The first person to play Aunt Jemima was Nancy Green, who was born into slavery in the early 1800's. According to historians, a man who helped run Quaker Oats at the time was influenced by watching a Blackface minstrel show, seeing the potential in using the "mammy" image for marketing purposes. Quaker Oats began production of Aunt Jemima pancake mix in the 1880's - Green would then be hired to portray Aunt Jemima.