Anya Taylor-Joy was recently described as a ‘woman of color’ after winning an award, leaving the internet in a state of confusion.
The 27-year-old actress, known for her roles in films such as The Menu and The Super Mario Bros. Movie, as well as her portrayal of chess prodigy Beth Harmon in The Queen’s Gambit, found herself at the center of an unexpected controversy following her Golden Globe win.
The confusion arose from an article that referred to Taylor-Joy as a “woman of color” after she picked up a Golden Globe for her role in the Netflix drama. This description left many on the internet puzzled and sparked a wave of reactions.
Currently, Taylor-Joy is receiving praise for her latest film, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, a prequel to the 2015 movie Mad Max: Fury Road. She stars as a younger version of Imperator Furiosa, originally played by Charlize Theron.
Directed by George Miller, the film explores Furiosa’s origins and her journey to becoming the formidable road warrior seen in the earlier movie. To promote Furiosa, Taylor-Joy has been making appearances at various events and film festivals, including the Cannes Film Festival, where she stunned in a strapless Dior gown, as reported by Entertainment Tonight.
In addition to her film roles, Taylor-Joy was recently named the most beautiful woman in the world according to the Greek Golden Ratio of Beauty Phi, which measures facial symmetry and other aesthetic criteria, according to Entertainment Tonight.
However, the controversy stems from back in 2021, when Taylor-Joy won the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Miniseries or Television Film for her role in The Queen’s Gambit. Following her win, Variety initially described her as a ‘woman of color’.
The original statement read: “Argentinian Taylor-Joy is the first woman of color to win this category since Queen Latifah in 2008 and only the fifth woman of color to win overall since 1982 when the category was introduced.”
This characterization was highlighted by writer Valerie Complex, who took to Twitter to express her disbelief: “I love her as an actress but THIS article has her listed as the FIRST WOMAN OF COLOUR to win in this category and I legit give up.”
Many others took to social media to voice their opinions on the statement.
One person wrote: “Anya Taylor-Joy is very beautiful and very cool but she is not a woman of color.”
Another added: “Anya Taylor-Joy is a woman of color?! Is this a f***ing joke?! She is white and she is from Latin America. There are white people here too. Latin American is not an ethnicity, in any case, it makes reference to a geographical or cultural area.”
Another user pointed out: “Friendly reminder that being Latina and being a woman of color is not always the same thing. Congrats to Anya Taylor-Joy (Argentina) for her Golden Globe win and for speaking up.”
Variety has since updated the story to better reflect Taylor-Joy’s ancestry. Taylor-Joy was born in Miami, Florida, to a Scottish-Argentine father, Dennis Alan Taylor, and a mother, Jennifer Marina Joy. She lived in Argentina until the age of six before moving to the UK and is fluent in both English and Spanish.
In an interview with Vulture, Taylor-Joy addressed her childhood and her awareness of her appearance in the context of her heritage. “I’m aware of the fact I don’t look like a typical Latin person, and that’s not fair. I don’t want to be someone that you can just sub in for that role when I’m really white and blonde,” she explained.
The article on Variety now includes a notice: “UPDATED: This story has been updated. A previous version identified Anya Taylor-Joy as a person of color. She has said she identifies as a white Latina.”
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