Where is the Black Julia Roberts? Part 1: Top Actresses 2000-2010

November 10th, 2010 by Guest Contributor

By Guest Contributor Aymar Jean Christian, cross-posted from Televisual

The “black actress” stepped into the spotlight last year, as Nia Long called out Beyoncé Knowles and other singers for taking roles; Tyler Perry released yet another film starring newcomer Taraji P. Henson; and Precious gave its stars, especially Mo’Nique, a chance to shine.

The November 5 release of Perry’s For Colored Girls puts the issue of black women in cinema back into the national conversation — even if it fails to redeem Tyler Perry. So I decided to posit an answer to the question: where are all the black leading ladies? Below: 1) why this question?, 2) a list, 3) the state of the black leading lady, and 4) how I came up with the current crop.

I. Where is the Black Julia Roberts? One Route to an Answer

Easier asked than answered! The question is really more provocation than anything. At a certain point, comparison between races is irrelevant: is Will Smith the “white” anyone? He’s Will Smith! The question, however, does open up an interesting discussion. Julia Roberts, like Meryl Streep, can do a lot: from Duplicity and Eat Pray Love to, now, August: Osage County. Roberts can choose her roles and she almost always plays the lead. What black actress could do the same, now or in the near future? The real issue leads us to ask: of the potential black leading ladies today, who is on top, who isn’t panning out, and why?

The list is ranked by the percentage of an actor’s total roles where she gets to play a leading lady. The point is to gauge the industry’s confidence in an actress’ bankability. I also added the box office grosses based on the actor’s “leading lady” films (IMDB Pro, Box Office Mojo); but this list isn’t organized by B.O. Other lists add up an actor’s total grosses over all her films, but this is misleading: you can have an incidental role for a film that made lots of money. So I added up all of an actor’s roles from 2000-2010, from low-budget to big-budget films. A “lead” role was defined as a major character integral to or featured in the marketing of the film; the character has a back-story or is key to the plot. More on method at the bottom.

There’s always folly in trying to quantify and list something. But I like lists not because they tell “the truth” — I wouldn’t put too much stock in the particular order below. Lists prompt discussion and reflection. What do these actors say about America? About Hollywood? About black women? So: let’s get to it!

II. Our Black Leading Ladies?