America Ferrera is a trailblazer whose Oscar nomination for Barbie is a belated nod to her brilliance

Though hard-fought, America Ferrera’s rise to glory is nothing wanting legendary. She dared to dream the not possible and turned it into reality with tremendous determination, grace and grounding. It wasn’t night. In fact, it took several stellar performances over 22 years for the chubby Honduran girl raised by a working-class single mother to get the Academy’s attention. All this attention is long overdue, but the way in which it turned out is removed from ideal.

Ferrera’s nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Gloria, the girl responsible for ruining Barbie’s pink, picturesque, perfect life in Barbieland in Greta Gerwig’s hit feminist satire is a major victory for everyone who has rooted for her all these years. But the enjoyment fades once you zoom out a little and consider how an actress of Ferrera’s caliber and credibility deserves greater than just a nod to DEI.

While “Barbie” was certainly one of the largest movies of last 12 months, grossing an incredible $1.4 billion and firmly entering the cultural zeitgeist, Ferrera’s character was only a small a part of it. In a world stuffed with Barbies and Kens, Gloria appears only on the periphery, but Ferrera makes sure that she leaves her mark. Her 137-second monologue, which begins with the words “It’s impossible to be a woman,” perfectly captures the injustice, anger and ridiculousness of getting to be one in a man’s world.

However, the 39-year-old actress, director and producer has played more essential roles in her extensive profession spanning over twenty years. Notable twists that deserved more attention, audience and praise than they received. She was a sensible, sincere Carmen in “The Sister of the Traveling Pants” (2005, 2008), looking for love, acceptance and herself, a teenager who finally found herself. She was the unforgettable, utterly chaotic, yet delightful Amy on NBC’s “Superstore” (2015-2021), on which she also served as certainly one of the manager producers.

Then there’s her extraordinary title character within the comedy-drama series “Ugly Betty” (2006-2010), a character that won her a Golden Globe and an Emmy Award (the primary Latina to accomplish that within the “Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series” category). But in a unique profession that has included many difficult and boundary-blurring roles, what stands out essentially the most, even in any case these years, is her riveting debut within the feature film “Real Women Have Curves” (2002).

Directed by Patricia Cardoso, she plays Ana, an ambitious, determined 18-year-old Mexican-American who is fed up with society’s expectations of what a woman should look and be like. She’s feisty but relatable, honest, unapologetic, and yet vulnerable. Widely considered an epochal film, it was fearless in its attack on conventional ideas about femininity, achieving major successes on the 2002 Sundance Film Festival and the San Sebastian International Film Festival. He was also honored with the Humanitas Award and the Imagen Award and received special recognition from the National Board of Review. But not a single Oscar nomination. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences completely missed this.

Ferrera was only 18 years old when the film hit theaters. Had she been white, she wouldn’t only have been nominated, but most definitely won – her performance within the film is so fierce – and have become certainly one of the youngest actresses (including all ethnicities) to take home the coveted gold trophy. I can not stop desirous about how Jennifer Lawrence made a splash with her role in Silver Linings Playbook (2012). She didn’t just win an Oscar. It completely modified her profession, catapulting her to superstardom.

I’m wondering how different Ferrera’s trajectory would have been if the Academy had been as committed to diversity, equity and inclusion because it is today. That’s mainly why her nomination hurts all of the more now. Not only is the Academy terribly overdue for this tour de force, but nominating her for a role much smaller than her capabilities seems counter to expectations in an awards season stuffed with meatier, denser performances.

Her other nominees are Danielle Brooks for “The Color Purple,” Da’Vine Joy Randolph for “The Holdovers” and Jodie Foster for “Nyad.”