Octavia Spencer

Octavia Spencer

1970-05-25 Montgomery, Alabama, USA 101 Credits

Biography

Octavia Lenora Spencer (born May 25, 1970) is an American actress. She has received various accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and a Golden Globe Award, in addition to nominations for two Primetime Emmy Awards. Spencer made her film debut in the 1996 drama A Time to Kill. Following a decade of brief roles in film and television, her breakthrough came in 2011 when she played a maid in 1960s America in the drama film The Help, which won her the Academy Award for ...

Known For

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Complete Filmography

Smurfs

Smurfs

2025

as Asmodius (voice)

8.5
Acting

When Papa Smurf is mysteriously taken by evil wizards, Razamel and Gargamel, Smurfette leads the Smurfs on a mission into the real world to save him. ...

Tow

Tow

2025

as Barb

10.0
Acting

Based on a true story, this poignant and inspiring underdog drama follows Amanda, an unhoused woman living in her car, who takes on a predatory towing...

Becoming bell hooks

Becoming bell hooks

2024

as Self

Acting

Explore the life and legacy of Kentucky-born author bell hooks, who wrote nearly 40 books and whose work at the intersection of race, class and gender...

Spirited

Spirited

2022

as Kimberly

6.9
Acting

Each Christmas Eve, the Ghost of Christmas Present selects one dark soul to be reformed by a visit from three spirits. But this season, he picked the ...

Norman Lear: 100 Years of Music and Laughter

Norman Lear: 100 Years of Music and Laughter

2022

as Self

8.0
Acting

The one-night-only celebration honoring the life and legacy of the famed producer features intimate conversations, special performances and surprise r...

The Quest for Sleep

2022

as Narrator

7.0
Acting

The Quest for Sleep is a documentary that follows real characters whose struggles with sleep threaten to unravel their waking lives.

Encounter

Encounter

2021

as Hattie Hayes

6.3
Acting

A decorated Marine goes on a rescue mission to save his two young sons from an unhuman threat. As their journey takes them in increasingly dangerous d...

Thunder Force

Thunder Force

2021

as Emily Stanton

5.5
Acting

In a world where supervillains are commonplace, two estranged childhood best friends reunite after one devises a treatment that gives them powers to p...

Superintelligence

Superintelligence

2020

as Octavia Spencer (voice)

6.0
Acting

When an all-powerful Superintelligence chooses to study the most average person on Earth, Carol Peters, the fate of the world hangs in the balance. As...

Roald Dahl's The Witches

Roald Dahl's The Witches

2020

as Grandma

6.4
Acting

In late 1967, a young orphaned boy goes to live with his loving grandma in the rural Alabama town of Demopolis. As the boy and his grandmother encount...

Onward

Onward

2020

as The Manticore (voice)

7.7
Acting

In a suburban fantasy world, two teenage elf brothers embark on an extraordinary quest to discover if there is still a little magic left out there.

Dolittle

Dolittle

2020

as Dab-Dab (voice)

6.6
Acting

After losing his wife seven years earlier, the eccentric Dr. John Dolittle, famed doctor and veterinarian of Queen Victoria’s England, hermits himself...

Luce

Luce

2019

as Harriet Wilson

6.4
Acting

A star athlete and top student, Luce's idealized image is challenged by one of his teachers when his unsettling views on political violence come to li...

Ma

Ma

2019

as Sue Ann

5.8
Acting

Sue Ann is a loner who keeps to herself in her quiet Ohio town. One day, she is asked by Maggie, a new teenager in town, to buy some booze for her and...

Ma

Ma

2019

Executive Producer

5.8
Producing

Sue Ann is a loner who keeps to herself in her quiet Ohio town. One day, she is asked by Maggie, a new teenager in town, to buy some booze for her and...

HOMECOMING: A film by Beyoncé

HOMECOMING: A film by Beyoncé

2019

as Self

8.1
Acting

This intimate, in-depth look at Beyoncé's celebrated 2018 Coachella performance reveals the emotional road from creative concept to cultural movement.

Green Book

Green Book

2018

Executive Producer

8.2
Producing

Tony Lip, a bouncer in 1962, is hired to drive pianist Don Shirley on a tour through the Deep South in the days when African Americans, forced to find...

Instant Family

Instant Family

2018

as Karen

7.5
Acting

When Pete and Ellie decide to start a family, they stumble into the world of foster care adoption. They hope to take in one small child but when they ...

A Kid Like Jake

A Kid Like Jake

2018

as Judy

6.0
Acting

On the eve of the admissions cycle for New York City kindergartens, Alex and Greg Wheeler have high hopes for four-year-old Jake. The director of Jake...

Small Town Crime

Small Town Crime

2018

as Kelly Banks

6.4
Acting

Mike Kendall, a disgraced ex-cop, is fighting a losing battle with the bottle. When he finds a woman left for dead at the side of a road, Kendall turn...

Small Town Crime

Small Town Crime

2018

Executive Producer

6.4
Producing

Mike Kendall, a disgraced ex-cop, is fighting a losing battle with the bottle. When he finds a woman left for dead at the side of a road, Kendall turn...

The Shape of Water

The Shape of Water

2017

as Zelda Fuller

7.2
Acting

An other-worldly story, set against the backdrop of Cold War era America circa 1962, where a mute janitor working at a lab falls in love with an amphi...

Candid

Candid

2017

Executive Producer

Producing

In the midst of college application season, Ace struggles with the choice between going off to California to pursue her passion for photography at an ...

Gifted

Gifted

2017

as Roberta Taylor

8.0
Acting

Frank, a single man raising his child prodigy niece Mary, is drawn into a custody battle with his mother.

Car Dogs

Car Dogs

2017

as Mrs. Barrett

5.5
Acting

Malcolm is a brilliant, callous businessman who is a vicious, overbearing father. Mark is the sales manager at Chamberlain Auto, the dealership that p...

The Shack

The Shack

2017

as Papa / Elouisa

7.5
Acting

A grieving man receives a mysterious, personal invitation to meet with God at a place called 'The Shack'.

Hidden Figures

Hidden Figures

2016

as Dorothy Vaughan

8.1
Acting

The untold story of Katherine G. Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson – brilliant African-American women working at NASA and serving as the brain...

Bad Santa 2

Bad Santa 2

2016

as Opal

5.4
Acting

Fueled by cheap whiskey, greed and hatred, Willie Soke teams up with his angry little sidekick, Marcus, to knock off a Chicago charity on Christmas Ev...

The Free World

The Free World

2016

as Linda Workman

6.1
Acting

Following his release from a brutal stretch in prison for crimes he didn't commit, Mo is struggling to adapt to life on the outside. When his world co...

Allegiant

Allegiant

2016

as Johanna Reyes

6.1
Acting

Beatrice Prior and Tobias Eaton venture into the world outside of the fence and are taken into protective custody by a mysterious agency known as the ...

Zootopia

Zootopia

2016

as Mrs. Otterton (voice)

7.7
Acting

Determined to prove herself, Officer Judy Hopps, the first bunny on Zootopia's police force, jumps at the chance to crack her first case - even if it ...

The Great Gilly Hopkins

The Great Gilly Hopkins

2015

as Miss Harris

6.6
Acting

Young and feisty Gilly Hopkins (Sophie Nélisse) devises a scheme to escape from her new foster home and reunite with her birth mother.

Fathers and Daughters

Fathers and Daughters

2015

as Dr. Corman

7.1
Acting

A Pulitzer-winning writer grapples with being a widower and father after a mental breakdown, while, 27 years later, his grown daughter struggles to fo...

Insurgent

Insurgent

2015

as Johanna Reyes

6.4
Acting

Beatrice Prior must confront her inner demons and continue her fight against a powerful alliance which threatens to tear her society apart.

Black or White

Black or White

2014

as Rowena Jeffers

6.8
Acting

A grieving widower is drawn into a custody battle over his granddaughter, whom he helped raise her entire life.

Get on Up

Get on Up

2014

as Aunt Honey

6.8
Acting

A chronicle of James Brown's rise from extreme poverty to become one of the most influential musicians in history.

Jesus People

Jesus People

2013

as Angel Angelique

4.0
Acting

Based on the hilarious and popular FunnyorDie.com web series, the film charts the rise and fall of America's worst Christian pop band! Pastor Jerry g...

Paradise

Paradise

2013

as Loray

5.0
Acting

After surviving a plane crash a young conservative woman suffers a crisis of faith.

Lost on Purpose

Lost on Purpose

2013

as Nurse Keller

4.3
Acting

Our story takes place in the fertile, San Joaquin Valley. Fueled by gin and sheer determination, Elizabeth James (Ms. Liz) operates her third generati...

Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters

Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters

2013

as Martha (voice)

6.0
Acting

In their quest to confront the ultimate evil, Percy and his friends battle swarms of mythical creatures to find the mythical Golden Fleece and to stop...

Snowpiercer

Snowpiercer

2013

as Tanya

6.9
Acting

In a future where a failed global-warming experiment kills off most life on the planet, a class system evolves aboard the Snowpiercer; a train that tr...

Fruitvale Station

Fruitvale Station

2013

as Wanda

7.4
Acting

Oakland, California. Young Afro-American Oscar Grant crosses paths with family members, friends, enemies and strangers before facing his fate on the p...

Fruitvale Station

Fruitvale Station

2013

Co-Executive Producer

7.4
Producing

Oakland, California. Young Afro-American Oscar Grant crosses paths with family members, friends, enemies and strangers before facing his fate on the p...

Letters to Jackie: Remembering President Kennedy

Letters to Jackie: Remembering President Kennedy

2013

as Narrator (voice)

6.6
Acting

Revisits President John F. Kennedy's presidential legacy through 21 of the more than 800,000 condolence letters written to Jackie Kennedy after JFK's ...

Call Me Crazy: A Five Film

Call Me Crazy: A Five Film

2013

as Dr. Nance

7.0
Acting

A psychotherapist helps a law student cope with schizophrenia in one of five interconnected tales dealing with mental illness.

Blues for Willadean

Blues for Willadean

2012

as LeSonia Robinson

4.5
Acting

The film adaptation of Del Shores' hit play. Under the thumb of her abusive husband, post-middle age Willadean feels life has passed her by until she ...

Smashed

Smashed

2012

as Jenny

6.5
Acting

Kate and Charlie like to have a good time. Their marriage thrives on a shared fondness for music, laughter… and getting smashed. When Kate’s partying ...

Flypaper

Flypaper

2011

as Madge Wiggins

6.4
Acting

A man caught in the middle of two simultaneous robberies at a bank desperately tries to protect the teller with whom he's secretly in love.

The Help

The Help

2011

as Minny Jackson

8.2
Acting

Aibileen Clark is a middle-aged African-American maid who has spent her life raising white children and has recently lost her only son; Minny Jackson ...

Just Peck

Just Peck

2011

as Detention Teacher

5.5
Acting

At 104 pounds dripping wet, baby-faced sophomore Michael Peck (age 15) is not exactly the coolest guy at American High. Peck’s teachers make him feel ...

Peep World

Peep World

2010

as Alison

4.7
Acting

On the day of their Father's 70th birthday party, four siblings come to terms with the publication of a novel written by the youngest sibling, that ex...

Love and Distrust

Love and Distrust

2010

as Rhonda (segment "Auto Motives")

3.8
Acting

This collection of five short films artfully portrays desire's ability to both empower and destroy those who encounter it.

Dinner for Schmucks

Dinner for Schmucks

2010

as Madame Nora

5.7
Acting

Rising executive Tim Conrad works for a boss who hosts a monthly dinner in which the guest who brings the biggest buffoon gets a career-boost. Tim pla...

Small Town Saturday Night

Small Town Saturday Night

2010

as Rhonda Dooley

5.4
Acting

Just days before Rhett (Chris Pine) is leaving for Nashville to pursue a lifelong dream of being a singer/songwriter, his girlfriend Samantha (Bre Bla...

Herpes Boy

Herpes Boy

2009

as Rochelle

Acting

A social outcast with a facial birthmark finds his world flipped upside down after he posts videos of his quirky life onto the Internet and becomes an...

Halloween II

Halloween II

2009

as Nurse Daniels

5.3
Acting

Laurie Strode struggles to come to terms with her brother Michael's deadly return to Haddonfield, Illinois. Meanwhile, Michael prepares for another re...

Drag Me to Hell

Drag Me to Hell

2009

as Bank Co-Worker

6.4
Acting

After denying a woman the extension she needs to keep her home, loan officer Christine Brown sees her once-promising life take a startling turn for th...

The Soloist

The Soloist

2009

as Troubled Woman

6.7
Acting

A Los Angeles journalist befriends a homeless Juilliard-trained musician, while looking for a new article for the paper.

Love at First Hiccup

Love at First Hiccup

2009

as Mrs. Hambrick

5.4
Acting

Victor, a bumbling and gullible high school freshman, has caught a serious case of Anya-itis—an acute, incurable crush on hot senior Anya. Too bad she...

Seven Pounds

Seven Pounds

2008

as Kate the Home Health Care Nurse

7.6
Acting

An IRS agent with a fateful secret embarks on an extraordinary journey of redemption by forever changing the lives of seven strangers.

Pretty Ugly People

Pretty Ugly People

2008

as Mary

4.3
Acting

Lucy has always used food to escape life's problems, but when this self-titled "fat friend" lures her group of old college buddies to the Montana wild...

The Spleenectomy

The Spleenectomy

2008

as Nurse

6.3
Acting

After passionately auditioning for a role in a local community theater production, Judy is cast aside by a pretentious theater director. Lucky for her...

Wizards of Waverly Place: Wizard School

Wizards of Waverly Place: Wizard School

2008

as Dr. Evilini

8.7
Acting

When Alex is caught using magic to clean her room she is forced to go to wizard school with Justin. Max and Jerry camp out on the terrace to prove the...

The Nines

The Nines

2007

as Streetwalker

6.0
Acting

A troubled actor, a television show runner, and an acclaimed videogame designer find their lives intertwining in mysterious and unsettling ways.

Pulse

Pulse

2006

as Landlady

5.0
Acting

When the dead discover a means to contact the living through electronic devices, cellphones and computers become open gateways to monstrosities and de...

Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing & Charm School

Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing & Charm School

2006

as Ayisha Lebaron

5.8
Acting

Frank Keane, a baker by trade, has been consumed by grief over his wife's untimely death. But everything changes when he pulls his bread truck over on...

Beauty Shop

Beauty Shop

2005

as Big Customer

6.3
Acting

Far from Chicago, hairdresser Gina Norris has relocated to Atlanta with her daughter and has quickly established herself as a rare talent in her profe...

Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous

Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous

2005

as Middle-Aged Woman

5.8
Acting

After her triumph at the Miss United States pageant, FBI agent Gracie Hart becomes an overnight sensation -- and the new "face of the FBI". But it's t...

Pretty Persuasion

Pretty Persuasion

2005

as Woman

5.8
Acting

A 15-year-old girl incites chaos among her friends and a media frenzy when she accuses her drama teacher of sexual harassment.

Coach Carter

Coach Carter

2005

as Mrs. Battle

7.6
Acting

Based on a true story, in which Richmond High School head basketball coach Ken Carter made headlines in 1999 for benching his undefeated team due to p...

Breakin' All the Rules

Breakin' All the Rules

2004

as Stylist

6.0
Acting

After being dumped by his model girlfriend, aspiring writer Quincy Watson quits his job and is inspired to pen the ultimate how-to book on breaking up...

Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!

Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!

2004

as Janine

5.7
Acting

A small-town girl wins a date with a Hollywood star through a contest. When the date goes better than expected, a love triangle forms between the girl...

Bad Santa

Bad Santa

2003

as Opal

6.5
Acting

You'd better watch out - Santa Claus Willie T. Soke is coming to town and he doesn't care if you've been naughty or nice. Wille's favorite holiday tra...

Chicken Party

Chicken Party

2003

as Laqueta Mills

Acting

A comedic look at crime, love, tolerance and fried chicken.

S.W.A.T.

S.W.A.T.

2003

as Neighbor in Alley

6.2
Acting

Hondo Harrelson recruits Jim Street to join an elite unit of the Los Angeles Police Department. Together they seek out more members, including tough D...

Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde

Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde

2003

as Security Guard

5.7
Acting

Now a rising young lawyer, Elle Woods is about to make partner at her firm, but when she finds out her dog's relatives are being used as cosmetic test...

Sol Goode

Sol Goode

2003

as Unemployment Clerk

4.4
Acting

Sol Goode, a charismatic L.A. twenty-something, has always relied on charm, good looks, and fast talk to glide through life. But his luck may have run...

Little John

Little John

2002

as Waitress

5.8
Acting

The unmarried daughter of a Texas rancher gives birth to an unwanted child. She puts the child up for adoption and moves away from home. Without her k...

Spider-Man

Spider-Man

2002

as Check-In Girl

7.3
Acting

After being bitten by a genetically altered spider at Oscorp, nerdy but endearing high school student Peter Parker is endowed with amazing powers to b...

Everything Put Together

Everything Put Together

2001

as Nurse B

4.8
Acting

In a quiet suburban community where everything is peaceful and in its place, a single crack has just appeared. Angie and Russ are a young married coup...

The Sky is Falling

The Sky is Falling

2001

as Nurse #2

8.0
Acting

A young woman, struggling to become a novelist, has her life go into a tailspin. Her first novel is rejected, her non-committal boy friend decides to ...

Follow the Stars Home

Follow the Stars Home

2001

as Hildy

6.2
Acting

Two brothers - one virtuous, one feckless - are in love with the same woman. She falls for Brother Wrong, carrying a torch for him even after he deser...

The Journeyman

The Journeyman

2001

as Black Belly

5.0
Acting

In the Wild West at the turn of the century, two young brothers watch as their Grandpa is gunned down in cold blood. The desperados kidnap the older b...

Missing Pieces

Missing Pieces

2001

as Elegant Guest (as Octavia L. Spencer)

5.6
Acting

Atticus (James Coburn) goes to the small Mexican town where his estranged son (Paul Kersey) was a resident to discover how he died.

Four Dogs Playing Poker

Four Dogs Playing Poker

2000

as Waitress

3.6
Acting

With the help of their mentor Felix, a group of the best friends and first-time thieves steal a valuable statuette for a ruthless black market art dea...

American Virgin

American Virgin

2000

as Agnes Large

3.2
Acting

When your father is a pornographer, what can you do to shock him? If you're Katrina Bartalotti, you announce that you're going to lose your virginity ...

Big Momma's House

Big Momma's House

2000

as Twila

5.8
Acting

When a street-smart FBI agent is sent to Georgia to protect a beautiful single mother and her son from an escaped convict, he is forced to impersonate...

What Planet Are You From?

What Planet Are You From?

2000

as Baby Nurse

5.5
Acting

A human-looking alien from a highly advanced but emotionless all-male society is sent to Earth to impregnate a woman and bring the child back to their...

Being John Malkovich

Being John Malkovich

1999

as Woman in Elevator

7.4
Acting

One day at work, unsuccessful puppeteer Craig finds a portal into the head of actor John Malkovich. The portal soon becomes a passion for anybody who ...

Blue Streak

Blue Streak

1999

as Shawna

6.5
Acting

Miles Logan is a jewel thief who just hit the big time by stealing a huge diamond. However, after two years in jail, he comes to find out that he hid ...

Never Been Kissed

Never Been Kissed

1999

as Cynthia

6.2
Acting

Josie Geller, a baby-faced junior copywriter at the Chicago Sun-Times, must pose as a student at her former high school to research contemporary teena...

Lansky

Lansky

1999

as Evelyn

5.5
Acting

Organized crime boss Meyer Lansky remembers his life as he is moving about the world looking for some country that will take him in since the USA have...

Sparkler

Sparkler

1997

as Wanda

2.5
Acting

Melba is a Californian trailer-park girl who is told to look for three kings by a phone psychic, and when she meets three guys - Trent, Brad and Joel ...

The 6th Man

The 6th Man

1997

as Nativity Watson

6.1
Acting

A college athlete returns from the dead to help his brother's basketball team win the NCAA title.

Valley Girls

Valley Girls

1996

as Cheerleader

Acting

Two Welsh women win a trip to Hollywood.

A Time to Kill

A Time to Kill

1996

as Roark's Nurse

7.4
Acting

A young lawyer defends a black man accused of murdering two white men who raped his 10-year-old daughter, sparking a rebirth of the KKK.

Nobody Nothing Nowhere

N/A

Acting

The story of Ruth, one of the Non-People, human-looking beings designed and trained for the sole purpose of filling in a realistic world for a bland g...

Untitled Holiday Comedy Project

N/A

Acting

The film follows two women fighting the elements to make it home for Christmas

The Heart

N/A

Acting

A couple who, while desperate for cash, agree to take the job of delivering a human heart from New York to Florida in 24 hours. When they realize that...

Ma 2

N/A

as Sue Ann

Acting

Following the events of the first film, Sue Ann now resides in the Pacific Northwest, working as a real estate agent, when her murderous past as “Ma” ...

Nobody Nothing Nowhere

N/A

Producer

Producing

The story of Ruth, one of the Non-People, human-looking beings designed and trained for the sole purpose of filling in a realistic world for a bland g...