Who is Viola Davis?

Viola Davis is an American actress and producer. She is best known for the portrayal of lawyer Annalise Keating in the ABC television drama How to Get Away with Murder (2014-present). She is also famous for playing Amanda Waller in the superhero action film Suicide Squad and reprised the role of Rose Maxson in the film adaptation of Fences.

For her role in Fences, Davis won the Academy Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. She is the only African-American woman to be nominated for three Academy Awards. She is also the only black actress to win the Triple Crown of Acting.

Viola Davis’s Early Life, Childhood, and Education

Viola Davis was born on 11 August 1965, in Saint Matthews, South Carolina, USA. She is the daughter of African-American parents Mary Alice Davis and Dan Davis. She is the second youngest of six siblings. Her father worked as a horse trainer and her mother was a factory worker and homemaker. Her mother was an activist during the Civil Rights Movement. Viola is an American by nationality and belongs to African-American ethnicity.

Davis was taken to jail with her mother after she was arrested during a civil rights protest at the age of two. During her childhood, her family moved to Central Falls, Rhode Island. She spent her early life in Central Falls, Rhode Island with her siblings and grandparents.

Davis completed her high school education from Central Falls High School.  During her teenage time, she got involved in many programs such as TRIO Upward Bound and TRIO Student Support Services. After high school, she attended Young People’s School for the Performing Arts in West Warwick, Rhode Island. From there, she graduated in 1988. After that, she attended the Juilliard School in 1989 and graduated in 1993.