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7 Reasons Why It’s About Damn Time Viola Davis Got Her Star in Hollywood

Put some respect on her name!

Viola Davis got her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame yesterday, leaving most of us saying, "It's about damn time."
The veteran actress is at the peak of her career right now, dominating prime-time as the lead on How to Get Away With Murder, inspiring her fans and colleagues daily with her thoughtful interviews and rousing awards show speeches, and on the cusp of winning — at last! — her first Oscar for her role in the Denzel Washington-directed Fences. In other words, she slays. Below, seven reasons it's been time for Hollywood to recognize the powerhouse that is Viola Davis.

  1. She had zero f*cks to give about backlash for playing a maid in 'The Help'

    Though The Help was the role that made Viola Davis a star in the first place, she got a healthy dose of side-eye — especially from Black folks — for playing a maid after she was already nominated for an Oscar. To that, Davis had the perfect response: “It should not be ‘Why is Viola Davis playing a maid in 2011?’ I think it should be ‘Viola Davis plays a maid and she gives the f**king performance of her life,'” she said. “Black actresses have enough obstacles in our way without someone protesting an opportunity for us to show our work on screen.” 

  2. Her 2015 emmy awards speech literally gave us life

    "The only thing that separates women of color from anyone else is opportunity," Davis said to a room full of her Hollywood colleagues and an audience of millions on TV, just after she became the first Black woman to win the Emmy Award for Best Actress in a Drama. "You cannot win an Emmy for roles that are simply not there."
    MIC. DROP.

  3. She 'Dared' to Go All-Natural on National Television

    In an age when most celebrities are photoshopping their "makeup free" Instagram selfies, Viola pulled off her wig and wiped away her makeup in front of tens of millions of people during a groundbreaking episode in the first season of How to Get Away With Murder. It was a victory for women of all kinds — especially a Black woman over 40 in Hollywood.
    BTW, did you know Viola came up with that scene? "Before I got the role, I said, 'Shonda [Rhimes], Pete [Nowalk], Betsy [Beers], I’m not gonna do this unless I can take my wig off.' ... I wanted to see a real woman on TV. I wanted to see who we are before we walk out the door in the morning and put on the mask of acceptability."
    PREACH!

  4. She can slay the stage, the small screen and the big screen, NBD

    (Photo: Amanda Schwab/StarPix/REX/Shutterstock)

    Amanda Schwab/StarPix/REX/Shutterstock

    (Photo: Amanda Schwab/StarPix/REX/Shutterstock)

    Davis is a favorite for an Oscar nomination for her role as embattled housewife Rose in Fences, but she already has a Tony Award for playing the part on the Broadway stage. Once she gets that Oscar, she'll be well on her way to EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony) territory — meaning she'll have to put her talent to recorded music, next!

  5. Because she proved that natural hair has a place in Hollywood

    (Photo: Jeff Vespa/WireImage)

    Photo: Jeff Vespa/WireImage

    (Photo: Jeff Vespa/WireImage)

    Long before her stirring "take off the wig" scene in How to Get Away With Murder, Davis was insistent on sending the message that there's absolutely nothing wrong with natural hair by rocking hers on the red carpet for the SAG Awards during awards season for The Help. At a time when she was getting some push back for playing a maid in a major motion picture, she used her crown to make one of the biggest political statements a Black actress can make in Hollywood — I'm here, this is my hair, get used to it.

  6. She gives it her all, every time

    Even Meryl Streep phones it in every once in a while. But not our girl Viola. Whether she's on a prime-time soap drama, an Oscar-baity indie film or part of an ensemble in a comic book action film, Viola puts her heart and soul into every performance. There simply isn't a better or more versatile actor working today. Period.

  7. That Monologue in 'Fences'

    (Photo: David Lee/Paramount Pictures)

    David Lee/Paramount Pictures

    (Photo: David Lee/Paramount Pictures)

    Did our bold declaration above that Viola Davis is the best actress of her generation give you pause? Just watch her monologue in Fences. It was so powerful, it should not only make Viola a lock for an Oscar this year, it's one that should be studied by actors for generations to come.

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