Viola Davis is a critically revered, award-winning actress, producer, and New York Times Best-Selling Author. She is the first black actress to win two Tony Awards (“Fences” & “King Hedley II”), an Oscar (“Fences”), and an Emmy (“How to Get Away with Murder”). Davis was most recently seen starring in “The Woman King,” which she also produced.Here is the story of Viola Davis:The life into which she was born was hardly one of abundant promise. Viola Davis (born August 11th, 1965 in Saint Matthews, South Carolina) is the second-youngest of six siblings. Her father was a horse groomer and her mother a maid. As a young child, she often went hungry. Even though her parents were hard-working and received a welfare check, what money there was always gone after a few days. Growing up and experiencing the reality of abject poverty as a child in Central Falls, Rhode Island, Viola Davis took this life experience as motivation to build a better life. She was inspired by many actresses, especially by the role of Cicely Tyson in The Autobiography of Miss Pittman – (with whom she later shared the screen).Davis attended Rhode Island College in Providence in 1988 on a full scholarship and majored in theatre. She later graduated from the prestigious Julliard School of Art in New York City after four years of study.Every stage of her career brought “another barrier and another dragon to slay” as she puts it. Her small screen starting point was a one-day appearance in The Substance of Fire (1996), playing a nurse and earning $518. Davis started her TV acting career in 1996, starring in an episode of the popular cop show NYPD Blue. However, it wasn’t until four years later that Davis got her first taste of fame, playing Nurse Lynnette Peeler in…
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