Viola Davis Wiki: Everything To Know About The 'Fences' Actress

Actress Viola Davis was born at her grandmother’s farm in South Carolina and was raised up in Rhode Island. Her father, Dan Davis, worked as a horse groomer and trainer and mother Mary Alice was a maid and factory worker. Also, she was a civil rights activist. While studying at Central Falls High School, she developed her love for acting. She also studied theatre at Rhode Island School as well as attended the prestigious Julliard School in New York City.

Davis began to establish her name in New York theatre a long time back. She made her Broadway debut in 1996 in August Wilson’s tragic comedy Seven Guitars. The same year she made her movie debut in the drama The Substance of Fire. In 1998 she landed in a small role as director Steven Soderbergh’s Out of Sight, who also chose her in Traffic(2000) and Solaris (2000). In 1999, Davis played in off-Broadway drama Everybody’s Ruby, opposite to Phylicia Rashad based on writer Zora Neale Hurston. Then she made many television guest appearances as well. One of her favorite performances was a serial killer on Law & Order which caused some negative reactions in the African-American community. In 2000, she did the role of a nurse in producer Steve Bocho’s medical drama City of Angles. The next year she returned to Broadway in Wilson's play, King Hedley II. In 2002 she played as a maid in Todd Haymes Film Far from Heaven and the mother in Antwone Fisher of the title character. This was a cinematic adaptation of a troubled African- American man’s memoir. In the movie Doubt (2008), her brief performance earned her Academy and Golden Globe Award nominations for the best supporting actress. Her role was a mother of a young man who has been molested by a Roman Catholic priest. Davis showed her comedic skills with an appearance in Tyler Perry’s Madea Franchise, Madea Goes to Jail (2009) and on Toni Collette TV series, The US of Tara, as a guest role. In 2010, Davis had a show-stopping performance in Fences. In the revival of the August Wilson play, Davis co-starred with Denzel Washington portraying the wife. She won another Tony award along with Washington. The pair has superb chemistry together and a great portrayal of the struggling marriage. In 2011, in the film adaptation of the best selling book The Help by Kathryn Stockett, Davis co-starred with Emma Stone, Octavia Spencer, Jessica Chastain, and Bryce Dallas Howard. This drama depicted a radical divide between white housewives and African-American servants. In 2011, in the movie Help, Davis performed the role of the maid and was nodded as best actress. In the Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (2011), which is a screen adaptation of Jonathan Safran Foer’s novel, Davis appeared as a stranger to a young boy who lost his father in the 9/11 attacks. Davis' later works were Won't Back Down (2012), Prisoners (2013) and Ender’s Game (2013). In 2014, Davis played as a singer in the biopic Got On Up and took the supporting role in The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby, a romantic drama. In the drama series How to Get Away with Murder (2014), she starred as the law professor. In 2015, Davis assumed a supporting role in the cybercrime thriller, Blackhat of Michael Mann. Next, Davis headed up as a government official in comic book adaptation of Suicide Squad (2016). Again, the same year, she teamed with Washington for adaptation of Fences which he also directed.

In 2003, Davis married the actor Juilius Tennon. In October 2011, the couple adopted a girl who was named Genesis. The couple also has a son and a daughter who were from Tennon’s previous marriage. Julius Tennon is an actor himself, and he and Davis work hand in hand in films. Davis and Julius Tennon spend lots of time together not only as a couple but also as creative business partners, and have a production house named JuVee Production.

Viola Davis is an Oscar 2017 winner actress for her performance in a supporting role alongside Denzel Washington in Fences. This was Viola’s first Oscar. Although, she was previously nominated for the movie The Help as a lead role and the movie Doubt as a supporting role. Davis' role in Fences has also earned multiple awards including a Golden Globes for the best-supporting-actress, BAFTA Awards for best actress in supporting role, and an NAACP Image Award for outstanding supporting actress in a motion picture. In the Primetime Emmy Awards for How to Get Away with Murder, got nominated in 2015 and 2016. Finally, in 2017 for How to Get Away with Murder, Davis was awarded best lead actress in Primetime Emmy Awards. In Suicide Squad she was nominated in BET Awards for best actress in 2017.

Davis, the Oscar-winning actress, delivered a passionate speech at LA Women's March in Los Angeles on January 20th, 2018. Music and film stars gather LA Women's March for #timesUp, #MeToo and bid to mobilize vote for change. Speech centered on women of color within #MeToo and gender justice. She noted the limits of complacency and said no one and nothing could be great unless it costs you something. Davis also paid homage to the legacy of black women who fought against white supremacy and sexist violence. In her speech, she also pivoted to several statistics about sexual violence and its impact on women and girls of color including herself. At the LA Women’s March, Davis called on protestors to become politically active and put pressure on the government to work at all.

Davis has an estimated net worth $3 million. She is one of the richest celebrities in Hollywood. Davis' net worth describes her amazing talent of the time. There is no information on her husband Julius Tennon’s net worth but considering that he is both an actor and a producer, it must be substantial.

Viola Davis has an interesting life journey from a hungry young girl to Oscar-winning actress. She also has an empathetic passion for helping millions of kids like her and fighting against gender injustice.