When Hannah Beachler looks at the Oscar statuette sitting in her New Orleans living room, she doesn’t just see a trophy. She sees a milestone, a responsibility, and a reminder of those who should have walked this path before her.
The 55-year-old Centerville High School and Wright State University graduate made history in 2019 as the first African American to win an Academy Award for Best Production Design for her work on “Black Panther.”
Now, she is nominated again for her collaboration with director Ryan Coogler on “Sinners,” a film that has garnered 16 nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director.
But for Beachler, the honor of being “The First” carries a bittersweet weight—one defined by reverence for those who came before.
The Heaviness of History
“I knew at the time that it was bigger than me because I knew what the history was immediately,” Beachler told the Daytona Daily News. “The minute I got nominated I knew I was the first Black person who has ever been nominated—even above Wynn Thomas who was Spike Lee’s designer for 40 years.”
Thomas, who received an honorary Oscar in November 2024, is a mentor to Beachler. His extensive credits include “A Beautiful Mind,” “Cinderella Man,” “Mars Attacks!,” “Hidden Figures,” and every Spike Lee film.
“So, you’re taking in the heaviness of being the first because it’s a little bittersweet—the heaviness of knowing there was somebody else who should have been the first,” she explained. “Wynn is a mentor and I knew it should have been him on many movies. But it was me, so I had to carry the responsibility of it being bigger than me.”
From Dayton to the Dolby Theatre
That responsibility began with a girl from Ohio who never imagined such a path.
“I never thought in a million years this little girl from Ohio—Dayton—would be nominated,” Beachler said. “I didn’t graduate from Centerville High School thinking I was going to be nominated for an Oscar someday. You don’t ever think that’s possible. So, it was very overwhelming.”
Her 2019 win came against steep competition from “The Favourite,” “Mary Poppins Returns,” “First Man,” and “Roma.” Yet Beachler recalls simply being grateful for the nomination itself.
“I was a little like a deer in headlights,” she said. “What girl from Ohio thinks she’s going to find herself on the Oscar red carpet in heels? I was just happy to be there. I was with my son who was able to experience it as well. I was just glad people acknowledged ‘Black Panther’ and recognized how special the film was. I wasn’t expecting to win. It was all a big huge surprise.”
A Career of Vision
Beachler’s body of work extends far beyond Wakanda. Her credits include “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” “Fruitvale Station,” “Creed,” and the 2016 Best Picture winner “Moonlight.” She received an Emmy nomination for Beyoncé’s visual album “Lemonade” and served as production designer for “Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé.”
In 2024, she made her Broadway debut designing an Afrofuturistic spin on “The Wiz,” the revival directed by Dayton native Schele Williams that played at the Schuster Center last November.
‘Sinners’ and the Road Ahead
For “Sinners”—Ryan Coogler’s supernatural exploration of racism in 1930s Mississippi told through the lens of vampires—Beachler has already won best production design from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association. She is also nominated for a BAFTA, an Oscar precursor taking place Sunday in London.
The film’s 16 Oscar nominations tie historic records and underscore the continued impact of the Coogler-Beachler collaboration, which began with “Fruitvale Station” in 2013.
A Testament, Not the End
As the 98th Academy Awards approach on March 15, Beachler remains grounded. Her Oscar sits in her living room—a testament to hard work, but never a signal to stop.
“It is a testament that I have worked hard and paid my dues and then some,” she said. “It also reminds me not to rest on my laurels. It’s just a milestone—not the end.”
Whether she takes home a second statuette or not, Hannah Beachler’s journey from Dayton to Hollywood history is already complete. The rest, as she sees it, is just continuing the work.
