“I can change the way Black women are seen,” Viola Davis declared in a 2022 interview with The Guardian. Since the actress, known for her powerful and emotionally driven performances on both the big and small screens, came onto the scene, she has made it her business not only to deliver convincing, relatable portrayals but also to break open the box that Black actresses are often confined to.
Throughout her several decades-long career, Davis has managed to do that and more.
Viola Davis was born on August 11, 1965, in St. Matthews, South Carolina. Not long after Davis was born, her family moved to Central Falls, Rhode Island. There, Davis began acting, first by performing skits at the park — one skit, she clarifies, that was written and performed by her sisters and her for a contest — then by participating in plays at her alma mater, Central Falls High School. Read more at www.thegrio.com.
