Viola Davis

Viola Davis
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Name	Viola Davis
Caption	Davis at the 2018 Time 100 gala
Birth date	11 August 1965
Birth place	St. Matthews, South Carolina
Alma mater	Rhode Island College (BA), Juilliard School (GrDip)
Occupation	Actress, producer
Spouse	Julius Tennon, 2003
Awards	Academy Award, Primetime Emmy Award, Tony Award

Viola Davis is an American actress and producer, widely regarded as one of the greatest performers of her generation. She is the first African-American to achieve the Triple Crown of Acting, having won an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and two Tony Awards. Her acclaimed career spans theater, film, and television, marked by powerful portrayals of complex, often marginalized women. Davis is also known for her advocacy for diversity and representation within the entertainment industry.

Early Life and Education

She was born on a former plantation in St. Matthews, South Carolina, and spent her early childhood in profound poverty. Her family moved to Central Falls, Rhode Island, where she was raised. Davis developed an interest in acting as a teenager, participating in the federal Upward Bound program at Holy Cross and later the Young People's School for the Performing Arts in Rhode Island. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in theater from Rhode Island College before being accepted into the prestigious Juilliard School's drama division, where she graduated in 1994.

Career

Her professional stage career began with performances in Off-Broadway and regional theater productions. She made her Broadway debut in 1996 in August Wilson's play Seven Guitars, earning her first Tony Award nomination. A major breakthrough came with her performance in Wilson's King Hedley II, for which she won her first Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play in 2001. Her film career gained momentum with supporting roles in projects like Antwone Fisher and Syriana. Davis received widespread critical acclaim and her first Academy Award nomination for her brief but powerful performance in Doubt opposite Meryl Streep. She earned a second Oscar nomination for her leading role in The Help. Her career-defining role came as defense attorney Annalise Keating on the ABC television series How to Get Away with Murder, for which she won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series in 2015, becoming the first African-American woman to do so. She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Fences, a film adaptation of August Wilson's play in which she reprised her Tony Award-winning stage role. She has since starred in and produced major films like Widows and The Woman King through her production company, JuVee Productions.

Filmography

A selective list of her notable film and television works includes Traffic (2000), Far from Heaven (2002), Solaris (2002), Get Rich or Die Tryin' (2005), Disturbia (2007), Knight and Day (2010), Ender's Game (2013), Beautiful Creatures (2013), Blackhat (2015), Suicide Squad (2016), Widows (2018), Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (2020), and The Woman King (2022). Her television work is anchored by her starring role in How to Get Away with Murder (2014–2020) and includes appearances on series like Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and United States of Tara.

Awards and Nominations

She is one of the few performers to have won the Triple Crown of Acting. Her honors include an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and two Tony Awards. She has also received a British Academy Film Award nomination, five Screen Actors Guild Awards, and a Volpi Cup from the Venice Film Festival. In 2012 and 2017, she was named among the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine. She received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2017.

Personal Life

She married actor Julius Tennon in 2003, and they have a daughter, adopted as an infant in 2011. The family resides in Los Angeles, California. Davis and Tennon co-founded the production company JuVee Productions, focused on creating narrative content for film, television, and digital platforms from a diverse range of emerging and established voices. She is a vocal advocate for issues including child hunger, women's rights, and racial equality, working with organizations like Hunger Is and the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN). In 2022, she published her memoir, Finding Me, which became a #1 New York Times Best Seller.

Category:American film actresses Category:American television actresses Category:Academy Award winners Category:Tony Award winners Category:Emmy Award winners