Viola Davis
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Who is this?
Viola Davis ( vy-OH-lə; born August 11, 1965) is an American actress and film producer. Her accolades include both the Triple Crown of Acting and EGOT. Time named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2012 and 2017. The New York Times ranked her ninth on its list of the greatest actors of the 21st century (2020). Davis received the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2025. A graduate of Juilliard, Davis began her career in Central Falls, Rhode Island, appearing in small stage productions. She made her Broadway debut in the August Wilson play Seven Guitars (1996) for which she earned her first Tony nomination. She would later win two Tony Awards, both for Wilson plays. Her first win was for Best Featured Actress in a Play playing the character Tonya, a woman grappling with trauma and loss in King Hedley II (2001), followed by her second win for Best Actress in a Play playing Rose Maxson, a working class mother in Fences (2010). She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for reprising her role in the 2016 film adaptation of Fences. She was Oscar-nominated for playing a complex mother in Doubt (2008), a 1960s housemaid in The Help (2011), and Ma Rainey in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (2020). On television, she became the first black actress to win the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for her role as lawyer Annalise Keating in the ABC legal drama series How to Get Away with Murder (2014–2020). Davis joined the DC Extended Universe playing Amanda Waller starting with Suicide Squad (2016) to Black Adam (2022). She reprises her role in the rebooted DC Universe. She has also starred in the crime drama Widows (2018), and historical action film The Woman King (2022). Davis and her husband are founders of the production company JuVee Productions, and she is also widely recognized for her advocacy and support for human rights and women of color. She became a L'Oréal Paris ambassador in 2019. The audiobook narration of her 2022 memoir Finding Me won her the Grammy Award for Best Audio Book, Narration & Storytelling Recording.
Career
- 1965Born
- 1996Won Theatre World Award
- 2001Won Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play
- 2010Won Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play
- 2012Won Crystal Award
- 2017Won Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
Trivia
- •Place of birth: St. Matthews
- •Citizenship: United States
- •Known as: stage actor, film actor, television actor, television producer
- •Spouse: Julius Tennon
What happened recently
See Thuso Mbedu, Damson Idris, Shamz Garuba & Viola Davis in the First Children of Blood and Bone Photos
Viola Davis and Lavaille Lavette Join Forces for Middle Grade Novel Girl, I Think My Grandma’s a Spy — See the Cover! (Exclusive)
Quote of the Day by Viola Davis: 'There's no prerequisites to worthiness. You're born worthy...'-A powerful lesson on self-worth, empowerment and embracing your value without ...
Viola Davis, Julius Tennon’s JuVee Productions Set First-Look Deal at Universal Global Television, to Develop Drama ‘Pawn’
Viola Davis and Julius Tennon’s JuVee Productions Inks First-Look Deal With Universal Global TV
That time Viola Davis tried to hold back from calling out Meryl Streep for missing a line
‘Say The F—ing Line.’ That Time Viola Davis Tried To Hold Back From Calling Out Meryl Streep For Missing A...
Viola Davis Didn't Want To Raise A Spoiled Daughter: Here's How She Kept Her Down-To
Darin Toonder Of Obsession, on Dancing With Viola Davis, Walking Off Set for $40K, and Why…
Viola Davis to Headline The Foundation for Sickle Cell Disease Research's 20th Annual Sickle Cell Disease Research and Educational Symposium and 49th National Sickle Cell Disease Scientific Meeting
Michelle Obama hasn't watched Viola Davis in 'The First Lady': 'That's the one thing I can't do'
‘Lioness’ and ‘The Walking Dead’ Actor Jay Huguley Joins Viola Davis in Amazon MGM’s ‘Ally Clark’ (EXCLUSIVE)
Viola Davis had to call out Meryl Streep for forgetting her line in Doubt scene: 'Say the f‑‑‑ing line'
Viola Davis Says 'I Would Be Very Happy If “Sinners” Took Everything' at 2026 Oscars
Viola Davis says playing Annalise Keating forced her to reject the world’s definition of sexy
Viola Davis says she and husband Julius Tennon were 'laughing for 2 days' after her actor awards presentation went viral
Viola Davis on Her Meme-Worthy Moment at the Actor Awards and Why She Wanted to Write Crime Fiction With Courtroom Thriller ‘Judge Stone’
Video Viola Davis and James Patterson talk new novel - ABC News - Breaking News, Latest News and Videos
Viola Davis Incites Inspiration During NAACP Image Awards Speech: “Our Crown Has Already Been Bought, All We Have to Do Is Wear It”
Oscar-winning actress Viola Davis says she struggles with 'impostor syndrome' - ABC News - Breaking News, Latest News and Videos
Viola Davis and Jennifer Hudson Bond Over Raising Teenagers as They Share the One Thing They Both Want for Their Kids
Viola Davis reveals why she jumped out of a plane to one-up her daughter’s nanny
Viola Davis Brings the Drama in Shimming Dress and See-Through Rainbow Cape for Golden Globes 2025 Red Carpet
Viola Davis Toasts to Her 'Last Year in My 50s' as She Shares Photos from Birthday Dinner: 'I'm Alive!'
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