The following article is a list of awards and nominations received by Viola Davis.
Viola Davis is an American actress and producer. Known for her roles on stage and screen, she is one of the few performers to have won the four major American entertainment awards (EGOT), having won an Academy Award, a Emmy Award, a Grammy Award, and two Tony Awards. She is only the third to achieve both EGOT and Triple Crown of Acting, after Helen Hayes and Rita Moreno. She has also received a British Academy Film Award, five Critics' Choice Awards, three Drama Desk Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and six Screen Actors Guild Awards.
She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her film role as suffering mother and wife in the period drama Fences (2016). She was Oscar-nominated for her portrayals as Mrs. Miller in the religious drama Doubt (2008), a maid in the Deep South in the drama The Help (2011), and the title role in drama Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (2020). She was also BAFTA-nominated for her roles in the heist thriller Widows (2018) and in the historical action film The Woman King. Her role in Fences also earned her the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role, the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture, and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress.
For her work on television, she made history becoming the first African-American woman to win the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for her role as Annalise Keating in the ABC legal drama series How to Get Away with Murder at the 67th Primetime Emmy Awards in 2015. The series ran from 2014 to 2020, where she won several awards including the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series consecutively in 2014 and 2015. Davis reprised the role and was Emmy-nominated for her guest spot in a crossover appearance on another ABC show, the political thriller series Scandal in 2018.
On Broadway, Davis has won two Tony Awards, her performances in revivals of August Wilson plays. She won her first Tony for Best Featured Actress in a Play for playing Tonya in King Hedley II (2001), and her second for Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for playing Rose Maxson in Fences (2010). She was Tony-nominated for her role as Vera in the revival Seven Guitars (1996). She has also received several other awards for her work on stage including, three Drama Desk Awards, two Obie Awards, two Outer Critics Circle Awards, and a Theatre World Award.
Davis is the recipient of several honors including having a Motion Picture Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2017, the Cannes Film Festival's Women In Motion Award in 2022, the Gotham Awards Actress Tribute in 2020, and the Film at Lincoln Center's Chaplin Gala Award in 2023. In 2025, she was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame.
Major industry awards Academy Awards The Academy Awards are a set of awards given by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences annually for excellence of cinematic achievements.
Year Category Nominated work Result 2008 Best Supporting Actress Doubt 2011 Best Actress The Help 2016 Best Supporting Actress Fences 2020 Best Actress Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
Actor Awards The Actor Awards are organized by the Screen Actors Guild‐American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. First awarded in 1995, the awards aim to recognize excellent achievements in film and television.
Year Category Nominated work Result 2008 Outstanding Female Actor in a Supporting Role Doubt Outstanding Cast in a Motion Picture 2011 The Help Outstanding Female Actor in a Leading Role 2014 Outstanding Female Actor in a Drama Series How to Get Away with Murder 2015 2016 Outstanding Female Actor in a Supporting Role Fences Outstanding Cast in a Motion Picture 2020 Ma Rainey's Black Bottom Outstanding Female Actor in a Leading Role 2022 The Woman King
BAFTA Awards The British Academy Film Awards is an annual award show presented by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.
Year Category Nominated work Result British Academy Film Awards 2011 Best Actress in a Leading Role The Help 2016 Best Actress in a Supporting Role Fences 2018 Best Actress in a Leading Role Widows 2022 The Woman King
Emmy Awards The Primetime Emmy Award is an American award bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in recognition of excellence in American primetime television programming.
Year Work Category Result Primetime Emmy Awards 2015 Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series How to Get Away with Murder (episode: "Freakin' Whack-a-Mole") 2016 How to Get Away with Murder (episode: "There's My Baby") 2017 How to Get Away with Murder (episode: "Wes") 2018 Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series Scandal (episode: "Allow Me to Reintroduce Myself") 2019 Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series How to Get Away with Murder (episode: "He Betrayed Us Both")
Golden Globe Awards The Golden Globe Awards is an accolade bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) recognizing excellence in film and television.
Year Category Nominated work Result 2008 Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture Doubt 2011 Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama The Help 2014 Best Actress in a Television Series – Drama How to Get Away with Murder 2015 2016 Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture Fences 2020 Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama Ma Rainey's Black Bottom 2022 The Woman King 2024Cecil B. DeMille Award
Grammy Awards The Grammys are annual awards presented by The National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences. Year Category Nominated work Result 2023Best Audio Book, Narration & Storytelling Recording Finding Me
Tony Awards The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway LeagueGans, Andrew (December 18, 2007). "League of American Theatres and Producers Announces Name Change". Playbill. Retrieved September 13, 2013. The League of American Theatres and Producers was renamed "The Broadway League". at an annual ceremony in New York City. Davis has won two awards from three nominations, all for performances in plays by August Wilson.
Year Category Nominated work Result 1996 Best Featured Actress in a Play Seven Guitars 2001 King Hedley II 2010 Best Leading Actress in a Play Fences
Other theatre awards Organizations Year Category Work Result Drama Desk Awards 1996 Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play Seven Guitars 1999 Everybody's Ruby 2001 King Hedley II 2004 Outstanding Actress in a Play Intimate Apparel 2010 Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play Fences Lucille Lortel Awards 2005 Outstanding Lead Actress Intimate Apparel Obie Awards 1999 Obie Award for Distinguished Performance by an Actress Everybody's Ruby 2004 Intimate Apparel New York Drama Critics' Circle Award 2010Special Citation Outer Critics Circle Awards 2001 Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play King Hedley II 2010 Outstanding Actress in a Play Fences Theatre World Award 1995 Theatre World Award Seven Guitars
Critics associations