Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role 1951
Josephine Hull Harvey 1951
SEX WORKER ROLE
Fantine in Law and the Man 1906
Character Is A Prostitute
Law and the Man 1906
In one of her earliest roles, 19-year-old Josephine Sherwood made her Broadway debut in 1906. She played the role of Fantine in a straight dramatic version of “Les Miserables,” entitled “Law and the Man.” As Fantine, her character falls into prostitution to survive. Off-stage she would wed Shelley Hull in real life and adopt his last name. Curiously, she would retire from acting once she got married. But when her husband died, Josephine returned to acting after a 13-year absence, using her married name, Hull.
Watch clip of Anne Hathaway in her Oscar winning performance as Fantine
in the 2012 film adaptation of the Broadway musical “Les Miserables”
To read more about other Oscar-winning actresses playing characters working in the sex trade industry, please continue perusing Oscar Hookers