She is KILLING IT
Words – Alim Kheraj
Given that she’s the basically the greatest of all time, it’s no surprise that Viola Davis has become the first black woman to win an Oscar, Emmy, and Tony for her craft as an actor.
Attending the Oscars 2017 last night, Viola Davis stole our hearts in her red dress on the Oscars red carpet, and then made us cry happy tears during her incredible acceptance speech after she picked up the gong for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Fences.
Addressing the audience of the 89th Academy Awards, Davis thanked her parents, as well as her husband and her daughter. She also spoke inspiringly about her decision to become an actor.
'People ask me all the time, "What kind of stories do you want to tell, Viola?" And I say, "Exhume those bodies. Exhume those stories — the stories of the people who dreamed big, and never saw those dreams to fruition. People who fell in love and lost,"' she said.
Not only is Viola Davis the most nominated Black actress in history, but she’s also the first black woman to pick up the 'Triple Crown' of acting.
Yep, Viola Davis is the first black woman to win an Oscar, an Emmy, and a Tony for acting, and is only the 23rd person overall to pick up the famed Triple Crown.
Davis, of course, picked up the Emmy for her role of Annalise Keating in How To Get Away With Murder back in 2015. The actor also is the proud recipient of two (!) Tony awards, which she won in 2001 for her work in King Hedley II and again in 2010 for the Broadway production of Fences. While not counted as being part of the Triple Crown, Davis also picked up the award for Best Supporting Actress earlier this year, too, at the Golden Globes 2017.
Only one black woman has previously reached the illustrious EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony) status, and that’s Whoopi Goldberg. However, Goldberg’s Tony win was for her producing work, and not for her acting.
What’s more, people on social media are pretty desperate for Viola to record an album or audiobook so that she, too, can become an EGOT.
Regardless, we’re SO happy for Viola Davis and for her well deserved win at last night’s Academy Awards. Now we just need that elusive Grammy and things will be all set…
From the editors of HelloGiggles