Hidden Figures (2016)

Hidden Figures tells the story of Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson, three Black women mathematicians who worked at NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. Katherine Johnson calculated trajectories for Alan Shepard's 1961 flight and John Glenn's 1962 orbital mission, and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015. Mary Jackson became NASA's first Black female engineer in 1958.

Yes—the film's most famous scene is grounded in historical fact. Before his 1962 Friendship 7 orbital flight, John Glenn specifically requested that Katherine Johnson manually verify the electronic computer's trajectory numbers, reportedly saying 'Get the girl to check the numbers.' Johnson confirmed the calculations, and the mission launched successfully. This moment is documented in Margot Lee Shetterly's book of the same name.

Hidden Figures was nominated for three Academy Awards at the 2017 ceremony: Best Picture, Best Supporting Actress (Octavia Spencer), and Best Adapted Screenplay. It won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. The film was also a significant box office success, grossing over $230 million worldwide on a $25 million budget.

While Hidden Figures compresses timelines and condenses events for dramatic purposes—a common practice in biopics—its core historical facts are well-documented in Margot Lee Shetterly's meticulously researched 2016 book. Some details, such as the visual of Katherine Johnson running across the Langley campus to use a segregated bathroom, are dramatized, though the underlying reality of workplace segregation is accurate. NASA historians have praised the film for bringing long-overlooked contributions to public attention.