caption years_active children birth_place home_town birth_date spouse image article_title name occupation alma_mater
davis at the sag awards , 2015 1996 -- present 1 st. matthews , south carolina , united states central falls , rhode island 11 august 1965 julius tennon 2003 viola davis june 2015.jpg viola davis
 viola davis actress , producer rhode 1993 -rrb- island college -lrb- 1988 -rrb- juilliard school -lrb-
viola davis

viola davis -lrb- born august 11 , 1965 -rrb- is an american actress and producer .
after graduating from juilliard , she began her career on the stage , and in 1999 she won an obie award for her performance as ruby mccollum in `` everybody 's ruby '' .
she is a three-time tony award nominee and has won twice , for her roles as tonya in the 2001 production of `` king hedley ii '' , and for her role as rose maxson in the 2010 revival of `` fences '' .
in 2003 , davis was nominated for an indie spirit award for her performance in `` antwone fisher '' .
in 2008 her performance as mrs. miller in `` doubt '' earned her several nominations , including for the golden globe , sag , and academy award for best supporting actress .
for her lead role as aibileen clark in the film `` the help '' -lrb- 2011 -rrb- , she received nominations for the golden globe , bafta , and academy award for best actress .
she also won the sag award .
in 2012 , she was listed by `` time '' as one of the 100 most influential people in the world .
in 2014 she began starring as annalise keating in the television series `` how to get away with murder '' , for which she has received critical acclaim .
for her performance she has won a sag award and received emmy award and golden globe nominations .
