A mighty warrior

Hollywood A-lister Viola Davis has acquired nearly every professional, artistic and material accolade an actress could hope for. Her rise to fame has not been meteoric, rather a slow and steady burn that has warmed the hearts of the millions of fans drawn to the spirited characters she brings to life on screen. In Finding Me, the memoir Viola released last year, she relates her deeply personal story about defying labels, shattering expectations and being courageous. Koketso Mashika highlights how this refreshingly honest actress continues to shine.

- By Koketso Mashika

It wasn't much of a leap when Viola Davis was cast as the commander of an all-female army in Woman King, a historical epic inspired by true events that took place in Africa during the 18th Century. The appointment merely served to confirm what has become public opinion: that Viola is at the forefront of a generation of African American actresses who are unwavering in their commitment to becoming catalysts for change, in particular in the arena of arts and culture.

Unlike other actors of her calibre, the 57-year-old actress has defied attempts to be typecast. Though she has known extreme poverty, survived abuse and experienced racism, it is clear that Viola has chosen to find the lessons that lie in life's challenges rather than allowing them to define her.

The year she graduated from Juilliard, the elite school of performing arts in New York City, she was one of only 30 black students amongst 865 alumni. During a recent interview with The Telegraph, Viola revealed that she never felt a sense of belonging. 'I can't say that I'm not appreciative of my training there,' she said. 'But it was a place that taught classical, Eurocentric theatre as if it was the Bible - and for me, as a chocolate, kinky-haired girl, there was no way in. To perform in works by Shakespeare, or George Bernard Shaw, or Eugene O'Neill, I felt like what was required of me was to make any hint of my blackness disappear, that it would somehow be a good thing if the audience could forget I was black,' she went on to say.

Though she wrestled with these demons, Viola was regularly cast in productions off and on Broadway and had already won an Obie (Off-Broadway Theatre Award) and been nominated for a Tony before she made her big screen debut in 1996 with a bit-part in a drama entitled The Substance of Fire.