Viola Davis
Viola Davis (born August 11, 1965) is an American actress and producer. The recipient of numerous accolades, Davis is one of the few performers to have been awarded an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony (EGOT); additionally, she is the sole African-American to achieve the Triple Crown of Acting as well as the third person to achieve both statuses. Time named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2012 and 2017, and in 2020, The New York Times ranked her ninth on its list of the greatest actors of the 21st century. Davis began her career in Central Falls, Rhode Island, appearing in small stage productions. After graduating from the Juilliard School in 1993, she won an Obie Award in 1999 for her performance as Ruby McCollum in Everybody's Ruby. She played minor roles in film and television in the late 1990s and early 2000s, before earning the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play for her role as Tonya in the 2001 Broadway production of August Wilson's King Hedley II. Her film breakthrough came with her role as a troubled mother in the drama Doubt (2008), for which she received her first Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Davis won the 2010 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her role as Rose Maxson in the Broadway revival of August Wilson's play Fences. For starring as a 1960s housemaid in the comedy-drama The Help (2011), Davis received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress. From 2014 to 2020, she played lawyer Annalise Keating in the ABC drama series How to Get Away with Murder, for which she became the first black actress to win the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series in 2015. In 2016, Davis reprised the role of Maxson in the film adaptation of Fences, winning the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She played Amanda Waller in the DC Extended Universe, beginning with Suicide Squad (2016). In 2020, she portrayed Ma Rainey in the biopic Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, for which she received a fourth Academy Award nomination, becoming the most-Oscar-nominated black actress. Her performances in Widows (2018) and The Woman King (2022) earned her further nominations for the BAFTA Best Actress Award, making her the most-BAFTA-nominated black actress. Davis and her husband, Julius Tennon, are founders of a production company, JuVee Productions. Davis is also widely recognized for her advocacy and support of human rights and equal rights for women and women of color. She received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2017 and became a L'Oréal Paris ambassador in 2019. The audiobook narration of her 2022 memoir Finding Me earned Davis a Grammy Award in 2023.
Known For
Credits
- 2024 · Creature Commandos as Amanda Waller (voice)
- 2024 · Kung Fu Panda 4 as The Chameleon (voice)
- 2024 · Predator or Prey: Making The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes as Self (Dr. Volumnia Gaul)
- 2023 · The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes as Dr. Volumnia Gaul
- 2023 · Air as Deloris Jordan
- 2022 · Black Adam as Amanda Waller (uncredited)
- 2022 · The Woman King as Nanisca
- 2022 · The Jennifer Hudson Show as Self
- 2022 · Oprah + Viola: A Netflix Special Event as Self
- 2022 · The First Lady as Michelle Obama
- 2022 · Peacemaker as Amanda Waller (uncredited)
- 2021 · The Unforgivable as Liz Ingram
- 2021 · The Problem with Jon Stewart as Self (archive footage)
- 2021 · The Suicide Squad as Amanda Waller
- 2021 · C ce soir, le débat as Self - Guest
- 2020 · Ma Rainey's Black Bottom as Ma Rainey
- 2020 · Dear... as Self
- 2020 · Celebrity IOU as Self
- 2020 · Giving Voice as Self
- 2019 · Live in Front of a Studio Audience: "All in the Family" and "Good Times" as Florida Evans
- 2019 · On Broadway as Self (archive footage)
- 2019 · A Touch of Sugar as Narrator
- 2019 · Troop Zero as Miss Rayleen
- 2018 · Widows as Veronica Rawlings
- 2018 · Beyond Boundaries: The Harvey Weinstein Scandal as Self (archive footage)
- 2016 · Fences as Rose Maxson
- 2016 · Suicide Squad as Amanda Waller
- 2016 · The Warrior, The Myth, The Wonder as
- 2016 · Custody as Martha Schulman
- 2015 · The Late Show with Stephen Colbert as Self
- 2015 · The Late Show with Stephen Colbert as Self - Guest
- 2015 · Close Up with The Hollywood Reporter as Self
- 2015 · Lila & Eve as Lila Walcott
- 2015 · Hot Ones as Self
- 2015 · August Wilson: The Ground on Which I Stand as
- 2015 · Blackhat as Carol Barrett
- 2014 · Variety Studio: Actors on Actors as Self
- 2014 · The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Her as Professor Lillian Friedman
- 2014 · The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Him as Professor Lillian Friedman
- 2014 · How to Get Away with Murder as Annalise Keating
- 2014 · Get on Up as Susie Brown
- 2014 · The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Them as Professor Lillian Friedman
- 2014 · The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon as Self
- 2014 · The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon as Self - Guest
- 2013 · Ender's Game as Major Gwen Anderson
- 2013 · Prisoners as Nancy Birch
- 2013 · Love, Marilyn as Self
- 2013 · Beautiful Creatures as Amma Treadeau
- 2012 · Won't Back Down as Nona Alberts
- 2012 · Scandal as Annalise Keating
- 2012 · Honest Trailers as Dr. Volumnia Gaul (archive footage)
- 2011 · Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close as Abby Black
- 2011 · Touch of Evil as The Vengeful Caretaker
- 2011 · The Help as Aibileen Clark
- 2010 · It's Kind of a Funny Story as Dr. Eden Minerva
- 2010 · Trust as Gail Friedman
- 2010 · Eat Pray Love as Delia Shiraz
- 2010 · Knight and Day as CIA Director Isabel George
- 2009 · Beyond All Boundaries as Hortense Johnson
- 2009 · Law Abiding Citizen as Mayor April Henry
- 2009 · Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen as Self - Guest
- 2009 · State of Play as Dr. Judith Franklin
- 2009 · Doubt: Stage to Screen as Self
- 2009 · Madea Goes to Jail as Ellen
- 2009 · United States of Tara as
- 2008 · Doubt as Mrs. Miller
- 2008 · Nights in Rodanthe as Jean
- 2008 · The Andromeda Strain as Dr. Charlene Barton
- 2007 · Jesse Stone: Sea Change as Molly Crane
- 2007 · Traveler as Agent Jan Marlow
- 2007 · Disturbia as Detective Parker
- 2007 · The Graham Norton Show as Self
- 2006 · The Architect as Tonya Neely
- 2006 · Brothers and Sisters as Ellen Snyder
- 2006 · Life Is Not a Fairytale: The Fantasia Barrino Story as Diane Barrino
- 2006 · World Trade Center as Mother in Hospital with Donna
- 2006 · The Best of The Tony Awards: The Plays as Tonya (segment "King Hedley II")
- 2006 · Jesse Stone: Death in Paradise as Molly Crane
- 2006 · Jesse Stone: Night Passage as Officer Molly Crane
- 2005 · Syriana as CIA Chairwoman
- 2005 · Get Rich or Die Tryin' as Grandma
- 2005 · Threshold as
- 2005 · Stone Cold as Molly Crane
- 2004 · Century City as
- 2003 · Jimmy Kimmel Live! as Self
- 2002 · Antwone Fisher as Eva May
- 2002 · Solaris as Gordon
- 2002 · Far from Heaven as Sybil
- 2002 · Hack as Stevie Morgan
- 2002 · Without a Trace as Audrey Williams
- 2002 · E! Live from the Red Carpet as Self
- 2001 · Kate & Leopold as Policewoman
- 2001 · Ocean's Eleven as Parole Board Interrogator (voice) (uncredited)
- 2001 · Law & Order: Criminal Intent as Sergeant Terry Randolph
- 2001 · The Shrink Is In as Robin
- 2001 · Amy & Isabelle as Dottie
- 2001 · The Division as
- 2000 · Traffic as Social Worker
- 2000 · CSI: Crime Scene Investigation as Attorney Campbell
- 2000 · City of Angels as Lynnette Peeler
- 1999 · Third Watch as Margo Rodriguez
- 1999 · Law & Order: Special Victims Unit as Donna Emmett
- 1999 · Judging Amy as Celeste
- 1999 · Providence as Dr. Eleanor Weiss
- 1998 · Grace & Glorie as Rosemary Allbright
- 1998 · Out of Sight as Moselle
- 1998 · The Pentagon Wars as Sgt. Fanning
- 1998 · Miss Apprehension and Squirt as Sharon Hughes
- 1997 · The View as Self - Guest
- 1997 · The View as Self
- 1997 · The Practice as Aisha Crenshaw
- 1996 · The Substance of Fire as Nurse
- 1993 · NYPD Blue as Woman
- 1979 · CBS News Sunday Morning as Self
- 1968 · 60 Minutes as Self
- 1956 · Tony Awards as Self - Presenter
- 1953 · The Oscars as Self
- 1951 · Hallmark Hall of Fame as Rosemary Allbright
- Future · G20 as Taylor Sutton
- Future · Waller as Amanda Waller
- Future · The Personal History of Rachel DuPree as Rachel Dupree
- Future · Father Lefty as
- Future · Operation Othello as Narrator
- Future · Small Great Things as
- Future · Two Butterflies as
- Future · I Almost Forgot About You as Dr. Georgia Young