Viola Davis To Be Honored At NAACP Image Awards
Actress Viola Davis is no stranger to awards. She’s a two-time Tony Award winner and an Oscar winner. In fact, she’s one of only three Black women who have secured the EGOT – winning an Emmy, Grammy, Tony, and an Oscar.
Now the actress will need to make more room in her trophy case. The NAACP announced that she’ll be the recipient of the 2026 Chairman’s Award, given to someone who has achieved the highest level in their field. Last year’s recipient was former vice president Kamala Harris.
Leon W. Russell, Chair of the NAACP National Board of Directors, made the announcement.
“Viola Davis is a generational talent who has commanded audiences with her powerful and transcendent performances. At this year’s NAACP Image Awards, we are humbled to present her with the Chairman’s Award, shining a light on her deeply impactful commitment to driving change,” Russell said.
He added, “Through a career defined by excellence and courage, she has used her platform to work towards opportunity and equity, crafting an undeniable legacy for generations to come. We look forward to celebrating her and the trailblazing path she has created for herself and others to follow.”
The 60-year-old actress is also nominated in the Outstanding Actress in a Limited Television (Series, Special or Movie) category for G20, the Netflix film where she played the U.S. president forced to defend herself and her family against terrorists. Though she started her career on Broadway, Davis has recently become known for action films like G20 and 2022’s The Woman King, where she played a fierce warrior in the Dahomey kingdom.
After winning her first Tony in 2001 for the August Wilson play, King Hedley II, she won another for Wilson’s Fences in 2010. Davis made television history in 2015 with an Emmy for Best Actress for How to Get Away With Murder, the first Black woman to win in that category.
In 2017, she won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the film version of Fences, opposite Denzel Washington. Davis’ EGOT status was cemented in 2023 after a Grammy win for Best Audio Book, Narration & Storytelling Recording for the audio version of her 2022 memoir, Finding Me.
She is believed to be the highest-grossing Black actress of all time, with an estimated $15 billion in movie grosses in her career. (Through her role in Avatar and its sequel, Zoe Saldana is the highest-grossing actress in Hollywood history.)
The 57th annual NAACP Image Awards will air live on Saturday, Feb. 28, at 8 p.m. on CBS and BET. The top nominees are Sinners with 18 nominations, and Kendrick Lamar and Teyana Taylor with six nods each.
