Viola Davis is the third black woman to reach EGOT status, and she won’t be the last. She was able to accept her Grammy for the best audiobook, narration, and storytelling recording for her memoir, Finding Me.
But first, what is an EGOT? EGOT stands for Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony recipient. Only 18 people in history have been able to reach this status and only four of them are black. The first black woman to win was Whoopi Goldberg in 2002. There is only one black male winner and that is John Legend in 2017. Just last year, in 2022, Jennifer Hudson was able to join the list.
Davis is 57 years old and has been acting for 27 years; she is at the top of her game. Her roles started with mere TV show performances in 1996, but soon she was able to work her way up into the big leagues. By 2001, she would receive her first Tony award for King Hedley II. The story of King Hedley II shows the battle women have with pregnancy. Her remarkable work for Fences earned her yet another Tony award in 2010.
In Fences, Davis would perform the show live alongside her co-star, Denzel Washington. They played a married couple living in the 1950s. This heart-wrenching story shows what a woman is willing to give up for her husband but not for herself. It wasn’t until 2016 when Fences was finally greenlit to become a movie and her emotional work would result in her earning an Oscar in 2017.
Arguably, Davis’ most known role is for her iconic show, How to Get Away With Murder. She played the lead character, Annalise Keating, for six years. Her character is a tough law professor, who challenges her students to get away with murder. In 2015, just a year after the show’s debut, Davis won an Emmy. The show ended in 2020, but Davis’ performance will always be legendary.
After some time, Davis was able to get her Grammy on Feb. 5. Her memoir Finding Me is all about her upbringing. She shares intimate parts throughout the course of her life. She talks about her family life and how it wasn’t the best. She mentions the racism she dealt with at an early age and how she has become stronger from its impact.
Davis wrote this book to honor her six-year-old self. To honor her life, her joy, and her trauma. This isn’t the last we will hear from Viola Davis; she will continue to break barriers, to open the door for future generations.
Her work isn’t done yet as she has future projects coming out. Her next big role will be in The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. This is the prequel to The Hunger Games; Davis will be playing Dr. Gaul. The movie is set to come out at the end of 2023, and we are sure Davis will knock out the role.