Fantasia experienced a mix of heartfelt tears and joys when she took the stage to receive the award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture at the 55th Annual NAACP Image Awards.
Source: Variety / Getty
Despite being highly deserving of the award, Fantasia was taken aback by her victory and confessed that she hadn’t prepared an acceptance speech because she didn’t anticipate winning. However, her fans, who voted for her, always believed in her success.
“I was afraid to play Celie, but I’m glad I did because I kept saying ‘If I don’t win an award, the awards that I will win is the people who will watch The Color Purple and the women that will relate to her and will feel like Oscars when they walk out.”
Similar to many women, Fantasia recognized that she owes much of her success to the love and guidance of her mother and grandmother. Then she paused to express gratitude for their nurturing influence, acknowledging how they instilled pride and character in her.
“I wanna say thank you to my grandmother, who’s in heaven right now, and my mother, who’s the Queen that I saw who carried herself with elegance and class and showed me that any room that I walked in, I didn’t have to compete with no one. My mother was a woman that went through a lot of things, but I saw her, after everything she went through, walk out as a queen. With a smile on her face, she always kept God first and I will continue to do the same.”
In concluding her speech, she circled back to her musical roots in the church and expressed gratitude to God for her achievements. “This does not make me, but I want to thank you for it.” she said. “But everything that I went through, God, God, God, and only God. So before I leave, I want to say ‘To God be the glory. To God be the glory. For the things that you’ve done.”
Portraying the character of Celie was not new to Fantasia, as she had previously embodied the role in The Color Purple on Broadway from 2007 to 2008. Her exceptional performance garnered her a Theatre World Award for Best Debut Performance.
The North Carolina native sat down with Playbill.com to reflect on her Broadway experience and the emotional challenges it presented.
“If you really put yourself in her shoes, that can be very tiring. It can take a lot of energy out of you. I know when I get off the stage at night from shows, I’m exhausted. I run to my room, and I fall on the couch, and I have to take at least about ten minutes to wind down and to get my thoughts together and come out of the part of Celie.”
Fantasia’s portrayal of Celie has been triumphant this season. She earned recent nominations for Best Actress at the Golden Globe Awards and BAFTA Awards.
If you missed last night’s celebration, you can watch Fantasia’s NAACP Image Award acceptance speech for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture below.
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