Seven actors of colour have been nominated for the 89th Academy Awards, following two straight years of controversy during which all categories were dominated by white actors.

Denzel Washington and Ruth Negga lead the field with nods in the Best Actor and Actress categories for "Fences" and "Loving," respectively, while five other actors of colour were nominated for supporting roles.

They include:

  • Mahershala Ali for Best Supporting Actor, in "Moonlight"
  • Dev Patel for Best Supporting Actor, in "Lion"
  • Octavia Spencer for Best Supporting Actress, in "Hidden Figures"
  • Viola Davis for Best Supporting Actress, in "Fences"
  • Naomie Harris for Best Supporting Actress, in "Moonlight"

All seven actors were previously nominated at the Golden Globes, which were handed out earlier this month. Davis was the only one of the seven to win an award, edging out Spencer and Harris in the best supporting actress category.

In addition to the people of colour nominated in the Oscar acting categories, director Barry Jenkins received a nomination for directing "Moonlight."

Harris and Spencer were among the many celebrating on Twitter, after the nominations were revealed on Tuesday.

The shift toward a more diverse field of actors comes after the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences faced intense backlash for its perceived lack of diversity at the last two awards shows, when many criticized the organization under the hashtag #OscarsSoWhite. At least one person of colour was nominated in an acting category in each of the 16 years prior to 2015.

Last year's host, Chris Rock, cracked about the controversy during the 2016 awards show, calling it the "White People's Choice Awards."

"If they nominated hosts, I wouldn't even get this job," he said.

The Academy moved to address criticism that its membership was too old, too white and too male last year, by inviting into the fold. The move changed the demographics of the Academy, boosting the percentage of female members by 2 per cent, and the percentage of people of colour by 3 per cent.

Among those who joined the Academy were Michael B. Jordan, Idris Elba, John Boyega and Emma Watson.