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When Life is Beautiful<\/em> won the Oscar for best foreign film (now called best international film), the irrepressible director, screenwriter, and star of the film reached the stage in a way that was anything but conventional: he literally climbed over the seats in the audience, passing over the heads of the celebrities and then arriving with a series of leaps on the steps, directly, into the arms of presenter Sophia Loren<\/a>. Benigni\u2019s acrobatic entrance triggered a standing ovation, but he was so overwhelmed with emotion that he did not even notice. In front of the audience, beaming, he exclaimed, \u201cI would like to kiss you all!\u201d In his speech, Benigni then thanked his parents who had remained in Vergaio, a small town in the province of Prato, saying fondly, \u201cThey gave me the most beautiful gift of my life: poverty.\u201d With his usual poetry he also quoted Dante, evoking \u201cthe love that moves the sun and the other stars,\u201d before dedicating the award to his wife and muse, Nicoletta Braschi.<\/p>\n TIMOTHY A. CLARY\/Getty Images<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n Berry made history by becoming the first Black woman to win the best actress Oscar for her performance in Monster\u2019s Ball<\/em>. While accepting the honor, she celebrated those who had paved the way, such as Dorothy Dandridge, the first African American nominated in the category in 1955, and fellow women still fighting for equality in Hollywood. \u201cThis moment is so much bigger than me,\u201d said Berry, later adding, \u201cit\u2019s for every nameless, faceless Black woman who now has a chance, because this door tonight has been opened.\u201d Decades after her historic victory, Berry remains the only Black woman to win best actress at the Academy Awards. \u201cI\u2019m heartbroken,\u201d she told Vanity Fair<\/em><\/a> about the continued lack of diversity among best actress winners in 2022. \u201cI would love to sit here today and say that meant something on that night which allowed five others to be standing there next to me in 20 years, right? That would be a huge win.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\nHalle Berry (2002)<\/h2>\n