It’s official. Beautiful award-winning actress, Viola Davis, has become the first Black woman to win an Oscar, a Tony Award and an Emmy Award! She is truly having one career-defining year.
Viola Davis won the best supporting actress Oscar for her role in “Fences.” As soon as she took the stage, everyone knew we were in for a heck of a speech.
“You know, there is one place that all the people with the greatest potential are gathered and that’s the graveyard,” a teary-eyed Davis began. “People ask me all the time — what kind of stories do you want to tell, Viola? And I say exhume those bodies. Exhume those stories — the stories of the people who dreamed big and never saw those dreams to fruition, people who fell in love and lost.”
“I became an artist and thank God I did,” she continued “because we are the only profession that celebrates what it means to live a life.”
Prior to the movie “Fences,” Davis won an Emmy in 2015 for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for her work on “How to Get Away with Murder” and two Tony Awards, first in 2001 for her work in “King Hedley II” and then again in 2010 for her work in the Broadway rendition of “Fences.”
Her interview with InStyle magazine shares her growth, and what she’s realized about herself as she’s evolved over time.
She admits in the interview that she actually has to work really hard to look good, and that honestly if it wasn’t for paid stylists she probably wouldn’t be able to put the looks together that she hits the red carpet with. “Taking care of a 5-year-old, cooking at home, and running to the set when you’ve had four hours of sleep, you don’t feel like a movie star…then, every once in a while, you put something on that makes you feel cute,” she said.
Of her pre-stylist days she says, “Back in the day, my style was whatever was different and cheap. I was an artist, and I wanted my clothes to reflect that. I now understand fashion in a way that I don’t even have a language for. I know designers. Before, you could’ve put a gun to my head and asked me to name just one designer and I would’ve been dead.”
Davis is yet another example of a woman of color who has redefined what we are capable of achieving, as well as given Americans a different perspective on what it means to be beautiful and Black on both the inside and outside. Her talents and wisdom have touched the lives of many young women, and her courageousness is humbling.
On the cover, she rocks her natural ‘fro, her beautiful dark skin and her pristine smile. She is comfortable with who she is and what she stands for, and is proud of it. She tells Instyle, “What’s released me most from the fear of aging is self-awareness…I’ve never determined my value based on my looks or anything physical. I’ve been through a lot in life, and what has gotten me through is strength of character and faith.”
More positive images of Black women such as Davis need to be discussed in the media. Unfortunately, we have so much negativity influencing us it’s hard to find the ones who we really should be looking up to as role models. Davis makes it a point to mention that having adopted a daughter she understands how important setting a good example and focusing on building character and self-love are. She says she tells her daughter Genesis, “she was born from my heart, not my belly.” How precious is that!