Viola Davis

Viola Davis

Birth : 1965-08-11, Saint Matthews, South Carolina, USA

History

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.

Profile

Viola Davis
Viola Davis
Viola Davis
Viola Davis
Viola Davis

Movies

Kung Fu Panda 4
The Chameleon (voice)
Po is gearing up to become the spiritual leader of his Valley of Peace, but also needs someone to take his place as Dragon Warrior. As such, he will train a new kung fu practitioner for the spot and will encounter a villain called the Chameleon who conjures villains from the past.
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
Dr. Volumnia Gaul
64 years before he becomes the tyrannical president of Panem, Coriolanus Snow sees a chance for a change in fortunes when he mentors Lucy Gray Baird, the female tribute from District 12.
Air
Deloris Jordan
Discover the game-changing partnership between a then undiscovered Michael Jordan and Nike's fledgling basketball division which revolutionized the world of sports and culture with the Air Jordan brand.
Black Adam
Amanda Waller (uncredited)
Nearly 5,000 years after he was bestowed with the almighty powers of the Egyptian gods—and imprisoned just as quickly—Black Adam is freed from his earthly tomb, ready to unleash his unique form of justice on the modern world.
The Woman King
Producer
The story of the Agojie, the all-female unit of warriors who protected the African Kingdom of Dahomey in the 1800s with skills and a fierceness unlike anything the world has ever seen, and General Nanisca as she trains the next generation of recruits and readies them for battle against an enemy determined to destroy their way of life.
The Woman King
Nanisca
The story of the Agojie, the all-female unit of warriors who protected the African Kingdom of Dahomey in the 1800s with skills and a fierceness unlike anything the world has ever seen, and General Nanisca as she trains the next generation of recruits and readies them for battle against an enemy determined to destroy their way of life.
Oprah + Viola: A Netflix Special Event
Self
In this special event, Oprah Winfrey sits down with actor Viola Davis for an interview about her memoir, "Finding Me."
The Unforgivable
Liz Ingram
A woman is released from prison after serving a sentence for a violent crime and re-enters a society that refuses to forgive her past.
On Broadway
Self (archive footage)
An all-star cast tells the inside story of the Broadway theater, and how it came back from the brink thanks to innovative work, a new attention to inclusion and a sometimes uneasy balance between art and commerce. Legends of the stage and screen—including Helen Mirren, Christine Baranski, August Wilson, James Corden, Alec Baldwin, John Lithgow, Viola Davis, Hugh Jackman and Ian McKellen—take us behind the scenes of Broadway's most groundbreaking and beloved shows, from A Chorus Line to Hamilton. Iconic performances by Lin Manuel Miranda, Patti LuPone, Bernadette Peters, James Earl Jones and Mandy Patinkin lead the way on a hurly burly ride through Times Square, once again the main street of American show business in this documentary directed by Academy-Award nominee Oren Jacoby.
The Suicide Squad
Amanda Waller
Supervillains Harley Quinn, Bloodsport, Peacemaker and a collection of nutty cons at Belle Reve prison join the super-secret, super-shady Task Force X as they are dropped off at the remote, enemy-infused island of Corto Maltese.
Chadwick Boseman: Portrait of an Artist
Self
An intimate look at the Oscar-nominated actor’s incomparable artistry, and the acting process which informed his transformative performances. Viola Davis, Denzel Washington, Spike Lee, George C. Wolfe, Branford Marsalis, Phylicia Rashad and more take us behind the scenes to explore Boseman's extraordinary commitment to his craft.
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom: A Legacy Brought to Screen
Self
Viola Davis, Denzel Washington, George C. Wolfe and more share the heart, soul and history that brought August Wilson's timeless play to the screen.
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
Ma Rainey
Tensions rise when the trailblazing Mother of the Blues and her band gather at a Chicago recording studio in 1927. Adapted from August Wilson's play.
Giving Voice
Self
Every year, thousands of high schoolers enter the August Wilson monologue competition for a chance to perform on Broadway. This film follows these students, examining how Wilson and his characters speak to a new generation, inspiring them to listen to his words and find their own voice.
Live in Front of a Studio Audience:
Florida Evans
Live performances of classic holiday-themed episodes from Norman Lear's hit shows "All in the Family" and "Good Times."
Emanuel
Executive Producer
On June 17th, 2015, 21-year-old white supremacist Dylann Roof walked into a bible study and murdered nine African Americans during their closing prayer. This is the story of the victims and survivors of that night.
A Touch of Sugar
Narrator
A Touch of Sugar dives into the diabetes healthcare epidemic that affects every community in the United States, told through the voices of people united in their struggle with this chronic disease.
Troop Zero
Producer
In rural 1977 Georgia, a misfit girl dreams of life in outer space. When a national competition offers her a chance at her dream, to be recorded on NASA’s Golden Record, she recruits a makeshift troupe of Birdie Scouts, forging friendships that last a lifetime and beyond.
Troop Zero
Miss Rayleen
In rural 1977 Georgia, a misfit girl dreams of life in outer space. When a national competition offers her a chance at her dream, to be recorded on NASA’s Golden Record, she recruits a makeshift troupe of Birdie Scouts, forging friendships that last a lifetime and beyond.
Widows
Veronica Rawlings
A police shootout leaves four thieves dead during an explosive armed robbery attempt in Chicago. Their widows have nothing in common except a debt left behind by their spouses' criminal activities. Hoping to forge a future on their own terms, they join forces to pull off a heist.
Beyond Boundaries: The Harvey Weinstein Scandal
Self (archive footage)
Examine the rise and fall of Hollywood media mogul Harvey Weinstein following the scandal in 2017. Learn from exclusive interviews with those who knew him in the industry, and a discussion of the start of the #MeToo movement.
Night Shift
Executive Producer
Ollie Jeffries is an on-again, off-again actor. His long term gig as a bathroom attendant on this one night, forces Ollie to face a reality he’s not yet ready to embrace.
Fences
Rose Maxson
In 1950s Pittsburgh, a frustrated African-American father struggles with the constraints of poverty, racism, and his own inner demons as he tries to raise a family.
Suicide Squad
Amanda Waller
From DC Comics comes the Suicide Squad, an antihero team of incarcerated supervillains who act as deniable assets for the United States government, undertaking high-risk black ops missions in exchange for commuted prison sentences.
Custody
Martha Schulman
When a hard-working single mother, Sara Diaz, has her children taken from her after she is suspected of injuring her son, Ally Fisher, a recent law school graduate, is assigned to represent her case before Judge Martha Schulman, a veteran of the Family Court System.
Lila & Eve
Lila Walcott
Lila, a grief-stricken mother reeling from her son’s murder, attends a support group where she meets Eve, who urges her to take matters into her own hands to track down her son’s killers.
August Wilson: The Ground on Which I Stand
Unprecedented access to Wilson’s theatrical archives, rarely seen interviews and new dramatic readings bring to life his seminal 10-play cycle chronicling a century of African-American life. Wilson won two Pulitzer Prizes for Drama.
Blackhat
Carol Barrett
Nicholas Hathaway, a furloughed convict, and his American and Chinese partners hunt a high-level cybercrime network from Chicago to Los Angeles to Hong Kong to Jakarta. As Hathaway closes in, the stakes become personal as he discovers that the attack on a Chinese nuclear power plant was just the beginning.
The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Him
Professor Lillian Friedman
Told from the male perspective, the story of a couple trying to reclaim the life and love they once knew and pick up the pieces of a past that may be too far gone.
The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Her
Professor Lillian Friedman
Told from the female perspective, the story of a couple trying to reclaim the life and love they once knew and pick up the pieces of a past that may be too far gone.
Get on Up
Susie Brown
A chronicle of James Brown's rise from extreme poverty to become one of the most influential musicians in history.
The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Them
Professor Lillian Friedman
A New York couple's relationship is tested after the loss of their child. This film is the wide-released combination of the original two :him and :her volumes that premiered at the Cannes Film Festival.
Ender's Game
Major Gwen Anderson
Based on the classic novel by Orson Scott Card, Ender's Game is the story of the Earth's most gifted children training to defend their homeplanet in the space wars of the future.
Prisoners
Nancy Birch
Keller Dover is facing a parent’s worst nightmare: his young daughter and her friend have gone missing. Heading the investigation, Detective Loki arrests the only suspect – the driver of an RV on which the girls had been playing – but a lack of evidence forces his release. As pressure mounts, Loki’s team pursues multiple leads while a frantic Dover decides he has no choice but to take matters into his own hands.
Love, Marilyn
Self
Using the book 'Fragments', which collects Marilyn Monroe's poems, notes and letters, and with participation from the Arthur Miller and Truman Capote estates who have contributed more material, each of the actresses will embody the legend at various stages in her life.
Beautiful Creatures
Amma Treadeau
Ethan Wate just wants to get to know Lena Duchannes better, but unbeknownst to him, Lena has strange powers. As Lena's 16th birthday approaches she might decide her fate, to be good or evil. A choice which will impact her relationship forever.
Won't Back Down
Nona Alberts
Jamie Fitzpatrick and Nona Alberts are two women from opposites sides of the social and economic track, but they have one thing in common: a mission to fix their community's broken school and ensure a bright future for their children. The two women refuse to let any obstacles stand in their way as they battle a bureaucracy that's hopelessly mired in traditional thinking, and they seek to re-energize a faculty that has lost its passion for teaching.
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
Abby Black
A year after his father's death, Oskar, a troubled young boy, discovers a mysterious key he believes was left for him by his father and embarks on a scavenger hunt to find the matching lock.
Touch of Evil
The Vengeful Caretaker
Some of 2011's stand-out film actors appear in "a video gallery of cinematic villainy" for New York Times Magazine.
The Help
Aibileen Clark
Aibileen Clark is a middle-aged African-American maid who has spent her life raising white children and has recently lost her only son; Minny Jackson is an African-American maid who has often offended her employers despite her family's struggles with money and her desperate need for jobs; and Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan is a young white woman who has recently moved back home after graduating college to find out her childhood maid has mysteriously disappeared. These three stories intertwine to explain how life in Jackson, Mississippi revolves around "the help"; yet they are always kept at a certain distance because of racial lines.
It's Kind of a Funny Story
Dr. Eden Minerva
A clinically depressed teenager gets a new start after he checks himself into an adult psychiatric ward.
Trust
Gail Friedman
A suburban family is torn apart when fourteen-year-old Annie meets her first boyfriend online. After months of communicating via online chat and phone, Annie discovers her friend is not who he originally claimed to be. Shocked into disbelief, her parents are shattered by their daughter's actions and struggle to support her as she comes to terms with what has happened to her once innocent life.
Eat Pray Love
Delia Shiraz
Liz Gilbert had everything a modern woman is supposed to dream of having – a husband, a house and a successful career – yet like so many others, she found herself lost, confused and searching for what she really wanted in life. Newly divorced and at a crossroads, Gilbert steps out of her comfort zone, risking everything to change her life, embarking on a journey around the world that becomes a quest for self-discovery. In her travels, she discovers the true pleasure of nourishment by eating in Italy, the power of prayer in India and, finally and unexpectedly, the inner peace and balance of true love in Bali.
Knight and Day
CIA Director Isabel George
A fugitive couple goes on a glamorous and sometimes deadly adventure where nothing and no one – even themselves – are what they seem. Amid shifting alliances and unexpected betrayals, they race across the globe, with their survival ultimately hinging on the battle of truth vs. trust.
Beyond All Boundaries
Hortense Johnson
A visual, 4-D experience of the battles of World War II featuring stories, archival footage and advanced special effects.
Law Abiding Citizen
Mayor April Henry
A frustrated man decides to take justice into his own hands after a plea bargain sets one of his family's killers free. He targets not only the killer but also the district attorney and others involved in the deal.
State of Play
Dr. Judith Franklin
When a congressional aide is killed, a Washington, D.C. journalist starts investigating the case involving the Representative, his old college friend.
Doubt: Stage to Screen
Herself
A look at how the cast and crew brought "Doubt" from the stage to the screen.
Madea Goes to Jail
Ellen
After a high-speed car chase, Madea winds up behind bars because her quick temper gets the best of her. Meanwhile, Assistant District Attorney Josh Hardaway lands a case that's too personal to handle: that of a young prostitute and former drug addict named Candace. When Candace winds up in jail, Madea takes the young woman under her protective wing.
Nights in Rodanthe
Jean
Adrienne is trying to decide whether to stay in her unhappy marriage or not, and her life changes when Paul, a doctor who is travelling to reconcile with his estranged son, checks into an inn where she is staying.
Doubt
Mrs. Miller
In 1964, a Catholic school nun questions a priest's ambiguous relationship with a troubled young student, suspecting him of abuse. He denies the charges.
Jesse Stone: Sea Change
Molly Crane
Police Chief Jesse Stone's relationship with his ex-wife worsens, and he fears he's relapsing into alcoholism. To get his mind off his problems, Jesse begins working on the unsolved murder of a bank teller shot during a robbery. Also, his investigation of an alleged rape draws him into conflict with the town council — which hopes to preserve Paradise's reputation as an ideal seaside resort.
Disturbia
Detective Parker
Kale is a 17-year-old placed under house arrest after punching his teacher. He is confined to his house, and decides to use his free time spying on his neighbors. Things start to get weird when guests enter the Turner's house and don't come back out. Kale and his friends, Ronnie and Ashley, start to grow more and more interested in what is actually happening within the house of Robert Turner.
The Architect
Tonya Neely
An architect engages in conflict with an activist who lives in a dangerous complex the architect designed.
Life Is Not a Fairytale: The Fantasia Barrino Story
Diane Barrino
In the Lifetime® movie, THE FANTASIA BARRINO STORY: LIFE IS NOT A FAIRYTALE, a single teenage mother overcomes all odds - sexual abuse, poverty and illiteracy - by relying on her spectacular singing voice. She ultimately gains national prominence as the winner of a hit talent show. Fantasia Barrino plays herself in this modern true Cinderella story. Also starring Loretta Devine, Kadeem Hardison and Viola Davis.
World Trade Center
Mother in Hospital with Donna
Two police officers struggle to survive when they become trapped beneath the rubble of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.
The Best of The Tony Awards: The Plays
Tonya (segment "King Hedley II")
The Great White Way comes into your living room via this disc of rare performances from some of Broadway's brightest luminaries. Culled from clips from the Tony Awards shows, this unique collection features acting powerhouses James Earl Jones, Annette Bening, Joan Allen, Joe Mantegna, Gary Sinise and Maggie Smith, among others, performing works by such playwrights as August Wilson, David Mamet, Wendy Wasserstein and more.
Jesse Stone: Death in Paradise
Molly Crane
When Jesse Stone looks into the murder of a teen-age girl whose body is found floating in a local lake, it brings him up against the Boston mob and into the affluent world of a bestselling writer who exploits troubled teens.
Jesse Stone: Night Passage
Molly Crane
In this prequel to 'Stone Cold,' LA cop, Jesse Stone relocates to a small town only to find himself immersed in one mystery after the other.
Syriana
CIA Chairwoman
The Middle Eastern oil industry is the backdrop of this tense drama, which weaves together numerous story lines. Bennett Holiday is an American lawyer in charge of facilitating a dubious merger of oil companies, while Bryan Woodman, a Switzerland-based energy analyst, experiences both personal tragedy and opportunity during a visit with Arabian royalty. Meanwhile, veteran CIA agent Bob Barnes uncovers an assassination plot with unsettling origins.
Get Rich or Die Tryin'
Grandma
A tale of an inner city drug dealer who turns away from crime to pursue his passion, rap music.
Stone Cold
Molly Crane
Jesse Stone is a former L.A. homicide detective who left behind the big city and an ex-wife to become the police chief of the quiet New England fishing town of Paradise. Stone's old habits die hard as he continues to indulge his two favorite things: Scotch whiskey and women. After a series of murders—the first ever in Paradise—and a high school girl is raped, he's forced to face his own demons in order to solve the crimes.
Antwone Fisher
Eva May
A sailor prone to violent outbursts is sent to a naval psychiatrist for help. Refusing at first to open up, the young man eventually breaks down and reveals a horrific childhood. Through the guidance of his doctor, he confronts his painful past and begins a quest to find the family he never knew.
Solaris
Gordon
A troubled psychologist is sent to investigate the crew of an isolated research station orbiting a bizarre planet.
Far from Heaven
Sybil
In 1950s Connecticut, a housewife's life is upended by a marital crisis and mounting racial tensions in society.
Kate & Leopold
Policewoman
When her scientist ex-boyfriend discovers a portal to travel through time -- and brings back a 19th-century nobleman named Leopold to prove it -- a skeptical Kate reluctantly takes responsibility for showing Leopold the 21st century. The more time Kate spends with Leopold, the harder she falls for him. But if he doesn't return to his own time, his absence will forever alter history.
Ocean's Eleven
Parole Board Interrogator (uncredited)
Less than 24 hours into his parole, charismatic thief Danny Ocean is already rolling out his next plan: In one night, Danny's hand-picked crew of specialists will attempt to steal more than $150 million from three Las Vegas casinos. But to score the cash, Danny risks his chances of reconciling with ex-wife, Tess.
The Shrink Is In
Robin
A young woman impersonates a shrink to win over her Prince Charming.
Amy & Isabelle
Dottie
In 1971, in the small town of Shirley Falls, in Maine, the odd and lonely secretary Isabelle Goodrow raises her teenager daughter Amy alone. She has only two friends in her job among her gossiper colleagues. When her overprotected daughter is seduced by her mathematic teacher Peter Robertson, the world of Isabelle falls apart. She becomes lost and loses her confidence on Amy, spoiling their relationship. Their bond gets tied again when Isabelle discloses her inner secrets from the past to Amy.
Traffic
Social Worker
An exploration of the United States of America's war on drugs from multiple perspectives. For the new head of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, the war becomes personal when he discovers his well-educated daughter is abusing cocaine within their comfortable suburban home. In Mexico, a flawed, but noble policeman agrees to testify against a powerful general in league with a cartel, and in San Diego, a drug kingpin's sheltered trophy wife must learn her husband's ruthless business after he is arrested, endangering her luxurious lifestyle.
Grace & Glorie
Rosemary Allbright
When a lonely ex-New Yorker moves into the home of a rural senior to act as a hospice worker, the two initially couldn't seem to be less alike. However, as time passes, the two find much kinship including a lost child. Slowly the two build a bond and learn about life.
Out of Sight
Moselle
Meet Jack Foley, a smooth criminal who bends the law and is determined to make one last heist. Karen Sisco is a federal marshal who chooses all the right moves … and all the wrong guys. Now they're willing to risk it all to find out if there's more between them than just the law.
The Pentagon Wars
Platoon Sgt. Fanning
From the director of “Made In America” and “The Money Pit” comes a hilarious look at one of the most expensive blunders in military history. Over 17 years and almost as many billion dollars have gone into devising the BFV (Bradley Fighting Vehicle). There's only one problem. . . it doesn't work.
The Substance of Fire
Nurse
Isaac Geldhart is a Holocaust survivor who, overcome by grief at the recent death of his wife, seems determined to run his publishing firm into the ground by printing books that have no hope of financial success. His son Aaron, who also works at the company, grows frustrated with Isaac's emotional decline and attempts to take over the firm. The resulting crisis involves Isaac's other two children, his daughter Sarah and his dying son Martin.
Operation Othello
Executive Producer
A futuristic adaptation of Shakespeare's Othello set in the world of an elite naval special force's unit.
Operation Othello
Narrator
A futuristic adaptation of Shakespeare's Othello set in the world of an elite naval special force's unit.
Miss Apprehension and Squirt
Film directed by Daniel Nemet-Nejat
G20
Producer
Set at the G20 Summit, which is overtaken by terrorists, it follows the American president (Davis) who must bring all her statecraft & military experience to defend her family and her fellow leaders.
G20
Taylor Sutton
Set at the G20 Summit, which is overtaken by terrorists, it follows the American president (Davis) who must bring all her statecraft & military experience to defend her family and her fellow leaders.
I Almost Forgot About You
Dr. Georgia Young
Dr. Georgia Young's wonderful life—great friends, family, and successful career—aren't enough to keep her from feeling stuck and restless. When she decides to make some major changes in her life, including quitting her job as an optometrist and moving house, she finds herself on a wild journey that may or may not include a second chance at love.
Two Butterflies
Follows two estranged sisters who are torn apart by tragedy and forced to reunite when one sister must be transported to an Alzheimer’s facility.
The Personal History of Rachel DuPree
Rachel Dupree
Set during the early 1900s in South Dakota, Rachel and Isaac Dupree, an African American couple, raise their family on an isolated ranch in the Badlands.
Small Great Things
The story follows a labor and delivery nurse who cares for newborns at a hospital in Connecticut who’s ordered not touch the baby belonging to a white supremacist couple.