Viola Davis Quotes

You can't shine if you have two lines in the background as a bus driver. You can only shine if you're included in the narrative, and narratives start when you put pen to paper and you use your imagination. You just tell a story. That's all you do. You tell a story. You don't put any boundaries on it. It's infinite and that's the only way we can do what we do is that people use their imaginations so that we can be included in it.

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.

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.

…My definition of success is legacy, is significance. And also, might I add, my authenticity is my rebellion. It's my F.U., per se. It helps when I think of it like that. That's why I give these speeches; that's why I say what I say. And it's also my narcissism, because I feel that that's probably what sets me apart from most people. But all those things are in my idea of success. If I can go to my grave feeling like — you know, it's like Lorraine Toussaint said. She said the reason why she adopted her child is because she didn't want "series regular" to be on her tombstone. And yeah, I want something quite beautiful, like Shirley Chisholm — you know, on her tombstone is "Unbought and Unbossed."

They say the two most important days in a person's life were the day you were born and the day you discover why you were born.

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

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.

They say to serve is to love. I think to serve is to heal, too.

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.

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.

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.

You find people in your life who love you, They give you permission to be able to love yourself. That permission was life-changing for Davis. When you are in the face of compassion and empathy, it's amazing how it kills shame, Because you're seen for something way for valuable than your circumstance.

I own my story. I own my failures. I'm not interested in being perfect. That's how I deal [with stress]. I don't put on a mask. I think that the effort to put on the mask is probably more detrimental than just being able to step up and admit your vulnerability in front of people who have enough empathy for you.

Artists and actors of color have to alter and water ourselves down for Hollywood, but I refuse to be pacified.

But what the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls the butterfly. What we do as Black women are to take the worst situations and create from that point.