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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.
Viola Davis and Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. dive into her family's past, and with the help of DNA and local records, discover a surprising secret her grandfather kept to himself.
- 10 min
- Who Is Viola Davis?
- Early Career
- 'Law & Order'
- 'Antwone Fisher'
- 'Doubt'
- 'Fences' on Broadway
- 'The Help'
- 'Get on Up,' 'Suicide Squad,' 'Widows'
- Emmy and Oscar Wins
- 'How to Get Away with Murder'
- GeneratedCaptionsTabForHeroSec
Viola Davis grew up in Rhode Island, where she began acting — first in high school, and then at Rhode Island College. After attending the Juilliard School of Performing Arts, Davis made her Broadway debut in 1996 in Seven Guitars. She has won Tony Awards for her performances inKing Hedley II (2001) and a revival of August Wilson's Fences (2010), wh...
Growing up poor in Rhode Island, Davis found an oasis from her family's financial woes in watching movies. Her father worked at racetracks, often as a horse groomer. She discovered a love of acting early in high school. At Rhode Island College, Davis earned her degree in theater in 1988. From there, she soon continued her studies at the famed Juill...
On the small screen, Davis tried her hand at series television with the medical drama City of Angeles, in 2000. She also made several guest appearances on other shows as well; one of her most notable performances was as a serial killer on Law & Order. It is one of her favorite roles, despite some negative reactions in the African American community...
After a few feature film parts, Davis caught the attention of critics with her small role in 2002's Antwone Fisher. She made the most out of her one scene in the film, in which she barely speaks. Her turn as the mother of a troubled navy sailor (Derek Luke) brought her critical praise and an Independent Spirit Award nomination.
In 2008 Davis' career reached new heights with her nuanced performance in Doubt. She, once again, made a tremendous impression with a small supporting role, and showed she could hold her own against some of Hollywood's greatest talents. In the film, Davis played the mother of a boy who may have been sexually assaulted by a priest (played byPhilip S...
Returning to the stage, Davis gave another show-stopping performance in Fencesin 2010. She co-starred with Denzel Washington in this revival of the August Wilson play, portraying the wife in a long-married couple whose relationship is falling apart. The pair had great chemistry together, creating a believable and compelling portrait of a struggling...
In 2011, Davis co-starred with Emma Stone, Octavia Spencer and Jessica Chastain in the film adaptation of the best-selling book The Helpby Kathryn Stockett. This 1960s drama shows the racial divide between white housewives and their African American servants in a Southern town. In the film, Davis plays Aibileen, a maid who is interviewed by a young...
Davis continued to take on interesting parts. She appeared in the 2013 sci-fi flick Ender's Game and played singer James Brown's mother in the 2014 biopic Get on Up. After her roles in the 2015 features Blackhat, with Chris Hemsworth, and Lila & Eve, with Jennifer Lopez, Davis featured prominently in the courtroom drama Custody and the action film ...
As an African American actress, Davis continues to look for more meaningful roles and perhaps start up some projects of her own. "It is a time when Black women now have no choice but to take matters in their own hands and create images for ourselves ... It's up to us to look for the material, it's up to us to produce it ourselves, it's up to us to ...
In 2014, Davis began her six-season run as Professor Annalise Keating in How to Get Away with Murder. The often edgy mystery drama series was the brainchild of Shonda Rhimes of Grey's Anatomy and Scandal fame. In 2015, Davis won an Emmy for her role and made history, becoming the first African American performer to win for Outstanding Lead Actress ...
Viola Davis is an award-winning actress who grew up in Rhode Island with a father who worked at racetracks. She has starred in Broadway plays, TV shows and films such as Fences, The Help and Doubt.
Feb 1, 2023 · With the help of the show's host, Henry Louis Gates Jr., Davis, who grew up in Rhode Island, learns that her maternal grandfather kept a secret about his paternity from the rest of his family.
- Chrissy Callahan
May 6, 2024 · Davis was raised in Central Falls, Rhode Island, where her father found work as a horse groom at nearby racetracks and her mother took on domestic and factory jobs. Their income was frequently insufficient to support the family, and they endured grim rat-infested apartments and occasional food shortages.
- Richard Pallardy
Apr 12, 2022 · When she was 14, Davis intervened in one of her parents’ fights for the first time. Her father stood opposite his wife, screaming and carrying on, a drinking glass in his hand like a dare.
