Danielle Brooks is sharing the sweet meaning behind her special 2024 Oscars manicure.
On Sunday, March 10, while walking the 2024 Oscars red carpet at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, the Color Purple star payed homage to Black history with some special nail art, in one of the best beauty moments of the night.
Brooks' long nails were coated in glittery embellishments that contained a special meaning.
"Can you get into these nails?" Brooks asked E! News red carpet host Laverne Cox, and after revealing she was wearing a Dolce & Gabbana gown.
"Yes I can," Cox responded. "Nail story! Can we zoom in on the nails?"
"I have 26 (rhinestones) on my nails because I’m the 26th Black woman to be nominated for Best Supporting Actress," Brooks explained. "So I had to at least honor that whether I go home with an award or not, I will forever be the 26th Black woman nominated for Best Supporting Actress.”
Brooks' nails were created by nail artist Temeka Jackson. The artist shared a short video of Brooks showing of her nails at a pre-Oscars event on Instagram. "It's an honor to have slayed @thedaniellebrooks!" she wrote. "She is amazing!"
Brooks is nominated for a 2024 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the latest cinematic rendition of The Color Purple.
Brooks' comments came during a truly touching red carpet moment, in which she was reunited with her Orange is the New Black co-star Cox and her Broadway The Color Purple co-star Cynthia Erivo.
"It's such a full circle moment," Brooks said. "My career started with being in Orange is the New Black with you, then I ended up being in The Color Purple with you onstage, now you're in your green; it's almost time for Wicked baby; and The Color Purple, we're at the Oscars today."
Brooks went on to say that "dreams truly do come true."
"We started from the bottom now we truly are here," she continued. "We're here. It can happen. It can happen."
To date, only ten Black women have won an Oscar, including but not limited to: Jennifer Hudson (Best Supporting Actress, Dreamgirls), Mo’Nique (Best Supporting Actress, Precious), Octavia Spencer (Best Supporting Actress, The Help), Lupita Nyong’o (Best Supporting Actress, 12 Years a Slave), Viola Davis (Best Supporting Actress, Fences), and Regina King (Best Supporting Actress, If Beale Street Could Talk).
In 2001, Halle Berry became the first and only Black woman to receive an Oscar for Best Actress in a lead role.
