Viola Davis is an American actress and movie producer who started her career as a theatre actress. She went into theatre acting while in high school and was soon spotted. She continued to Rhode Island College and majored in theatre. After leaving the university, Davis developed her acting skills at the famous Juilliard School.
Davis’ first paid acting job was in the movie “The Substance of Fire” in 1996. However, her breakthrough came when she played the role of Tonya in the Broadway play “King Hedley II.” Since then, she has starred in a number of movies and series and won multiple awards, including an Academy Award, Emmy Award, and Tony Award. She is the first Black actress to win the Triple Crown (earning a Tony Award, an Emmy Award, and an Academy Award in the acting categories). Last year, she made history as the 18th Person to Achieve the EGOT – winning an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Award.
Davis also became the most nominated Black woman in the history of the Academy Awards. The New York Times has also featured her on its list of Top 10 greatest actors of the 21st century.
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Her successful career has made her one of the highest-paid actresses in the world. According to Forbes, the actress earned roughly $15 million between September 2019 and September 2020. She is reportedly worth over $25 million. The 58-year-old has starred in almost 40 films, which have grossed over $3 billion in total, according to therichest.com.
Below are the top five highest-grossing movies of Davis:
Suicide Squad: Worldwide Box Office Gross: $748.8 Million
Suicide Squad was released in 2016 and Viola Davis played the role of Amanda Waller, a government official. She put together a team of imprisoned supervillains/anti-heroes named Task Force X with the sole aim of combating a deadly threat in exchange for reduced sentences. The movie reportedly grossed $325 million in the United States and Canada as well as $421.7 million in other countries for a global total of $746.8 million against a production budget of $175 million. Suicide Squad is the highest-grossing of Davis’ movies.
Knight And Day: Worldwide Box Office Gross: $261.9 Million
Knight And Day is a satirical action comedy. Davis was solid in her performance as CIA director through this romantic spy adventure. In the first three days, the movie made just $12 million but went on to earn a total of $262 million globally, including $76 million at the local box office and $186 million internationally.
The Help: Worldwide Box Office Gross: $216.6 Million
The Help is a story about a young white woman who decides to write a book about the experiences of black maids working for white families in the city. The movie, a drama set in Jackson, Mississippi, in 1963, focuses on her relationship with two black maids, Aibileen Clark (Viola Davis) and Minny Jackson (Octavia Spencer), during the Civil Rights Movement. The movie grossed $169.7 million in North America and $46.9 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $216.6 million.
Eat Pray Love: Worldwide Box Office Gross: $204.5 Million
Eat Pray Love is a biographical romantic drama film and it is based on the memoir of Elizabeth Gilbert. In the film, Gilbert is on a journey of self-discovery, traveling to Italy, India, and Indonesia in search of love, spirituality, and balance in life. Davis played the role of Delia Shiraz, a close friend of Gilbert. The movie grossed $80.6 million in the United States and Canada and $124 million. Worldwide, the movie grossed a total of $204.5 million.
The Suicide Squad: Worldwide Box Office Gross: $168.6 Million
The Suicide Squad was released in 2021 and is a sequel to the similarly titled Suicide Squad, which was released in 2016.
In The Suicide Squad, Davis acted as Amanda Waller, sending a team of supervillains, including Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), Bloodsport (Idris Elba), and Peacemaker (John Cena) to destroy all traces of the giant alien starfish in the South American island nation of Corto Maltese. The movie made around $55.8 million domestically and $112.9 million in other territories.
