Mo'Nique accepted her role to raise awareness of sexual abuse. A confessed victim of incest herself, the actress had great reservations about playing the part, but ultimately found the experience therapeutic.
A friend at college told Gabourey Sidibe about the open-call audition for the role of Precious. On the morning of the audition, her normal route to school was blocked by a film crew working on American Gangster (2007), so she went to the audition instead.
Very first Best Picture nominee to be directed by an African-American filmmaker.
In an interview with Wendy Williams, Mo'Nique stated that she keeps the Oscar she won for this movie under a cabinet. She stated that the reason for this is that the only space she has in her house to display trophies is reserved for her children's trophies.
Oprah Winfrey said that when she saw the movie, it "split [her] open," and that she immediately called Tyler Perry who gave her Lee Daniels' number, so that she could call him and tell him she would do anything to promote the film. When Oprah called him, he was onstage getting an award at the Sundance Film Festival. Oprah later stated that this film was why "we make movies," and that she thought people might not "enjoy" but would "appreciate this experience."