Oscars 2026: Autumn Durald Arkapaw makes history as the first woman to win Oscar for Best Cinematography for ‘Sinners’

Autumn Durald Arkapaw became the first woman to win the best cinematography Oscar Sunday. The 46-year-old American was recognized for her work on Ryan Coogler’s 'Sinners'.

Autumn Durald Arkapaw became the first woman to win the Best Cinematography Oscar on Monday, March 16, 2026. The 46-year-old American was recognized for her work on Ryan Coogler’s Sinners.

The profession has come a long way since Arkapaw, whose varied credits include Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, The Last Showgirl and a Rihanna music video, started exploring cinematography as a career path.

Visual Story: The 98th Academy Awards

Only three women before her had been nominated in the category: Rachel Morrison (who worked with Coogler on Fruitvale Station and Black Panther) was the first for Mudbound in 2018, followed by Ari Wegner for The Power of the Dog and Mandy Walker for Elvis. Arkapaw was the first woman of color to be nominated.

For this year, Arkapaw was nominated alongside Michael Bauman (One Battle After Another), Dan Laustsen (Frankenstein), Darius Khondji (Marty Supreme) and Adolpho Veloso (Train Dreams) for Best Cinematography.

Sinners is project that was already historic for women in cinematography. Before it, no woman had ever shot a movie on IMAX film before.