Viola Davis made history at this year's Emmy Awards when she won for best actress in a drama for "How to Get Away With Murder," on Sept. 20. Sunday. She became the first African-American to win the award.
The African-American actress and producer began her career on stage after graduating from Juilliard. In 1999, Davis won an Obie Award for her performance as Ruby McCollum in "Everybody's Ruby."
Davis has won two Tony Awards and three Drama Desk Awards for her theatre work. She has won a Best Actress Screen Actors Guild and Critics' Choice Awards for her work in films. She is also a two-time Academy Award nominee.
In 2012, she was listed by Time magazine as one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World. In 2014, she started as Annalise Keating in the television series "How to Get Away with Murder," for which she has received worldwide critical acclaim.
For her portrayal of a powerful and seductive professor of defense law in "How to Get Away with Murder," she has won a SAG Award and Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series, NPR reported.
Davis also received nominations from the Critics' Choice Awards for Best Actress in a Drama Series and the Golden Globe Awards for Best Actress in a Television Series. Davis received honors from the Television Critics Association at the TCA Awards for Individual Achievement in Drama.
Davis gives a stirring speech after becoming the first woman of color to win the best actress in a drama series award at the 2015 Emmys.
Davis mentioned Harriet Tubman and paid homage to other African-American actresses including; Taraji P. Henson, Halle Berry, Nicole Beharie, Meagan Good, and Gabrielle Union.
Davis also thanked the writers for penning award- winning roles including; Ben Sherwood, Paul Lee, Peter Nowalk, Shonda Rhimes as reported by New York Times.
"Let me tell you something," she said. "The only thing that separates women of color from anyone else is the opportunity. You cannot win an Emmy for roles that are simply not there."
Davis married actor Julius Tennon in June 2003. They have a daughter, Genesis, whom they adopted as a newborn in October 2011.