Black History Month: Viola Davis Viola Davis was born on August 11, 1965 in St. Matthews, SC and grew up in Central Falls, RI. Educated in Juilliard, she is an EGOT-winning actress and activist, winning Tonys for “King Hedley II” (2001) and “Fences” (2010), an Oscar for the film adaptation of “Fences” (2016), a Grammy for the narration of her 2022 memoir “Finding Me” and became the first African American woman to win a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for her r