Viola Davis
This week we are featuring the amazingly talented Viola Davis. Viola was born on August 11, 1965, in St. Matthews, North Carolina on her grandmother’s farm on the Singleton Plantation. The daughter of Mae Alice Davis and Dan Davis, Viola is the second youngest of six children. Shortly after her birth, Davis, her parents, and two of her older siblings moved to Central Falls, Rhode Island, while her other siblings would remain with her grandparents.
Davis has never been shy about her childhood and sharing how it consisted of poverty and dysfunction. Viola recalls living in rat infested and condemned apartments. In her book, “Finding Me”, Davis recalls being awakened to the sound of rats eating the faces of her dolls and how she would sleep with a rag around her neck so that they wouldn’t bite her. Although Davis faced many challenges during her childhood, she used them as fuel to propel her into a successful future.
Viola Davis attended Central Falls High School and as a teenager was actively involved in many programs such as TRIO Upward Bound and TRIO Student Support Services. Upon graduating high school, Davis attended Rhode Island College where she majored in theater and participated in the National Student Exchange before she graduated in 1988. Over the next several years she attended the Juilliard School and became a member of the schools Drama Division “Group 22.” Some of Davis’ early work includes Broadway productions such as William Shakespeare’s comedy As You Like It and August Wilson’s Seven Guitars, in which she earned critical praise for her performance. During the 2000’s Davis would appear in a variety of films and TV shows including Ocean’s Eleven, Far from Heaven, Traveler, Law and Order, and many others.
In 2011, Davis would go on to win two Screen Actors Guild Awards for her role in the movie The Help. In 2012, Time magazine recognized Davis as one of the most influential people in the world and Glamour magazine named her Film Actress of the year. Since that time, Davis has appeared in major films, plays, and TV shows that include How to Get Away with Murder, Scandal, Get on Up, Fences, Widows, Air, The Woman King, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, and many more. Davis was the first African American to win five Screen Actor Guild Awards and is the most awarded African American with six overall wins. In February of 2023, Davis became the 18th person to achieve EGOT status after being awarded a Grammy for Best Audio Book, Narration & Storytelling Recoding for her 2022 narration of her autobiography Finding Me.
Davis married Julius Tennon, a fellow actor in June 2003. They share a daughter Genesis together and Davis is also the stepmother to Tennon’s children from previous relationships. Davis exudes the definition of Black Girl Magic and we look forward to the many amazing roles she has yet to be featured in.
