Sacheen Littlefeather

Sacheen Littlefeather was an American-born actress. Born Maria Louise Cruz in Salinas, California, she studied dramatics and speech at California State College at Hayward and later attended classes at the American Conservatory Theater. She picked up radio and television commercial work, joined the Screen Actors Guild, and did freelance reporting for KQED after about six months at KFRC. She played Paleflower in Winterhawk. In 1973 she appeared at the 45th Academy Awards on behalf of Marlon Brando and declined the Best Actor award he had won for The Godfather (1972); the audience responded with boos and applause, and the Academy later ruled out proxy acceptance of its awards. She went on to produce films about Native Americans and worked in hospice care. In June 2022 the Academy sent her a statement of apology that was read at an event that September. She died on October 2, 2022.