By Micheal Chukwuebuka, Reporting
CURRENTLY the most awarded actress in Africa, Viola Davis is also ranked 9th on the list of the greatest actors of the 21st century in New york.
A graduate of Juilliard, she began her career in Central Falls, Rhode Island. She appeared in small stage productions, before expanding to the big screen with minor roles in film and television in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Photo credit: – Ayeni Abayomi
Her role as lawyer Annalise Keating in the ABC drama series “How to Get Away with Murder (2014–2020)” won her the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series, making her the first black actress to do so
LIFE AND CAREER
Viola Davis was born on August 11, 1965, in St. Matthews, South Carolina, to Mae Alice Davis (née Logan) and Dan Davis.
She was born on her grandmother’s farm on the Singleton Plantation. Her father was a horse trainer, while her mother was a maid, factory worker and homemaker.
She is the second youngest of six children, having four sisters and a brother.
Soon after she was born, her parents moved with Davis and two of her older siblings to Central Falls, Rhode Island, leaving her other siblings with her grandparents.
Her mother was also an activist during the Civil Rights Movement.
When she was two years old, Davis was taken to jail with her mother after she was arrested during a civil rights protest.
She has described herself as having “lived in abject poverty and dysfunction” during her childhood, recalling living in “rat-infested and condemned” apartments.
Davis is a second cousin of actor Mike Colter, known for portraying the Marvel Comics character Luke Cage.
Davis is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of her generation cause she could act any role if allowed the opportunity.
Chris Murphy of Vanity Fair said she achieved her reputation and accolades by consistently “delivering deeply felt performances, unmatched in their ability to access a seemingly endless well of emotion while remaining undeniably grounded.”
For her stage work, Davis has won two Tony Awards, three Drama Desk Awards, an Obie Award, and a Theater World Award.
She holds the distinction of becoming the first actress of color to win the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series.
Davis is the first African-American to win five Screen Actors Guild Awards.
Davis is also tied for the most film wins for an actress at the Screen Actors Guild Awards; and with six overall wins, she is the most awarded African American.
She has also received nominations for six Golden Globes Awards and three British Academy Film Awards, winning one of each, in addition to winning the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Fences (2016).
This led to her becoming the first black performer to achieve the Triple Crown of Acting by winning a competitive Oscar, Emmy and Tony.
She is also the first actress of color to have received four Academy Award nominations.
Davis was awarded an honorary doctorate in Fine Arts from her undergraduate alma mater, Rhode Island College, in 2002.
On January 20, 2020, Davis was awarded an honorary doctoral degree in fine arts from Indiana University.
In February 2023, she was awarded the Grammy Award for Best Audio Book, Narration & Storytelling Recording for the narration to her 2022 autobiography Finding Me, making her the 18th person to achieve EGOT status.
Davis has been recognized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) for the following films:
81st Academy Awards, Best Actress in a Supporting Role, nomination, for Doubt (2008)
84th Academy Awards, Best Actress in a Leading Role, nomination, for The Help (2011)
89th Academy Awards, Best Actress in a Supporting Role, win, for Fences (2016)
93rd Academy Awards, Best Actress in a Leading Role, nomination, for Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (2020).
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