Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit) and Filipinos at the Oscars
Tuesday, December 22, 2020 at 2:00PM 
Today marks the 10th anniversary of the Coen Brothers’ western epic True Grit, an adaptation of the 1968 novel of the same name. The film stars Oscar nominees Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, and Josh Brolin. However, at the center of the film is then-13 year old Hailee Steinfeld. She plays Mattie Ross, the strong-willed daughter of a man murdered by a notorious outlaw (Brolin). She then hires Rooster Cogburn (Bridges) to hunt down the outlaw. Steinfeld’s performance received critical acclaim at the time and she became the ninth youngest nominee ever for Best Supporting Actress at the Oscars. She was 14 years and 45 days of age at the time of nominations.
Another remarkable record is that she became the first actor of known Filipino descent to be nominated for an acting category at the Oscars (her maternal grandfather Ricardo Domasin was half-Filipino), a fact that was given media attention in the Philippines at the time. She is part of a small group of nine Oscar nominees who are of Filipino descent. Here are the rest...