Viola Davis
Born: 1965-08-11 in St. Matthews, South Carolina, USA
Known For: Acting
Biography
Viola Davis (/vaɪˈoʊlə/ vy-OH-lə; born August 11, 1965) is an American actress and film producer. Her accolades include both the Triple Crown of Acting and EGOT. Time named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2012 and 2017. The New York Times ranked her ninth on its list of the greatest actors of the 21st century (2020). Davis received the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2025. A graduate of Juilliard, Davis began her career in Central Falls, Rhode Island, appearing in small stage productions. She made her Broadway debut in the August Wilson play Seven Guitars (1996) for which she earned her first Tony nomination. She would later win two Tony Awards, both for Wilson plays. Her first win was for Best Featured Actress in a Play playing the titular character Tonya, a woman grappling with trauma and loss in King Hedley II (2001), followed by her second win for Best Actress in a Play playing Rose Maxson, a working class mother in Fences (2010). She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for reprising her role in the 2016 film adaptation of Fences. She was Oscar-nominated for playing a complex mother in Doubt (2008), a 1960s housemaid in The Help (2011) and Ma Rainey in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (2020). On television, she became the first black actress to win the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for her role as lawyer Annalise Keating in the ABC legal drama series How to Get Away with Murder (2014–2020). Davis joined the DCEU playing Amanda Waller starting with Suicide Squad (2016). She has also starred in the crime drama Widows(2018), and historical action film The Woman King (2022). Davis and her husband are founders of the production company JuVee Productions, and she is also widely recognized for her advocacy and support for human rights and women of color. She became a L'Oréal Paris ambassador in 2019. The audiobook narration of her 2022 memoir Finding Me won her the Grammy Award for Best Audio Book, Narration & Storytelling Recording. Description above from the Wikipedia article Viola Davis, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Filmography
2027
- Children of Blood and Bone as Mama Agba
2025
- G20 as President Danielle Sutton
- The Ebony Canal: A Story of Black Infant Mortality as Narration
- Number One on the Call Sheet as Self
- ASALI: Power of the Pollinators ... (Executive Producer)
2024
- Kung Fu Panda 4 as The Chameleon (voice)
- Hot Ones Versus as Self
- Creature Commandos as Amanda Waller (voice)
- Predator or Prey: Making The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes as Self (Dr. Volumnia Gaul)
2023
- The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes as Dr. Volumnia Gaul
- Air as Deloris Jordan
- Silver Dollar Road ... (Executive Producer)
2022
- Peacemaker as Amanda Waller (uncredited)
- The Jennifer Hudson Show as Self
- The Woman King as Nanisca
- Black Adam as Amanda Waller (uncredited)
- The First Lady as Michelle Obama
- Oprah + Viola: A Netflix Special Event as Self
2021
- The Suicide Squad as Amanda Waller
- The Unforgivable as Liz Ingram
- C ce soir, le débat as Self - Guest
2020
- Giving Voice as Self
- Dear... as Self
- Celebrity IOU as Self
- Ma Rainey's Black Bottom as Ma Rainey
2019
- The Kelly Clarkson Show as Self
- Troop Zero as Miss Rayleen
- Emanuel ... (Executive Producer)
- A Touch of Sugar as Narrator
- Live in Front of a Studio Audience: "All in the Family" and "Good Times" as Florida Evans
- In a Man's World ... (Executive Producer)
- On Broadway as Self (archive footage)
2018
- Widows as Veronica Rawlings
- Beyond Boundaries: The Harvey Weinstein Scandal as Self (archive footage)
- The Last Defense ... (Executive Producer)
2017
- Night Shift ... (Executive Producer)
2016
- Suicide Squad as Amanda Waller
- Custody as Martha Schulman
- Fences as Rose Maxson
2015
- The Late Show with Stephen Colbert as Self
- Hot Ones as Self
- Close Up with The Hollywood Reporter as Self
- Blackhat as Carol Barrett
- Lila & Eve as Lila Walcott
- August Wilson: The Ground on Which I Stand as Self
2014
- The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon as Self
- Late Night with Seth Meyers as Self - Guest
- How to Get Away with Murder as Annalise Keating
- Variety Studio: Actors on Actors as Self
- The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Her as Professor Lillian Friedman
- The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Him as Professor Lillian Friedman
- Get on Up as Susie Brown
- The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Them as Professor Lillian Friedman
2013
- Sofia the First as Helen Hanshaw (voice)
- Prisoners as Nancy Birch
- Love, Marilyn as Self
- Ender's Game as Major Gwen Anderson
- Beautiful Creatures as Amma Treadeau
2012
- Scandal as Annalise Keating
- Won't Back Down as Nona Alberts
2011
- The Help as Aibileen Clark
- Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close as Abby Black
2010
- Trust as Gail Friedman
- Knight and Day as CIA Director Isabel George
- Eat Pray Love as Delia Shiraz
- It's Kind of a Funny Story as Dr. Eden Minerva
2009
- Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen as Self - Guest
- Law Abiding Citizen as Mayor April Henry
- State of Play as Dr. Judith Franklin
- United States of Tara
- Beyond All Boundaries as Hortense Johnson
- Madea Goes to Jail as Ellen
- Doubt: Stage to Screen as Self
2008
- Nights in Rodanthe as Jean
- The Andromeda Strain as Dr. Charlene Barton
- Doubt as Mrs. Miller
2007
- The Graham Norton Show as Self
- Disturbia as Detective Parker
- Jesse Stone: Sea Change as Molly Crane
- Traveler as Agent Jan Marlow
2006
- Brothers and Sisters as Ellen Snyder
- The Architect as Tonya Neely
- Jesse Stone: Night Passage as Officer Molly Crane
- World Trade Center as Mother in Hospital
- Jesse Stone: Death in Paradise as Molly Crane
- Life Is Not a Fairytale: The Fantasia Barrino Story as Diane Barrino
- The Best of The Tony Awards: The Plays as Tonya (segment "King Hedley II")
2005
- Syriana as CIA Chairwoman
- Stone Cold as Molly Crane
- Threshold
- Get Rich or Die Tryin' as Grandma
2004
2003
- Jimmy Kimmel Live! as Self
2002
- Without a Trace as Audrey Williams
- Solaris as Gordon
- Hack as Stevie Morgan
- Far from Heaven as Sybil
- Live from E! as Self
- Antwone Fisher as Eva May
2001
- Law & Order: Criminal Intent as Terry Randolph
- The Guardian as Suzanna Clemons' Attorney
- Ocean's Eleven as Parole Board Interrogator (voice) (uncredited)
- The Division as Dr. Georgia Davis
- Kate & Leopold as Policewoman
- Amy & Isabelle as Dottie
- The Shrink Is In as Robin
2000
- CSI: Crime Scene Investigation as Attorney Campbell
- Traffic as Social Worker
- City of Angels as Lynnette Peeler
1999
- Law & Order: Special Victims Unit as Donna Emmett
- Third Watch as Margo Rodriguez
- Judging Amy as Celeste
- Providence as Dr. Eleanor Weiss
1998
- Out of Sight as Moselle
- Grace & Glorie as Rosemary Allbright
- The Pentagon Wars as Sgt. Fanning
- Miss Apprehension and Squirt as Sharon Hughes
1997
- The Practice as Aisha Crenshaw
- The View as Self - Guest
1996
- The Substance of Fire as Nurse
1993
- NYPD Blue as Woman
1989
- The Simpsons as Narrator (voice)
1979
- CBS News Sunday Morning as Self
1968
- 60 Minutes as Self
1959
- The Grammys as Self
1956
- Tony Awards as Self - Presenter
1953
- The Oscars as Self
1951
- Hallmark Hall of Fame as Rosemary Allbright
1944
- Golden Globe Awards as Self - Presenter