Viola Davis may be one of the most successful actresses, writer, and producer in the world today — but she didn’t always have it easy. The actress once revealed that her humble upbringing forced her to go to extremes to avoid going hungry.“I grew up in abject poverty. I dumpster-dived. I stole money for food.” Fortunately, though, Viola Davis has come a long way from that reality and has become one of the highest-paid actors today. Davis was listed by Forbes as the tenth highest-paid TV actress in the world, all thanks to seven-figure salaries from her work on Netflix’s How to Get Away with Murder and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, between September 2019 and September 2020 she earned $15M. She is also one of the most decorated individuals in the TV/Movie industry, earning the so-called “Triple Crown of Acting” (an Oscar, an Emmy, and a Tony award) but Davis’s talent goes far beyond her acting chops, she has amassed a reported net worth of $30m through producing, acting, owing a TV & Movie production company, real estate investments and many more.
Viola was born in 1965 in St. Matthews, South Carolina on a farm. Her father was working as a horse trainer at the time of her birth, and her mother was a maid and an activist within the Civil Rights Movement. Growing up in Rhode Island wasn't easy for Davis, as she lived in serious poverty within run-down apartment buildings. Viola is one of five kids. Two months after her birth, the family moved to Central Falls, Rhode Island, with two of her sisters, leaving her older sister and brother with her grandparents. Interesting enough her cousin is actor Mike Colter, who plays the Marvel Comics character, Luke Cage. Growing up, she attended Central Falls High School, the school she credits with inspiring her love of stage acting.
Davis’s career began in 1999, 7 years after her graduation from Julliard School. The star won her first accolade for starring in Everybody’s Ruby. After that, Davis appeared in small roles across TV and film, but her first major recognition came when she starred in the Broadway production of King Hedley II in 2001. Her performance bagged her a Tony Award, but it wasn’t until 2008 that Davis would start getting noticed for her incredible talent. That year, Davis appeared in Doubt alongside Meryl Streep and Phillip Seymour Hoffman, in a role Oprah said she wanted but was turned down for. The role earned Davis her first Oscar nomination even though she had less than 11 minutes of screen time. Great success came to the star in the 2010s when she won another Tony for her role in the Broadway revival of Fences.
In 2011, Davis won even more recognition for her role in The Help receiving another Oscar nod and a Screen Actors Guild Award. From 2014 to 2016, Davis played the lead role in the legal drama How to Get Away with Murder. Her role in the series made her the first Black female actor to take home the Primetime Emmy in the Outstanding Lead Actress in A Drama Series category. Davis later became the only Black actor to achieve the Triple Crown of Acting after winning an Oscar for her role in the film adaptation of Fences. For her role as Annalise Keating in HTGAWM, Davis received $250,000 per episode. Since the show only had 15 episodes per season, it meant that Davis was taking home $3.75 million every year.
Davis teamed up with her husband and producing partner, Julius Tennon, to launch JuVee Productions, a production company that aims to become the “go-to creative hub where the next generation of filmmakers and artists have the space to craft dynamic stories spanning the broad spectrum of humanity.” Viola said she launched her production company out of ‘necessity’ After being nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for her starring role in “The Help,” Viola Davis figured she had proven herself to Hollywood that she could be the lead in a movie. However, the highly decorated actress says most of the offers she received post-Oscars were for supporting roles. That’s why she and her husband Julius Tennon launched a production company in 2011. In 2018 they signed an exclusive first-look deal with Amazon for a slate of films and they expanded that relationship in 2020 to include television, As part of the new pact, JuVee will continue to develop and produce features as well as television series to premiere exclusively on Amazon Prime Video, in more than 200 countries and territories worldwide. JuVee currently has two television projects and three films in development with Amazon Studios, including an adaptation of Octavia Butler’s beloved Wild Seed, based on the first book in Butler’s acclaimed Patternist sci-fi series, and a series adaptation of the film Fast Color. JuVee has also previously sold projects to ABC, HBO, Netflix, Apple TV+, Disney+, USA, TV One, Food Network, and Bravo.
This week's post is shorter than my usual ones but after watching the Woman King I was so enthralled by the acting ability and the presence Viola Davies commands on the screen. She is one of the greats and she truly deserves her flowers. She’s opened the door for many black actors in the industry and her story shows with talent, working on your craft, creating a lane for yourself, and not allowing the doubters to deter you, you can achieve anything.
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From Extreme Poverty To Building a $30m Fortune
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Viola Davis may be one of the most successful actresses, writer, and producer in the world today — but she didn’t always have it easy. The actress once revealed that her humble upbringing forced her to go to extremes to avoid going hungry.“I grew up in abject poverty. I dumpster-dived. I stole money for food.” Fortunately, though, Viola Davis has come a long way from that reality and has become one of the highest-paid actors today. Davis was listed by Forbes as the tenth highest-paid TV actress in the world, all thanks to seven-figure salaries from her work on Netflix’s How to Get Away with Murder and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, between September 2019 and September 2020 she earned $15M. She is also one of the most decorated individuals in the TV/Movie industry, earning the so-called “Triple Crown of Acting” (an Oscar, an Emmy, and a Tony award) but Davis’s talent goes far beyond her acting chops, she has amassed a reported net worth of $30m through producing, acting, owing a TV & Movie production company, real estate investments and many more.
Viola was born in 1965 in St. Matthews, South Carolina on a farm. Her father was working as a horse trainer at the time of her birth, and her mother was a maid and an activist within the Civil Rights Movement. Growing up in Rhode Island wasn't easy for Davis, as she lived in serious poverty within run-down apartment buildings. Viola is one of five kids. Two months after her birth, the family moved to Central Falls, Rhode Island, with two of her sisters, leaving her older sister and brother with her grandparents. Interesting enough her cousin is actor Mike Colter, who plays the Marvel Comics character, Luke Cage. Growing up, she attended Central Falls High School, the school she credits with inspiring her love of stage acting.
Davis’s career began in 1999, 7 years after her graduation from Julliard School. The star won her first accolade for starring in Everybody’s Ruby. After that, Davis appeared in small roles across TV and film, but her first major recognition came when she starred in the Broadway production of King Hedley II in 2001. Her performance bagged her a Tony Award, but it wasn’t until 2008 that Davis would start getting noticed for her incredible talent. That year, Davis appeared in Doubt alongside Meryl Streep and Phillip Seymour Hoffman, in a role Oprah said she wanted but was turned down for. The role earned Davis her first Oscar nomination even though she had less than 11 minutes of screen time. Great success came to the star in the 2010s when she won another Tony for her role in the Broadway revival of Fences.
In 2011, Davis won even more recognition for her role in The Help receiving another Oscar nod and a Screen Actors Guild Award. From 2014 to 2016, Davis played the lead role in the legal drama How to Get Away with Murder. Her role in the series made her the first Black female actor to take home the Primetime Emmy in the Outstanding Lead Actress in A Drama Series category. Davis later became the only Black actor to achieve the Triple Crown of Acting after winning an Oscar for her role in the film adaptation of Fences. For her role as Annalise Keating in HTGAWM, Davis received $250,000 per episode. Since the show only had 15 episodes per season, it meant that Davis was taking home $3.75 million every year.
Davis teamed up with her husband and producing partner, Julius Tennon, to launch JuVee Productions, a production company that aims to become the “go-to creative hub where the next generation of filmmakers and artists have the space to craft dynamic stories spanning the broad spectrum of humanity.” Viola said she launched her production company out of ‘necessity’ After being nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for her starring role in “The Help,” Viola Davis figured she had proven herself to Hollywood that she could be the lead in a movie. However, the highly decorated actress says most of the offers she received post-Oscars were for supporting roles. That’s why she and her husband Julius Tennon launched a production company in 2011. In 2018 they signed an exclusive first-look deal with Amazon for a slate of films and they expanded that relationship in 2020 to include television, As part of the new pact, JuVee will continue to develop and produce features as well as television series to premiere exclusively on Amazon Prime Video, in more than 200 countries and territories worldwide. JuVee currently has two television projects and three films in development with Amazon Studios, including an adaptation of Octavia Butler’s beloved Wild Seed, based on the first book in Butler’s acclaimed Patternist sci-fi series, and a series adaptation of the film Fast Color. JuVee has also previously sold projects to ABC, HBO, Netflix, Apple TV+, Disney+, USA, TV One, Food Network, and Bravo.
This week's post is shorter than my usual ones but after watching the Woman King I was so enthralled by the acting ability and the presence Viola Davies commands on the screen. She is one of the greats and she truly deserves her flowers. She’s opened the door for many black actors in the industry and her story shows with talent, working on your craft, creating a lane for yourself, and not allowing the doubters to deter you, you can achieve anything.