Viola Davis Quotes

"There is an emotional abandonment that comes with poverty and being Black,”

All dreams are within reach. All you have to do is keep moving towards them

I will not be a mystery to my daughter. She will know me and I will share my stories with her—the stories of failure, shame and accomplishment. She will know she's not alone in that wilderness.

I always say that one thing missing in cinema is that regular black woman…Not anyone didactic, or whose sole purpose in the narrative is to illustrate some social abnormality. There’s no meaning behind it, other than she is just there…I would love to have a black female Klute, or Kramer, or Unmarried Woman, or Annie Hall. But who’s gonna write it, who’s gonna produce it, who’s gonna see it, again and again and again?

At the end of the day, nobody can tell you how to tackle failure or how to handle change. The world is very good at encouraging you to go along with the status quo and at basking in your successes.

What's released me most from the fear of aging is self-awareness. I've never determined my value based on my looks or anything physical. I've been through a lot in life, and what has gotten me through is strength of character and faith.

Just like we have to redefine strength, we have to redefine beauty. It's not even about beautiful, it's about being who you are. It's about being honest. It's about stepping into, 'This is how I am in private, this is how I look, this is how I act, this is my mess, this is my strength, this is my beauty, this is my intelligence,' and then putting it out there that this is who I am.

You can either leave something for people or you can leave something in people

The more I'm pushed in a position of leadership and I know I have to be the mouthpiece for so many other people who can't speak for themselves, the more confidence I'm gaining.

Forgive yourself — every minute of the day, every day, that would be number one. You always focus on your mistakes as a mom, and you just have to know that you're doing the best you can with what you know.

Everybody needs a parent. Everyone needs a guide, that proverbial lamp that is going to take you down darkened paths and teach you something about navigating life, even though you know you're going to face some crap in life. Someone to show you how to do what they did.

Memories are immortal. They’re deathless and precise. They have the power of giving you joy and perspective in hard times. Or, they can strangle you. Define you in a way that’s based more in other people’s tucked-up perceptions than truth.

The one thing I feel is lacking in Hollywood today is an understanding of the beauty, the power, the sexuality, the uniqueness, the humor of being a regular Black woman.

I don't care how sexy or beautiful any woman is. At the end of the day, she has to take her makeup off. At the end of the day, she's more than just pretty.

I was trying to fit in, stifling my voice, stifling who I was, in order to be seen as pretty, in order for people to like me. And then going home, not being able to sleep and having anxiety. I have found that the labelling of me, and having to fit into that box, has cost me a great deal. I’ve had a lot of lost years.