She is best known for her role as Minny Jackson in the 2011 film The Help, for which she won the BAFTA, Golden Globe, SAG, Critics' Choice, and Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Other notable films include Get on Up, Smashed, Snowpiercer, The Divergent Series: Insurgent and Fruitvale Station. For the latter film she was nominated for the AACTA International Award for Best Supporting Actress.