Octavia Spencer Stars in Prime Video's Ride or Die
Octavia Spencer appears as Debbie, the unsuspecting friend of an international assassin played by Hannah Waddingham, in the new Prime Video action comedy Ride or Die. The 56-year-old Alabama native achieved her breakthrough in 2011 with The Help, portraying a maid in 1960s America. She later took on similar roles such as Dorothy Vaughan in Hidden Figures and a cleaner in The Shape of Water, earning two consecutive Academy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actress—a first for a Black actress.
Family Background and Upbringing
Born in 1970 in Montgomery, Alabama, Spencer is the sixth of seven children. Her sister Areka Spencer worked as a morning news anchor on WRKO. Her mother, Dellsena, worked as a maid and raised the children alone after Octavia's father died when she was a teenager. Spencer told The Independent: "Both my parents are deceased. I lost my mom when I was 18 and my dad when I was 13." She credited her siblings for supporting her acting career, adding: "My mom taught us that we could do or be anything we dared to dream. Being a part of a large family is just like a little society; those who fight to the top of the heap. We relied on each other and still do. They never discouraged me or told me to get a proper job."
Overcoming Dyslexia
Spencer has also become a children's author, with two books in the Randi Rhodes, Ninja Detective series. Despite her dyslexia, she credited her mother for encouraging positivity. She told Understood: "I had a very strong mom who made me and my sisters understand that there were no limitations on our lives except what we placed on ourselves." She admitted: "Reading aloud has always been a problem for me, because I had a learning disability that I didn’t realise was a disability." At school, she was "paralysed with fear" because "I kept inverting words and dropping words. I didn’t want to be made to feel that I was not as smart as the other kids — because I know that I am a smart person."
Decision Not to Have Children
Spencer has consistently stated she does not want children. In a 2013 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, she said: "I should be married and have 19 kids. And now I’m thinking my eggs are dying on the shelf. They’re going to go past their expiration date. But it’s what I chose, so I’m fine with that decision." In 2015, while discussing her role as a grandmother in Black and White, she explained: "I am not maternal at all. I don’t have any kids. I don’t have a maternal instinct. There are certain archetypes that are played a lot for women of colour. I chose to be a part of this movie because of the message, and how the message is presented." Ride or Die is now streaming on Prime Video.
