Ariana DeBose has won the Oscar for best supporting actress at the 94th Academy Awards, currently under way at the Dolby theatre in Los Angeles, Trend reports citing The Guardian.
DeBose won the prize for her role in the Steven Spielberg-directed West Side Story remake, in which she plays the key role of Anita, the girlfriend of Sharks gang leader Bernardo, and sings the famous number America. In the original film Anita was played by Rita Moreno, who also won the best supporting actress Oscar for the role in 1962.
It makes DeBose only the second Latina actor to win an Oscar, after Moreno, and the first queer woman of colour.
DeBose has already won a string of awards for her role in the film, including best supporting actress at the Baftas, Golden Globes and Screen Actors Guild awards.