
Viola Davis
Viola Davis (/vaɪˈoʊlə/ vy-OH-lə; born August 11, 1965) is an American actress and film producer. Her accolades include both the Triple Crown of Acting and EGOT. Time named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2012 and 2017. The New York Times ranked her ninth on its list of the greatest actors of the 21st century (2020). Davis received the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2025. 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 titular 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 M…
Acting
- 2025Number One on the Call SheetSelf1 ep.
- 2025Good Hang with Amy PoehlerSelf - Guest1 ep.
- 2024Creature CommandosAmanda Waller (voice)4 ep.
- 2024Hollywood BlackSelf (archive footage)4 ep.
- 2024Hot Ones VersusSelf1 ep.
- 2022The Jennifer Hudson ShowSelf3 ep.
- 2022The First LadyMichelle Obama10 ep.
- 2022PeacemakerAmanda Waller (uncredited)2 ep.
- 2021C ce soirSelf - Guest1 ep.
- 2020Dear...Self1 ep.
- 2020Celebrity IOUSelf1 ep.
- 2015Close Up with The Hollywood ReporterSelf1 ep.
- 2014Variety Studio: Actors on ActorsSelf4 ep.
- 2014How to Get Away with MurderAnnalise Keating90 ep.
- 2014The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy FallonSelf - Guest5 ep.
- 2013Sofia the FirstHelen Hanshaw (voice)1 ep.
- 2009United States of Tara1 ep.
- 2008The Andromeda StrainDr. Charlene Barton2 ep.
- 2007TravelerAgent Jan Marlow8 ep.
- 2005Threshold1 ep.
- 2004Century CityHannah Crane9 ep.
- 2002HackStevie Morgan1 ep.
- 2002Live from E!Self1 ep.
- 2000City of AngelsLynnette Peeler25 ep.
- 1999Law & Order: Special Victims UnitDonna Emmett7 ep.
- 1996Access HollywoodSelf1 ep.
- 1995The Actor Awards Presented by SAG-AFTRASelf1 ep.
- 1993NYPD BlueWoman1 ep.
- 1979CBS News Sunday MorningSelf1 ep.
- 196860 MinutesSelf1 ep.
- —AscentCatriona Vail1 ep.
Behind the camera
- 2025Number One on the Call SheetExecutive Producer1 ep.
- 2022The First LadyExecutive Producer10 ep.
- 2019In a Man's WorldExecutive Producer4 ep.
- 2018The Last DefenseExecutive Producer7 ep.
- 2014How to Get Away with MurderProducer90 ep.
- —Rise of the EmpressExecutive Producer
Guest appearances
- 2026Good Hang with Amy PoehlerSelf - Guest1 ep.
- 2025The Kelly Clarkson ShowSelf2 ep.
- 2018The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy FallonSelf, Self - Guest5 ep.
- 2018The ViewSelf, Self - Guest4 ep.
- 2026The Actor Awards Presented by SAG-AFTRASelf1 ep.
- 2025The SimpsonsNarrator (voice)1 ep.
- 2025Hot Ones VersusSelf1 ep.
- 2022The Jennifer Hudson ShowSelf3 ep.
- 2025Late Night with Seth MeyersSelf - Guest1 ep.
- 2025Number One on the Call SheetSelf1 ep.
- 2024Creature CommandosAmanda Waller (voice)4 ep.
- 2023C ce soirSelf - Guest1 ep.
- 2015Variety Studio: Actors on ActorsSelf4 ep.
- 2015Jimmy Kimmel Live!Self, Self - Guest5 ep.
- 2022Hot OnesSelf1 ep.
- 2022Dear...Self1 ep.
- 2022PeacemakerAmanda Waller (uncredited)2 ep.
- 2021The OscarsSelf1 ep.
- 2020The Graham Norton ShowSelf1 ep.
- 2020CBS News Sunday MorningSelf1 ep.
- 2020Access HollywoodSelf1 ep.
- 202060 MinutesSelf1 ep.
- 2020Celebrity IOUSelf1 ep.
- 2018ScandalAnnalise Keating1 ep.
- 2016Watch What Happens Live with Andy CohenSelf - Guest1 ep.
- 2015The Late Show with Stephen ColbertSelf, Self - Guest2 ep.
- 2015Close Up with The Hollywood ReporterSelf1 ep.
- 2014Live from E!Self1 ep.
- 2013Sofia the FirstHelen Hanshaw (voice)1 ep.
- 2012The Ellen DeGeneres ShowSelf1 ep.
- 2010United States of Tara1 ep.
- 2009The Tonight Show with Jay LenoSelf - Guest1 ep.
- 2003Law & Order: Special Victims UnitDonna Emmett7 ep.
- 2008Brothers and SistersEllen Snyder1 ep.
- 2006Without a TraceAudrey Williams1 ep.
- 2005Threshold1 ep.
- 2004Tony AwardsSelf - Presenter1 ep.
- 2003The PracticeAisha Crenshaw1 ep.
- 2003HackStevie Morgan1 ep.
- 2002CSI: Crime Scene InvestigationAttorney Campbell1 ep.
- 2002Law & Order: Criminal IntentTerry Randolph1 ep.
- 2002The DivisionDr. Georgia Davis1 ep.
- 2001Third WatchMargo Rodriguez1 ep.
- 2001The GuardianSuzanna Clemons' Attorney1 ep.
- 2001ProvidenceDr. Eleanor Weiss1 ep.
- 2000Judging AmyCeleste1 ep.
- 1998Hallmark Hall of FameRosemary Allbright1 ep.
- 1996NYPD BlueWoman1 ep.