Age, Biography & Wiki
Viola Davis was born on August 11, 1965, in St. Matthews, South Carolina, making her 59 years old in 2025. She is the fifth of six children in her family. Davis spent much of her childhood in Central Falls, Rhode Island, where she developed a passion for acting through high school theater. Her persistence and talent led her to become one of the most respected actresses in Hollywood, known for both stage and screen performances.
Her cousin is actor Mike Colter, best known for his role as Luke Cage in Marvel’s Netflix series.
| Occupation | Stage Actress |
|---|---|
| Date of Birth | 11 August 1965 |
| Age | 59 Years |
| Birth Place | St. Matthews, South Carolina, U.S. |
| Horoscope | Leo |
| Country | U.S |
Height, Weight & Measurements
Viola Davis stands at approximately 5 feet 5 inches (165 cm) tall. While her exact weight is not publically confirmed, various industry sources estimate her weight to be around 125 lbs (57 kg). Body measurements are not officially disclosed, but her commanding presence on screen and stage is widely acknowledged.
| Height | 5 feet 5 inches |
| Weight | 125 lbs |
| Body Measurements | |
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Dating & Relationship Status
Viola Davis is married to actor Julius Tennon, whom she met in 1999. The couple tied the knot in 2003 and have since become known for their strong partnership, both personally and professionally. Davis and Tennon adopted a daughter named Genesis in 2011.
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 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 DC Extended Universe playing Amanda Waller starting with Suicide Squad (2016), and reprises her role in the rebooted DC Universe. 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.
Matthews, South Carolina, to Mae Alice Davis (née Logan) and Dan Davis. Her father was a horse trainer, and her mother was a maid, factory worker and homemaker. She is the second youngest of six children, having four sisters and a brother.
Her mother was also an activist during the Civil Rights Movement. When she was two years old, Davis was taken to jail with her mother after she was arrested during a civil rights protest. She has described herself as having "lived in abject poverty and dysfunction" during her childhood, recalling living in "rat-infested and condemned" apartments. Davis is a second cousin of actor Mike Colter, known for portraying the Marvel Comics character Luke Cage.
In 2001, she returned to the Broadway stage in another play by August Wilson titled King Hedley II, portraying Tonya, a "35-year-old mother fighting eloquently for the right to abort a pregnancy." Her performance earned critical attention, and she received her first Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play and a Drama Desk Award. She won another Drama Desk Award for her work in a 2004 off-Broadway production of Intimate Apparel by Lynn Nottage.
In August 2011, Davis starred as Aibileen Clark, a housemaid in 1960s Mississippi, in the film adaptation of Kathryn Stockett's novel The Help, directed by Tate Taylor, and co-starring alongside Emma Stone, Octavia Spencer, Bryce Dallas Howard, and Jessica Chastain. Davis described her performance in the film as channeling her mother and grandmother saying, "I feel like I brought my mom to life; I've channeled her spirit. I channeled the spirit of my grandmother, and I've kind of paid homage to how they've contributed to my life and the lives of so many people". She has since expressed deep regret over taking on the role; although she still admires the people she worked with, she does not think the story or portrayal is truthful about the lives of the black characters. Davis gained praise for her work and eventually won two Screen Actors Guild Awards, in addition to receiving her second Academy Award nomination, as well as Golden Globe Award and BAFTA Award nominations.
In 2012, Time magazine listed Davis as one of the most influential people in the world. Also in 2012, Glamour magazine named Davis Glamour's Film Actress of the year. On June 12, 2012, Davis received the Women in Film's Crystal Award. In 2014, Davis reunited with The Help director Tate Taylor in Get on Up, a biopic of James Brown, playing Brown's mother. Her daughter, Genesis, also appeared in the film.
Davis was awarded an honorary doctorate in Fine Arts from her undergraduate alma mater, Rhode Island College, in 2002. On January 20, 2020, Davis was awarded an honorary doctoral degree in fine arts from Indiana University. In February 2023, she was awarded the Grammy Award for Best Audio Book, Narration & Storytelling Recording for the narration to her 2022 autobiography Finding Me, making her the 18th person to achieve EGOT status. In 2024 it was announced she would receive the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award. In December of 2024, the Coalition for Faith and Media presented Davis and her husband Julius Tennon with an inaugural Faith and Spirituality in Entertainment Honor for the work of their production company JuVee Productions.
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| Husband | Julius Tennon (m. 2003) |
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Net Worth and Salary
Viola Davis’s net worth is estimated to be between $25 million and $13 million in 2025, with most reputable sources citing the higher figure as more accurate, reflecting earnings from acting, producing, and endorsements. Her salary per project can reach into the millions, with some years seeing earnings as high as $15 million from major film and television roles.
Recent reports suggest her annual salary from acting and producing is approximately $250,000 to $2 million, though this varies significantly depending on her projects and business ventures.
Career, Business and Investments
Viola Davis’s career began in theater, where she earned critical acclaim and Tony Awards for her performances in “King Hedley II” and “Fences.” She successfully transitioned to film and television, winning an Academy Award for “Fences” and an Emmy for “How to Get Away with Murder.” Her portrayal of Amanda Waller in DC Extended Universe films further expanded her reach and box office credibility.
Davis co-founded JuVee Productions with her husband, Julius Tennon, focusing on diverse storytelling in film and television. The company has produced several successful projects, increasing her influence and financial independence in the industry. Ongoing projects, such as “Two Butterflies,” and potential directorial ventures, signal continued growth for her business portfolio.
In February 2014, Davis was cast in Peter Nowalk's pilot How to Get Away with Murder (executive produced by Shonda Rhimes for her ShondaLand production company) as the lead character. Her character, Annalise Keating, is a tough criminal defense attorney and professor who becomes entangled in murder plot with her students. It began as a series in September 2014. In September 2015, Davis became the first African-American to win the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for her role on How to Get Away with Murder. She received a second Primetime Emmy Award nomination for the role in 2016. Davis also won two Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series in 2014 and 2015. She received nominations from the Golden Globe Awards for Best Actress – Television Series Drama and Critics' Choice Award for Best Actress in a Drama Series for her performance on the show.
In 2011, Davis donated funds to her hometown public library in Central Falls, Rhode Island, to assist in preventing its closure due to a lack of city funding. In 2018, Davis donated funds to her alma mater, Central Falls High School, for its theater program.
Social Network
Viola Davis maintains an active presence on social media platforms, particularly Instagram and Twitter, where she engages with fans, promotes her work, and shares personal insights. Her Instagram (@violadavis) boasts millions of followers, making her a prominent figure in the digital space. She uses these platforms to advocate for social justice, diversity, and empowerment within the industry and beyond.
In 1992, Davis starred in her first professional stage role, an off Broadway production of William Shakespeare's comedy As You Like It as Denis alongside Elizabeth McGovern at the Delacorte Theatre. In 1996, Davis made her Broadway debut in the original Broadway production of August Wilson's Seven Guitars as the Vera, alongside Keith David. The play opened on Broadway on March 6 at the Walter Kerr Theatre. She earned critical praise for her performance. That same year, Davis received her Screen Actors Guild card in 1996 for doing one day of work, playing a nurse who passes a vial of blood to future How to Get Away with Murder co-star Timothy Hutton in the film The Substance of Fire (1996). She was paid $518. Davis continued acting off Broadway in various productions, and appeared in bit parts on television including episodes of NYPD Blue (1996), and New York Undercover (1996). She also appeared in the HBO television military comedy film, The Pentagon Wars (1996) starring Kelsey Grammer, and Cary Elwes. In 1998, she played a small role in Steven Soderbergh's crime comedy film Out of Sight (1999).
In 2010 Davis had small roles in the romantic comedy thriller Knight and Day starring Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz and the romantic comedy Eat Pray Love starring Julia Roberts. That same year she also played the role of Dr. Minerva in It's Kind of a Funny Story (2010), a coming-of-age film written and directed by Anna Boden with Ryan Fleck, adapted from the 2006 novel by Ned Vizzini.
In 2017, Davis was presented with the 2,597th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame by her Doubt co-star and friend Meryl Streep. While accepting the honor, Davis said: "It's like my life flashing before my eyes, and all I can say is, God has blessed my life in abundance." Davis was also listed among and a featured cover star of Time magazine's "100 Most Influential People" List for the second time, her first being in 2012. Streep penned the article in the magazine, referring to Davis as having "carved a place for herself on the Mount Rushmore of the 21st century", commenting that "her gifts as an artist are unassailable, undeniable, deep and rich and true. But her importance in the culture – her ability to identify it, her willingness to speak about it and take on responsibility for it – is what marks her for greatness." In March 2017, Davis was awarded the Artist of the Year Award at Harvard University.
In 2021, Davis reprised her role as Amanda Waller in the superhero film The Suicide Squad. Also in 2021, she appeared alongside Sandra Bullock in the drama film The Unforgivable, directed by Nora Fingscheidt. Davis appeared uncredited as Amanda Waller in two episodes, "A Whole New Whirled" and "It's Cow or Never", in season 1 of the show Peacemaker, a spin-off of The Suicide Squad, and in the film, Black Adam. Davis executive produced and played former First Lady Michelle Obama in The First Lady, a Showtime drama series. It premiered in April 2022. After receiving criticism on social media for her portrayal, Davis responded by calling the disapproval "incredibly hurtful" and saying "it is my job as a leader to make bold choices." In 2022, Davis starred in The Woman King, inspired by true events that took place within The Kingdom of Dahomey. The film tells the story of Nanisca, the general of an all-female military unit, played by Davis, and her daughter Nawi, played by Thuso Mbedu. Davis was the narrator at Disney's Candlelight Processional at Disneyland in 2022. In August 2022, it was reported that Davis was cast as Head Gamemaker Dr. Volumnia Gaul in the prequel to The Hunger Games film series, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.
Education
Viola Davis’s educational journey began at Central Falls High School, which inspired her love for theater. After high school, she joined the Young People’s School for the Performing Arts in West Warwick, where her talent was recognized by director Bernard Masterson. She then attended Rhode Island College, majoring in theater, before further honing her craft at the prestigious Juilliard School, where she spent four years in the Drama Division.
Davis attended Central Falls High School, the alma mater to which she partially credits her love of stage acting with her involvement in the arts. As a teenager, she was involved in the federal TRIO Upward Bound and TRIO Student Support Services programs. While enrolled at the Young People's School for the Performing Arts in West Warwick, Rhode Island, Davis's talent was recognized by a director at the program, Bernard Masterson. After graduating from high school, Davis studied at Rhode Island College, majoring in theater and participating in the National Student Exchange before graduating in 1988.
Next, she attended the Juilliard School of Performing Arts in New York City for four years, and was a member of the school's Drama Division "Group 22" (1989–93). In a 2025 interview, Davis said of her education at Juliard helped her become a better "white actress" but not necessarily a better actor. She explained that formal technical training she received helped her play classic roles from Shakespeare, Chekov, O'Neill, and Strindberg, but added "what it denies is the human being behind all that, and as a black actress I'm always asked to show range by doing white work". She noted that "I can do the best that I can with Tennessee Williams but he writes for fragile white women. Beautiful work, but it's not me". She opined that black playwrights such as August Wilson and Lorraine Hansberry aren't studied in the same way as the others she had learn from.
Summary Table
| Attribute | Details |
|---|---|
| Birthdate | August 11, 1965 |
| Age (2025) | 59 |
| Height | 5'5" (165 cm) |
| Weight | ~125 lbs (57 kg) |
| Net Worth (2025) | $13–25 million (most sources: $25 million) |
| Spouse | Julius Tennon (married 2003) |
| Children | Genesis (adopted, b. 2011) |
| Major Awards | EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony) |
| Education | Juilliard School, Rhode Island College |
| Business | JuVee Productions (co-founder) |
| Social Media | Instagram, Twitter |
