Gary native Mia Neal makes history with Oscar win
Mia Neal, winner of Makeup and Hairstyling for Ma Rainey's "Black Bottom", poses in the press room during the 93rd Annual Academy Awards at Union Station on April 25, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. (Chris Pizzello-Pool/Getty Images)
CHICAGO - One of the winners from the Academy Awards not only made history Sunday night, she has ties to Northwest Indiana.
Mia Neal accepted the Oscar for best achievement in makeup and hairstyling for the Netflix movie "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom."
"So I wanted to say thank you to our ancestors who put the work in, were denied, but never gave up. And I also stand here as Jamika and I break this glass ceiling with so much excitement for the future," Neal said. "Because I can picture Black trans women standing up here, and Asian sisters, and our Latina sisters, and Indigenous women. And I know that one day it won’t be unusual or groundbreaking it will just be normal."
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Neal is a Gary native and graduated from Horace Mann High School in 1997.
She's also the first African American to ever win the award.