Tiffany Haddish Joins Impressive List of Black Stars Who Made History With Hollywood Firsts

Girls Trip star is first African American female comedian to host famed sketch show

By Taylor Bryant, Meg Swertlow Nov 13, 2017 12:06 AMTags
Tiffany Haddish, Saturday Night LiveWill Heath/NBC

Tiffany Haddish made history last night as the first African American female comedian to host the long-running sketch show Saturday Night Live on Saturday—and the deft comic pretty much crushed the always daunting opening monologue and then brought her comedy chops to the rest of the episode.

The Girls Trip star tackled everything from fashion to sexual harassment in her history-making hosting gig. Many online fans have been commenting at their surprise that this is the first time a black female stand-up comic has hosted the sketch show that has been on the air for 43 seasons. 

But Tiffany isn't the only black star who has made her mark on the arts with her impressive first, check out other stars who paved the way...

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14 Stars Who Got Their Start on Saturday Night Live
First to Win an Academy Award

Hattie McDaniel won Best Supporting Actress in 1940 for her role in Gone with the Wind. She was the first African American to win an Academy Award.

First to Win Best Actress Oscar

Halle Berry won for her performance in the 2001 film Monster's Ball.

First to Win Best Actor

Sidney Poitier won for his role in Lilies of the Field.

First Grammy Award

Known as the Queen of Jazz, Ella Fitzgerald was the first African American female to win a Grammy in both categories for Best Vocal Performance and Best Jazz Performance at the first Annual Grammy Awards in 1958.

First to Win an Emmy for Directing a Comedy

Donald Glover won an Emmy for Outstanding Directing on a Comedy Series with his FX show Atlanta, making history as the first African American male to win the award.

First to Win an Emmy For Comedy Writing

Lena Waithe made history as the first African American female to win an Emmy for her writing on the Netflix series Master of None.

First to Win Individual All-Around Event in the Olympics

Gabby Douglas was the first African American to win the individual all-around event at the Summer Olympics.

First to Win Miss America

On September 17, 1983 Vanessa Williams was the first African American to win the Miss America pageant.

First to Become A Victoria’s Secret Angel

Tyra Banks became the first African American Victoria's Secret model to don the iconic Angel wings in 1997. She was also the first black model to wear the Fantasy Bra, which reportedly cost $3 million dollars.

First Supermodel

Beverly Johnson is known as the first black supermodel after gracing the cover of Glamour in 1971.

First Lead Anchor on a Primetime News Show

In 2015, Lester Holt became the face of NBC Nightly News, making history as the first black male to become the lead anchor on a nightly weekday news show.

First Female African American Billionaire

Oprah Winfrey joined Forbe's highly acclaimed list of American billionaires in 2003, making her the first black woman to ever join the ranks of the world's richest.

First Playboy Playmate Centerfold

In March 1965, Jennifer Jackson was the first African American Playboy Playmate centerfold.

First Vogue Cover

In 1966, Donyale Luna was the first African American to cover Vogue.

First Rock and Roll Inductees

In 1968, Chuck Berry, James Brown, Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, Fats Domino, and Little Richard were the first African Americans to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

First Album of the Year

In 1974, Stevie Wonder was the first African American to the Grammy Album of the Year. The singer won for his album Innervisions.

First Emmy Award for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series

Viola Davis was the first African-American female to win Outstanding Actress in a Drama series at the 67th Primetime Emmy Awards in 2015 for her role on How to Get Away With Murder.

First to Win EGOT

In 2002, Whoopi Goldberg was the first African American to win an Academy Award (1990), Emmy(2002 & 2009), Grammy(1985), and Tony (2002).

First Tony Winner

In 1950, Juanita Hall is the first African American to win a Tony Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Bloody Mary in South Pacific.

First Principal Dancer for American Ballet Theatre

On June 30, 2015, Misty Copeland became the first African American woman to be promoted to principal dancer in American Ballet Theatre history.

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