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Viola Davis

Actor, producer and author

Born 1965

Viola Davis is an American actor, producer and author born on August 11, 1965, in St. Matthews, South Carolina. She grew up in Central Falls, Rhode Island. In her Fresh Air conversation, she described poverty and being singled out as part of a Black family, alongside the ambition she shared with her siblings. Their childhood theatre was practical: they wrote a skit for a competition at Jenks Park, assigned themselves production jobs, rehearsed and organised costumes. Winning the contest gave an early experience of making a performance together. Davis recalled that her later stage characters were often more substantial than the brief screen appearances available to her. The interview preserves her account of that development before the widely recognised leading roles. Rhode Island College, where she graduated in 1988, preceded further training at Juilliard. In her Rhode Island Monthly conversation, Davis connected theatre with the possibilities she saw in Cicely Tyson’s work. The local education and early interest in performance remained part of her account after international recognition. Her BAFTA career conversation follows the transition from actor training into professional theatre and screen work. The stage allowed a fuller range of characters, while early film parts were often brief. Doubt gave her a concentrated scene with Meryl Streep, and the discussion treats the character’s perspective as the centre of her preparation. Davis describes acting through the circumstances of a particular person rather than through a general idea of a type. The television lead in How to Get Away with Murder later widened the space available for a complex character. Producing with Julius Tennon gave her another way to develop such opportunities. Broadway roles include Vera in Seven Guitars, Tonya in King Hedley II and Rose in Fences. The 2004 opening of Roundabout’s Laura Pels Theatre included her performance in Lynn Nottage’s Intimate Apparel. Doubt cast her as Mrs. Miller in 2008. The Help followed in 2011, with Davis playing Aibileen Clark. Discussing Aibileen, she drew on memories of her mother and grandmother to think about the character’s inner life. When she spoke to Emory students in 2014, Davis was working in Atlanta on Lila & Eve. Her advice joined craft with the realities of employment: an actor needed preparation and a clear understanding of a character, while also recognising the practical pressures of paid work. She described her training and career as a continuing process of finding truthful performances. The campus exchange offers an account of her methods from the period when her film visibility was growing, before the later Emmy, Oscar and Grammy milestones. Annalise Keating in How to Get Away with Murder brought the 2015 Emmy for a lead actress in a drama series. The 2016 Fences film returned her to Rose Maxson. Fences brought her a supporting-actress Oscar in 2017. Her 2023 Grammy completed the Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony set known as EGOT. Widows cast her as Veronica in 2018. Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom gave her its title role in 2020. The Woman King paired the role of Nanisca with preparation described by trainer Gabriela Mclain: conditioning, martial arts and strength work supported the film’s physical performances. The First Lady cast her as Michelle Obama and credited her as an executive producer, placing performance and production together in the 2022 series. Corduroy Takes a Bow, her 2018 children’s book illustrated by Jody Wheeler, brought her theatre experience into writing for young readers. Writing Finding Me added an account of her own life to the work of portraying other people. In the Recording Academy conversation before her first Grammy result, Davis explained the demands of recording the memoir herself. The voice work required preparation and control, but it also carried the emotional weight of returning to remembered experiences. Narration became another form of performance, with her own story supplying the material rather than a fictional character. The conversation distinguishes the process of making the audiobook from the award that followed. Books remain part of that development. In her March 2026 interview, Davis recalled reading The Color Purple as a teenager and using Celie’s material for an audition. She also discussed Judge Stone, the novel she coauthored with James Patterson, alongside books by other writers. G20 cast her as President Danielle Sutton, with Patricia Riggen directing the released Prime Video film. Davis is also credited as a producer on G20. Her 2025 NewBeauty conversation connected visibility and self-worth with her work as a L’Oréal ambassador. The commercial setting is part of the attribution for her beauty answers. The latest checked project announcement is Ascent. Paramount+ announced Davis as corporate fixer Catriona Vail and as an executive producer in August 2026. Production is planned for 2027; the announcement does not give a release date. Children of Blood and Bone is separately scheduled for January 15, 2027. She married actor Julius Tennon on June 23, 2003. They work together through JuVee Productions.

Verified identityCore facts checked against named sources.

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Connected people

ConnectionJulius TennonSpouse and JuVee collaborator.

ConnectionJames PattersonJudge Stone coauthor.

ConnectionGabriela MclainThe Woman King trainer.

Selected career chronology

Credits Index

Major screen, stage, music, sport or broadcast work. This is a selected public-career index, not a complete employment history.

Year	Title	Medium	Role	IMDb
1996	The Substance of Fire	Film	Nurse	IMDb
1996	Seven Guitars	Stage	Vera	—
1998	The Pentagon Wars	Television film	Sgt. Fanning	IMDb
1998	Out of Sight	Film	Moselle	IMDb
2000	Traffic	Film	Social Worker	IMDb
2000	City of Angels	Television series	Nurse Lynnette Peeler	IMDb
2001	Kate & Leopold	Film	Policewoman	IMDb
2001	King Hedley II	Stage	Tonya	—
2002	Antwone Fisher	Film	Eva May	IMDb
2002	Solaris	Film	Gordon	IMDb
2002	Far from Heaven	Film	Sybil	IMDb
2004	Century City	Television series	Hannah Crane	IMDb
2004	Intimate Apparel	Stage	Stage performer — Roundabout production	—
2005	Get Rich or Die Tryin’	Film	Grandma	IMDb
2006	The Architect	Film	Tonya Neely	IMDb
2006	Life Is Not a Fairytale: The Fantasia Barrino Story	Television film	Diane Barrino	IMDb
2007	Disturbia	Film	Detective Parker	IMDb
2008	Nights in Rodanthe	Film	Jean	IMDb
2008	Doubt	Film	Mrs. Miller	IMDb
2009	State of Play	Film	Dr. Judith Franklin	IMDb
2009	Law Abiding Citizen	Film	Mayor	IMDb
2010	Eat Pray Love	Film	Delia Shiraz	IMDb
2010	Knight and Day	Film	Director George	IMDb
2010	Trust	Film	Gail Friedman	IMDb
2010	Fences	Stage	Rose	—
2011	The Help	Film	Aibileen Clark	IMDb
2011	Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close	Film	Abby Black	IMDb
2012	Won’t Back Down	Film	Nona Alberts	IMDb
2013	Beautiful Creatures	Film	Amma	IMDb
2013	Prisoners	Film	Nancy Birch	IMDb
2013	Ender’s Game	Film	Major Gwen Anderson	IMDb
2014	How to Get Away with Murder	Television series	Annalise Keating — 2014–2020	IMDb
2015	Blackhat	Film	Carol Barrett	IMDb
2015	Lila & Eve	Film	Lila	IMDb
2015	Lila & Eve	Film	Executive producer	IMDb
2016	Custody	Film	Martha	IMDb
2016	Suicide Squad	Film	Amanda Waller	IMDb
2016	Fences	Film	Rose Maxson	IMDb
2016	How to Get Away with Murder	Television series	Producer — verified 2016 episode	IMDb
2018	Scandal: Allow Me to Reintroduce Myself	Television episode	Annalise Keating — guest	IMDb
2018	Widows	Film	Veronica	IMDb
2018	The Last Defense	Documentary series	Executive producer	IMDb
2018	Corduroy Takes a Bow	Book	Author	—
2019	Troop Zero	Film	Miss Rayleen	IMDb
2019	A Touch of Sugar	Short documentary	Self — narrator	IMDb
2019	Troop Zero	Film	Producer	IMDb
2019	Emanuel	Documentary	Executive producer	IMDb
2020	Giving Voice	Documentary	Self	IMDb
2020	Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom	Film	Ma Rainey	IMDb
2020	Giving Voice	Documentary	Executive producer	IMDb
2021	The Suicide Squad	Film	Amanda Waller	IMDb
2021	The Unforgivable	Film	Liz Ingram	IMDb
2022	Peacemaker	Television series	Amanda Waller — uncredited 2022 appearances	IMDb
2022	Black Adam	Film	Amanda Waller	IMDb
2022	The First Lady	Television series	Michelle Obama	IMDb
2022	The Woman King	Film	Nanisca	IMDb
2022	The First Lady	Television series	Executive producer	IMDb
2022	The Woman King	Film	Producer	IMDb
2022	Finding Me	Book	Author	—
2023	Air	Film	Deloris Jordan	IMDb
2023	The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes	Film	Dr. Volumnia Gaul	IMDb
2024	Kung Fu Panda 4	Film	The Chameleon — voice	IMDb
2024	Creature Commandos	Television series	Amanda Waller — voice	IMDb
2025	G20	Film	President Danielle Sutton	IMDb
2025	G20	Film	Producer	IMDb
2026	Judge Stone	Book	Coauthor with James Patterson	—
2027	Children of Blood and Bone	Film	Mama Agba — forthcoming	IMDb
—	Ascent	Television series	Catriona Vail — announced; production planned for 2027	—
—	Ascent	Television series	Executive producer — announced	—