Oscars 2021: Viola Davis most nominated Black actress with ‘Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom’ nod
Viola Davis says Black stories ‘deserve to be told’
LOS ANGELES – This year, Viola Davis became the Oscars’ most nominated Black female actor ever when she landed her fourth nomination, this one for her lead role in “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.”
This is my posse. My collaborators. My fellow artists. There are absolutely no words to describe how happy I am for them. Love them to the moon and back! @JamikaWilson @sergiowastaken #MiaNeal 💛💛💛 pic.twitter.com/t3UABQmFqv
— Viola Davis (@violadavis) April 26, 2021
Who is Viola Davis?
Davis won an Academy Award for her appearance in the 2016 film “Fences,” a role she originated in a 2001 Broadway revival that landed her a Tony Award. The Oscar win made her the first Black woman to win an Oscar, Emmy, and Tony for acting.
She won her Emmy in 2015 for her role in “How To Get Away With Murder,” and she has another Tony win for her role in “King Hedley II.”
Along the way, her impassioned acceptance speeches have been some of the most potent thunderbolts of inspiration in the wider fight for diversity, beamed out to the unrepresented and the overlooked everywhere.
The 55-year-old actress has been a mainstay on screens big and small and is more often getting cast front and center, with her roles in “How to Get Away With Murder” and the 2018 film “Widows.”
Davis also has a production company, JuVee Productions, with her husband, the actor Julius Tennon. She told the Associated Press in 2019 her goal is to normalize people of color on the screen.
When your boss lady invented range…. 😍🎭🎬🔥👑 #MasterClassMonday pic.twitter.com/PzUji0OFmk
— JuVee Productions (@JuVeeProds) April 26, 2021
“We’re not social statements. We’re not mythical creatures all the time … you can literally put pen to paper and write a great story that includes people of color, and it could actually sell,” she said.
Davis the most nominated Black woman in Oscars history along with her “Fences” nod, she was also nominated for best actress for 2011’s “The Help” and best-supporting actress for 2008’s “Doubt.”
If she won Sunday, she would have been the second Black woman crowned the best actress in Oscars history. Just once before has a Black woman (Halle Berry in 2002 for “Monster’s Ball”) won the best actress?
Congrats to all of last night's winners and nominees! 💛💛💛
📷@Shamar_Benoit pic.twitter.com/UmdncaI8SH— Viola Davis (@violadavis) April 26, 2021
What is “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” about?
The film, based on an August Wilson play, is set around a recording session in 1920’s Chicago as a blues band awaits the arrival of Ma Rainey. The movie also includes the final performance from actor Chadwick Boseman, who died last year of cancer.
Content courtesy of ABC 7Chicago & Nairobi fashion hub
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