Viola Davis
Honoree Viola Davis attends 2014 Variety Power of Women presented by Lifetime at Beverly Wilshire Four Seasons on Oct. 10, 2014, in Los Angeles.
Viola Davis
Viola Davis arrives at the Rape Treatment Center Brunch honoring Norman Lear hosted by Viola Davis at a Private Residence on October 14, 2012 in Beverly Hills, California.
Viola Davis
Actress Viola Davis arrives at the 84th Annual Academy Awards held at the Hollywood & Highland Center on Feb. 26, 2012, in Hollywood, Calif.
Davis was nominated for best actress for her role in "The Help." She ended up losing the award to Meryl Streep.
Viola Davis
Viola Davis poses backstage with the award for outstanding actress in a motion picture for "The Help" at the 43rd NAACP Image Awards on Feb. 17, 2012, in Los Angeles.
Viola Davis
Viola Davis holds the award for Outstanding Performance By A Female Actor In A Leading Role for, "The Help'' in the press room at the 18th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles on Jan. 29, 2012.
Viola Davis
BEVERLY HILLS, CA - JANUARY 15: Actress Viola Davis arrives at the 69th Annual Golden Globe Awards held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 15, 2012 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images)
Viola Davis
Actor George Clooney, winner of the Best Actor Award for "The Descendants," left, and actress Viola Davis, winner of the Best Actress Award for "The Help," pose in the press room during the 17th Annual Critics' Choice Movie Awards on Jan. 12, 2012, in Los Angeles.
Viola Davis
In January 2012, Viola Davis received a best actress Oscar nomination for her role as Aibileen Clark in the 1960s-period film, "The Help."
Viola Davis
Actress Viola Davis, right, and her husband, actor Julius Tennon, attend the premiere of "The Help" on Aug. 9, 2011, in Beverly Hills, Calif. Davis has been married to Tennon since June 2003. They have a daughter, Genesis, whom they adopted as a newborn in October 2011. Davis is also stepmother to Tennon's two sons from previous relationships.
Viola Davis
Viola Davis, nominated for best actress in a supporting role for her work in "Doubt," arrives at the Academy Award luncheon in Beverly Hills, Calif., on Monday, Feb. 2, 2009. Davis was born in South Carolina, the daughter of Mary and Dan Davis. Her family moved to Rhode Island when she was quite young.
Viola Davis
Oscar nominee Viola Davis arrives at the Directors Guild of America Awards on Jan. 31, 2009, in Los Angeles. She was nominated for her supporting role in "Doubt." Davis majored in theatre at Rhode Island College, graduating in 1988. She also attended the Juilliard School for four years.
Viola Davis
Actress Viola Davis poses for a portrait during the Santa Barbara Film Festival in Santa Barbara, Calif., on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2009. Davis had been known primarily as a stage actress, and won a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play and a Drama Desk Award for her role in "King Hedley II" (2001). She won a second Drama Desk Award for "Intimate Apparel" (2004).
Viola Davis
Actors, from left, Richard Jenkins, Melissa Leo, Michael Shannon, Viola Davis, and Rosemarie DeWitt pose for a portrait during the Santa Barbara Film Festival in Santa Barbara, Calif., on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2009. Her films include "Traffic" (2000), "Antwone Fisher" (2002) and "Solaris" (2002). Her performance in "Doubt" (2008) brought widespread recognition.
Viola Davis
Viola Davis arrives at the 15th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards on Sunday, Jan. 25, 2009, in Los Angeles.
Viola Davis
"Doubt" actress Viola Davis accepts her Breakthrough Performance by an Actress Award at the 2008 National Board of Review of Motion Pictures awards gala, presented by Bulgari, at Cipriani 42nd Street on Jan. 14, 2009, in New York.
Viola Davis
Actors Viola Davis, left, and husband Julius Tennon arrive at the 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2009, in Beverly Hills, Calif.
Viola Davis
Actress Viola Davis accepts the best actress award on behalf of Meryl Streep for "Doubt" at the 14th Annual Critics' Choice Awards on Thursday, Jan. 8, 2009, in Santa Monica, Calif.
Viola Davis
"Doubt" writer/director John Patrick Shanley, second from left, poses with cast members, from left, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Meryl Streep and Viola Davis at the premiere of the film at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Beverly Hills, Calif., Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2008.