“You can't be perceived as 'the black actress who doesn't get the same kind of roles as the white actress.' You gotta run the same race. You gotta give the same quality of performances. You gotta have the same standard of excellence, even though people know that you're coming to the race in a deficit. That's just what life is about.”

American actress and film producer

Viola Davis is an American actress and film producer. She is known for work on stage and screen, and for earning both the Triple Crown of Acting and EGOT honors. Time named her among the world’s 100 most influential people in 2012 and 2017. Her reputation rests on a body of performances that has drawn major recognition across film, television, and theatre. In 2020, The New York Times placed her ninth on its list of the greatest actors of the 21st century. In 2025, she received the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the Golden Globe awards.