Anya Taylor-Joy, the award-winning actress known for her roles in The Menu, The Super Mario Bros. Movie, and as chess prodigy Beth Harmon in The Queen’s Gambit, has recently sparked online confusion.
After winning a Golden Globe for her performance in the Netflix drama, a particular article referred to Taylor-Joy as a “woman of color,” leaving many across the internet baffled.
In 2021, Anya Taylor-Joy won the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Miniseries or Television Film for her performance in The Queen’s Gambit.
Following her win, Variety referred to Taylor-Joy as a “woman of color,” sparking widespread confusion online.
The original statement from the publication 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.”
Writer Valerie Complex highlighted the comment on Twitter, saying: “I love her as an actress, but THIS article has her listed as the FIRST WOMAN OF COLOR to win in this category and I legit give up.”
The statement quickly gained traction, with many others sharing their reactions across social media.
One person commented: “Anya Taylor-Joy is very beautiful and very cool, but she is not a woman of color.”
Echoing the sentiment, another added: “Anya Taylor-Joy is a woman of color?! Is this a f***ing joke?! She is white and from Latin America. There are white people here too — Latin American is not an ethnicity; it refers to a geographical or cultural region.”
Another user weighed in: “Friendly reminder that being Latina and being a woman of color are not always the same thing. Congrats to Anya Taylor-Joy (Argentina) for her Golden Globe win and for speaking up.”
Following the backlash, Variety updated the article to more accurately reflect Taylor-Joy’s background.
A note on the website now states: “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.”
Anya Taylor-Joy, along with her mother Jennifer Marina Joy, spent her early childhood in Argentina before moving to the U.K. at the age of six. The Last Night in Soho star is fluent in both English and Spanish.
In an interview with Vulture, Taylor-Joy reflected on her upbringing and expressed her sensitivity toward representation in the industry, emphasizing that she does not want to take roles meant for Latina actresses.
“I’m aware of the fact that I don’t look like a typical Latin person, and that’s not fair,” she explained. “I don’t want to be someone who is just subbed into those roles when I’m really white and blonde.”
