! You can’t have it both ways. Somehow I’m not surprised by the double standard #Oscars2022"
