Singer Andra Day on Sunday became the second Black woman to win the Golden Globe award for best actress in a drama, scoring the win for her turn in the titular role in “The United States vs. Billie Holiday.”
Day, making her acting debut as the legendary chanteuse, beat out fellow Black actress Viola Davis, who was nominated for her performance in “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.”
She now joins Whoopi Goldberg, who won in 1987 for her role in “The Color Purple,” as the only Black women to receive the honor.
Day, 36, whose birth name is Cassandra Batie, said she was intimidated to play her idol.
“When I embarked on it, I was like, ‘This is such a bad idea! I’m not an actress.’ And I didn’t wanna ruin Billie’s legacy,” she told the New York Post before her historic win. “But now I can look back and say, ‘You know what? Maybe this was supposed to be.’”
Sunday’s Golden Globes ceremony had been delayed by nearly two months and was held virtually, in part, due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
