LOS ANGELES - A touching story about an African-American father trying to do his daughter’s hair for the first time is an Oscar winner.

Former NFL wide receiver Matthew A. Cherry and his co-producer Karen Rupert Toliver won an Academy Award on Sunday night, taking home the Oscar statue for best animated short film, “Hair Love.”

Mr. Cherry wrote the story, which is about an African-American father attempting to do his daughter’s hair for the first time. He also directed and co-produced the nearly seven-minute film, which was financed through a Kickstarter campaign in 2017.

It was one of the few wins by people of color at this year’s Academy Awards, which was roundly criticized in recent years because of its lack of diversity with the hashtag #OscarsSoWhite.

“ ‘Hair Love’ was done because we wanted to see more representation in animation, and because we wanted to normalize black hair,” Mr. Cherry said in accepting the award during the 92nd Academy Awards ceremony at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.

In his speech, Mr. Cherry recognized late Los Angeles Lakers great Kobe Bryant, who won the same award two years ago for his film “Dear Basketball” and was close to his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, who died in a Jan. 26 helicopter crash in Southern California with Mr. Bryant and seven other people. The father and daughter were flying to her basketball game.

“This award is dedicated to Kobe Bryant. May we all have a second act as great as his was,” Mr. Cherry said.

Mr. Cherry never appeared in an NFL game, but his website states he was on the rosters of the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Cincinnati Bengals, the Carolina Panthers and the Baltimore Ravens before retiring in 2007 to pursue a career in the entertainment industry.

Now 38, Mr. Cherry played collegiately at the University of Akron from 2000 to 2003 and was a second-team, All-Mid- American Conference selection for wide receiver in 2003, when he made 66 receptions.

According to Kickstarter, Mr. Cherry raised more than $300,000 for the film, well over the $75,000 goal. Sony Pictures Animation picked up the film in early 2019 and showed it in theaters nationally with “The Angry Birds Movie 2.”

The film also has been posted on YouTube, where it had more than 15 million views by Monday afternoon.

The story was adapted into a book, “Hair Love,” written by Mr. Cherry and illustrated by Vashti Harrison, which was released in mid-2019, and made it to the New York Times Book Review Children’s Best Seller list.

The Academy Award winner for best picture went to “Parasite,” a dark social satire from South Korea, which made history as the first film in a language other than English to claim the movie industry’s highest honor.

“Parasite,” about the gap between rich and poor in modern Seoul, won a total of four Oscars, including best director and original screenplay for Bong Joon Ho and best international feature film.

No film had ever won both international feature film and best picture at the Oscars.

It was a remarkable outcome for a film that contained subtitles in the United States, beating movies by major studios and Hollywood veterans such as Martin Scorsese and Quentin Tarantino.

The Oscars stage was crowded with South Korean actors and filmmakers, who mostly spoke to the audience through an interpreter.

“I am speechless,” said Kwak SinAe, one of the movie’s co-producers. “We never imagined this would ever happen. We are so happy. I feel like a very opportune moment in history is happening right now.”

When Mr. Bong got his first Oscar of the night — for best original screenplay — he gazed at the golden statuette in amazement.

He later paid tribute to his four fellow director nominees, saying, “I would like to get a Texas chainsaw and split the Oscar into five and share it with all of you.”

After “Parasite” won the award for best international feature, Mr. Bong told the audience, “I’m ready to drink tonight, until next morning.”

The ceremony, held without an official host, was peppered with jokes and sarcastic commentary about the exclusion of women from the directing category and the list of 20 acting nominees that included just one person of color.

After the multi-talented Janelle Monae opened the show with an elaborate musical number, comedians Chris Rock and Steve Martin took the stage.

“I thought there was something missing this year,” Mr. Martin said.

“Vaginas?” quipped Mr. Rock, to loud applause.

At one point, Mr. Rock honored Cynthia Erivo, who was nominated for two Oscars — for best actress for her starring role in “Harriet,” about the heroic Harriet Tubman who escaped slavery and then liberated hundreds of other enslaved people through the Underground Railroad, and for best original song for “Stand Up, which she performed at the ceremony.

Mr. Rock said, “Cynthia did such a great job in ‘Harriet’ hiding black people that the Academy got her to hide all the black nominees.”

The acting Oscars went as expected. Joaquin Phoenix won best actor for playing a failing clown who finds fame through violence in the dark comic book tale “Joker,” and Renee Zellweger was named best actress for her performance as an aging Judy Garland in the musical biopic “Judy.”

Mr. Phoenix, a strict vegan, gave a long, impassioned acceptance speech about climate change and animal rights but concluded on a personal note.

“I’ve been a scoundrel in my life. I’ve been selfish, cruel at times and hard to work with, and I’m grateful that so many people in this room have given me a second chance,” he said.

A Universal Pictures film about World War I, “1917,” had been seen as the film to beat but won just three of its 10 nominations. They came for its stunning “one-shot” feel cinematography, for visual effects and for sound mixing.

Mr. Tarantino’s sentimental ode to Tinseltown, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” brought the first acting Oscar for Brad Pitt, who played a supporting role as a laid-back stunt man.

In accepting the award, he opened with a note about President Trump’s impeachment trial last week, saying, “They told me I only have 45 seconds up here, which is 45 seconds more than the Senate gave John Bolton.”

Laura Dern took the supporting actress Oscar, her first Academy Award, for playing a ruthless divorce lawyer in “Marriage Story.”

But Netflix movie “The Irishman,” a costly Mafia saga directed by Scorsese that had 10 Oscar nominations and starred Hollywood veterans Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Joe Pesci, came away empty-handed.

Music played a large part in the ceremony, with a surprise performance by rapper Eminem of his 2003 Oscar-winning song “Lose Yourself” from the movie “8 Mile.”

Elton John won best original song for “(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again” from his biopic “Rocketman,” which he performed at Sunday night’s ceremony. And American teen Billie Eilish, who won five Grammys last month, sang the Beatles hit ballad “Yesterday” for the Oscars memorial tribute.

“American Factory,” about the decline of manufacturing jobs in the industrial Midwest from former President Obama’s and former First Lady Michelle Obama’s new production company, won the Oscar for best documentary.

Chris Rock kept it real during his non-host duties during the show. Introducing people in the audience, Mr. Rock pointed out Mahershala Ali, who won Academy Awards for best supporting actor in 2019 and 2017 for “Green Book” and “Moonlight,” respectively.

“Mahershala Ali is here tonight,” Mr. Rock told the audience. “Mahershala has two Oscars. You know what that means when the cops pull him over? Nothing.”