Viola Davis is an American actress and producer widely regarded as one of the greatest performers of her generation, best known for her Oscar-winning role in Fences and her Emmy-winning turn in How to Get Away with Murder.
She holds both the Triple Crown of Acting and EGOT status, making her one of the most decorated entertainers in the history of American show business.
Who is Viola Davis?
Viola Davis is an American actress, producer, and author whose career spans stage, film, and television. She was born in South Carolina and raised in poverty in Rhode Island, going on to train at some of the most prestigious institutions in the country before becoming a trailblazer in Hollywood.
Her list of firsts is unmatched. She became the first Black woman to win an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series, the first Black woman to win an Oscar, Emmy, and Tony for acting, and in 2023 she became the third Black woman to achieve EGOT status.
Few performers in any era have stacked achievements the way Davis has. In 2025, she received the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the Golden Globes, the highest honor for lifetime achievement in film.
She is also co-founder of JuVee Productions, a production company she launched with her husband to champion diverse voices in entertainment.
Early Life of Viola Davis
Viola Davis was born on August 11, 1965, on her grandmother’s farm on the Singleton Plantation in St. Matthews, South Carolina.
Her father, Dan Davis, worked as a horse trainer, and her mother, Mary Alice, worked as a maid and factory worker and was also a civil rights activist.
Two months after Davis was born, her family moved to Central Falls, Rhode Island. She grew up as one of the first African American families in the area, facing racism and severe poverty throughout her childhood.
She and her sister Diana found escape in films, which sparked Davis’s early love of acting. The experience of being an outsider in her community would eventually fuel her approach to storytelling.
Viola Davis Age
Viola Davis is 60 years old as of 2026, born on August 11, 1965.
Her zodiac sign is Leo, a sign often linked with boldness, creativity, and a commanding presence.
Viola Davis Ethnicity and Nationality
Viola Davis is American. She is African American, born to parents whose roots are in South Carolina. She grew up in Central Falls, Rhode Island, which she has cited as a formative influence on her worldview and her drive to succeed.
Viola Davis Height and Weight
Viola Davis stands at 5 feet 5 inches (1.65 m) tall. Her reported weight is approximately 130 pounds (59 kg).
She has black hair and captivating black eyes with a cute smile.
Viola Davis Education
Davis discovered acting through the Upward Bound program and earned a scholarship to attend the Young People’s School for the Performing Arts in Seekonk, Massachusetts, at age 15.
She then enrolled at Rhode Island College, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Theater in 1988. She continued her training at the prestigious Juilliard School in New York City, graduating with a certificate in 1993.
Her Juilliard training laid the groundwork for a stage career that would eventually make her one of the most respected dramatic actors in America.
Viola Davis Career
Davis began her career in New York theater in the early 1990s, taking on small stage roles before establishing herself as a serious dramatic force on Broadway.
She also made minor appearances on television in the mid-to-late 1990s, including episodes of NYPD Blue and the HBO film The Pentagon Wars.
That slow build set the stage for a career unlike any other.
Broadway Breakthrough (1996–2001)
Davis made her Broadway debut in 1996 in the August Wilson play Seven Guitars, which earned her her first Tony Award nomination. Her profile in the theater world continued to rise.
In 2001, she won her first Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play for her role as Tonya in King Hedley II. Critics and peers took notice, and Davis quickly became one of the most sought-after stage performers in the country.
Film Recognition (2008–2016)
Her film career took a major turn with Doubt in 2008, in which she appeared for just eleven minutes alongside Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman.
That brief performance earned her an Academy Award nomination and a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actress.
Her second Oscar nomination came for The Help in 2011, where she played Aibileen Clark. She also returned to Broadway in a revival of August Wilson’s Fences in 2010, co-starring Denzel Washington, and won her second Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play.
Emmy Wins and Television Stardom (2014–2020)
In 2014, Davis joined the ABC legal drama How to Get Away with Murder as law professor Annalise Keating. The show, produced by Shonda Rhimes, ran for six seasons.
In 2015, she became the first Black woman to win the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series. Her acceptance speech that night became one of the most celebrated moments in Emmy history.
The series elevated her to global television stardom and closed in 2020 after six acclaimed seasons.
Oscar Win and EGOT Status (2016–2023)
Davis reprised her stage role of Rose Maxson in Denzel Washington’s 2016 film adaptation of Fences. She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 2017 for the performance, along with a Golden Globe and a SAG Award.
Her memoir, Finding Me, was published in 2022 and became a bestseller. The following year, the audiobook recording won her the Grammy Award for Best Audiobook, Narration and Storytelling Recording at the 65th Grammy Awards.
With that Grammy, she became an EGOT, the 18th person in history to hold the title.
Recent Work (2022–Present)
Davis starred in The Woman King in 2022, playing General Nanisca, the leader of an elite all-female army in 19th-century Africa. The film earned wide praise and box office success.
In 2025, she starred in and produced the action thriller G20 for Prime Video, playing U.S. President Danielle Sutton. The film was released globally on April 10, 2025.
She also has upcoming projects including the thriller Ally Clark for Amazon MGM Studios and a role in the DC universe spinoff series connected to Peacemaker.
Viola Davis Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Doubt | Mrs. Miller | Oscar nomination |
| 2011 | The Help | Aibileen Clark | Oscar nomination |
| 2013 | Ender’s Game | Major Gwen Anderson | |
| 2014 | Get on Up | Mama Davis | |
| 2016 | Suicide Squad | Amanda Waller | |
| 2016 | Fences | Rose Maxson | Oscar win, Golden Globe win |
| 2020 | Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom | Ma Rainey | Oscar nomination, SAG Award |
| 2022 | The Woman King | General Nanisca | |
| 2023 | The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes | Dr. Volumnia Gaul | |
| 2025 | G20 | President Danielle Sutton |
Viola Davis Awards and Recognition
Davis holds one of the most decorated resumes in entertainment history.
She is the first Black woman to achieve the Triple Crown of Acting: winning an Emmy, an Oscar, and a Tony for acting. In 2023, she completed her EGOT by winning a Grammy for her audiobook recording of Finding Me.
- Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play, King Hedley II (2001)
- Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play, Fences (2010)
- Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series, How to Get Away with Murder (2015)
- Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, Fences (2017)
- Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture, Fences (2017)
- Grammy Award for Best Audiobook, Narration and Storytelling Recording, Finding Me (2023)
- Cecil B. DeMille Award, Golden Globes (2025)
Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in both 2012 and 2017. The New York Times ranked her ninth on its list of the greatest actors of the 21st century in 2020.
Viola Davis Husband
Viola Davis met actor Julius Tennon in 1999 on the set of the CBS series City of Angels. The two dated for four years before marrying on June 23, 2003.
The couple co-founded JuVee Productions in 2011, with Davis serving as CEO and Tennon as president of development and production. The company has produced several of Davis’s major projects, including The First Lady and The Woman King.
In 2016, the couple renewed their vows on Valentine’s Day. Davis has spoken openly about how Tennon grounds her, often crediting him with bringing her peace and stability.
Viola Davis Children
In 2011, Davis and Julius Tennon adopted a baby girl named Genesis Tennon. Davis has described the adoption as one of the most meaningful decisions of her life.
Genesis, now 16, has shown an interest in following her parents into entertainment, including appearing in The Angry Birds Movie 2 in 2019 and joining her parents on the YouTube interview show Hot Ones in April 2025.
Davis is also stepmother to Tennon’s two adult children from previous relationships.
Viola Davis Net Worth
Viola Davis’s estimated net worth is $35 million as of 2026. Her wealth has been built across decades of high-caliber work in film, television, and theater.
Salary
During her six seasons on How to Get Away with Murder, Davis earned approximately $250,000 per episode. Across the show’s 90-episode run, that role alone generated estimated gross earnings of over $22 million.
Forbes listed her as the tenth highest-paid TV actress in the world in 2020, noting total earnings of $15.5 million that year. For The Woman King, The Hollywood Reporter reported her salary in the $5 million range.
Business Ventures
Davis and her husband co-founded JuVee Productions in 2011. The company focuses on developing film, television, and digital content that highlights diverse and underrepresented voices.
JuVee has an investment arm that provides financial backing to women-led businesses in media, tech, and sports entertainment. Davis also co-founded ShoulderUp in 2019, a networking organization supporting women.
Viola Davis Social Media
Davis is active on Instagram, where she regularly shares personal updates, family moments, and career news with her followers.
She celebrated her 61st birthday in August 2026 with posts from a family trip to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
She can also be found on Instagram under @violadavis.
Summary
Viola Davis turned a childhood marked by poverty and racial adversity into one of the most extraordinary careers in the history of American entertainment.
She is more than an actress with a cabinet full of awards; she is a standard-setter who changed what was possible for women of color in Hollywood.
