Viola Davis is an American actress. Beginning her career on the stage, Davis won a Tony and a Drama Desk Award for her role in King Hedley II . She won a second Drama Desk Award for Intimate Apparel . She won a second Tony and a third Drama Desk Award for her role in Fences . Some of her notable films include Traffic , Antwone Fisher , Solaris and The Help . Her eleven-minute-long performance in the film adaptation of John Patrick Shanley's Doubt earned several honors, including an Academy Award nomination. Her role in the film The Help has garnered two Screen Actors Guild Awards, a BAFTA... Award nomination, another Academy Award nomination, and a Golden Globe nomination. In addition to her success, she was listed in Time's 100 Most Influential People in the World. Davis was born on her grandmother's farm, at the former Singleton Plantation, in St. Matthews, South Carolina. She is the second youngest of six children. Her mother, Mary Alice, was a maid, factory worker, and homemaker, and her father, Dan Davis, was a horse trainer. Her family moved to Central Falls, Rhode Island a few months after she was born.
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