Viola Davis is an American actress. The recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and two Tony Awards, she is the first African-American to achieve the Triple Crown of Acting.
Davis grew up in Central Falls, Rhode Island, where her father worked as a horse groom at local racetracks while her mother worked in the house and factory.
Their salary was frequently insufficient to feed the family, and they lived in filthy, rat-infested flats with food shortages on occasion.
Davis began acting in school plays and theater competitions as a child. She enrolled in Rhode Island College and graduated in 1988 with a bachelor’s degree in theatre.
She received a full scholarship to the Young Peoples School for the Performing Arts in Rhode Island before enrolling at the Juilliard School, where she graduated in 1994.
Davis made her Broadway debut in August Wilson’s Seven Guitars in 1996, as the long-suffering paramour of a freshly released musician, earning her a Tony Award nomination for her portrayal.
In the same year, she made her cinematic debut in the drama The Substance of Fire, in which she played a minor role.
Are Viola Davis and Meryl Streep friends?
Viola Davis proved to the world that being best friends with Meryl Streep is as great as one can expect. At the Time 100 Gala on April 25, 2017, Davis raved about their bond.
“What I love about Meryl is I always feel like she sees me,” she told Entertainment Tonight. “I never feel like the words she has for me are haphazard. I feel like they’re very specific and they’re well thought out and that makes me feel good.”
