Alumni Gets Oscar Nomination
Tuesday, January 24, 2012 in Central Falls High School News, District News.
Central Falls alumni, Viola Davis, has received an Oscar nomination. Congratulations!
CF native Viola Davis nominated for Oscar
By Bekah Berger
WPRO News
January 24, 2012
You can’t, “help” but feel a sense of pride for Rhode Island native Viola Davis and her rise to the top of the Hollywood elite. On Tuesday morning Davis was once again recognized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences this time earning a Best Actress in a Leading Role Oscar nomination for her role as, Aibileen, an African American maid working in Mississippi during the 1960′s in The Help. She was previously nominated for best supporting actress in 2008 for playing Mrs. Miller inDoubt (a role that saw Davis on screen for a remarkable 10 minutes.)
Davis, a Central Falls High School graduate, is celebrating a stage and screen career that had humble beginnings in the theater department at Rhode Island College. While at RIC she caught the attention of Bernard Masterson, who at the time was the director of the Young People’s School for the Performing Arts in Rhode Island. Masterson awarded Viola with a scholarship into the program. Four years at the prestigious Juilliard School followed which Davis has described as “a hot mess.”
Her rise to the top had its hurdles. Like most people of her profession Davis had to shell out copious amounts of money on acting classes and work her way up through the Hollywood food chain. “I didn’t get my SAG card until I was 30,” Davis said in Elle Magazine‘s November 2011 issue. “But that’s how it works. You keep putting your work out there, and at some point, if you’re fortunate, if you’re lucky, if you’re blessed, it morphs into something. One role has led to another until I’ve emerged as this.”
This means 2011 was a big year for Davis; and not just professionally but personally as well. One of Viola’s newest roles is as a mom. Back in October, Davis and her husband Julius Tennon, announced their welcoming of a baby daughter named Genesis, whom the couple adopted domestically.
The industry has consistently recognized Davis’ stand-out role in, The Help. She won the 2011 Critic’s Choice award and was nominated for the Golden Globe Best Actress award. The recipient of that award was Davis’ co-star, Meryl Streep. Streep, who won for her portrayal of the first and only female British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in, The Iron Lady, looked astounded when her name was announced. At one point she was speechless adoringly looking out at Davis simply saying Viola’s name; a gesture some take as that Streep was thinking that Davis deserved the award more than she did. This Sunday we will see Viola Davis walk the Screen Actors Guild Awards red carpet with the rest of, The Help cast. Davis is up for two awards; the SAG award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor and the SAG award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.
Davis faces fierce competition in her Oscar category for best actress in a leading role. Her fellow nominees include Glenn Close (Albert Nobbsh), Rooney Mara (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo), Michelle Williams (My Week with Marilyn) and facing off yet again with Meryl Streep (The Iron Lady). Viola’s sister Deloris Grant, who teaches English and Theater at Central Falls High School, shares the sentiments of her fellow Rhode Islanders. “Viola is really happy with this nomination and I am thrilled for my baby sister who has achieved a moment all actors dream of-fame and recognition of her work,” said Grant. “I did speak to Viola today and we were both basically speechless. I knew she would be nominated again. I have seen Viola on stage all my life and I have also directed her. This moment will be with my family and the folks of Central Falls who have always supported her. We have today to be proud and I thank Viola for sharing this.”
No matter the outcome, when the Academy Awards are handed out on February 26th, there is no doubt that Viola Davis will continue to make Rhode Island proud as our choice for leading lady.
January 30, 2012
WPRO News
Central Falls native Viola Davis scoops up SAG award
“You can’t trade in your dream for another dream. Dream BIG and Dream FIERCE.” – Viola Davis
