Viola Davis is an American actress and film producer who began her career as a stage performer. While in high school, she began acting in the theater and was quickly noticed. She continued her education at Rhode Island College, where she majored in drama. Davis attended the prestigious Juilliard School of Acting after graduating from university.
Davis’ first paid acting role was in “The Substance of Fire” in 1996. Her big break, however, came when she played Tonya in the Broadway drama “King Hedley II.” She has since starred in a variety of films and television programs and received numerous prizes, including an Academy Award, an Emmy Award, and a Tony Award. She is the first Black actress to win the Triple Crown (a Tony Award, an Emmy Award, and an Academy Award for her work in acting). She became the 18th person in history to win an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony Award last year.
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.
Her brilliant career has made her one of the world’s highest-paid actors. Between September 2019 and September 2020, the actress made almost $15 million, according to Forbes. She is said to be worth more than $25 million. The 58-year-old has appeared in nearly 40 films, grossing 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
Viola Davis starred as Amanda Waller, a government official, in the 2016 film Suicide Squad. She assembled Task Force X, a group of imprisoned supervillains/anti-heroes, with the sole purpose of confronting a lethal threat in exchange for reduced sentences. The film 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 $175 million production budget. Suicide Squad is Davis’ most successful film.
Knight And Day: Worldwide Box Office Gross: $261.9 Million
The action comedy Knight And Day is sarcastic. Davis delivered a strong performance as CIA Director throughout this romantic spy thriller. The film earned only $12 million in its first three days, but went on to make a total of $262 million worldwide, including $76 million at the domestic box office and $186 million internationally.
The Help: Worldwide Box Office Gross: $216.6 Million
The premise of The Help revolves around a young white woman who chooses to write a book about the lives of black maids working for white families in the city. The drama, set in 1963 in Jackson, Mississippi, focuses on her relationship with two black maids, Aibileen Clark (Viola Davis) and Minny Jackson (Octavia Spencer), during the Civil Rights Movement. The film grossed $169.7 million in North America and $46.9 million in other regions, for a total of $216.6 million worldwide.
Eat Pray Love: Worldwide Box Office Gross: $204.5 Million
Eat, Pray, Love is a biographical romantic drama film based on Elizabeth Gilbert’s memoir. Gilbert goes on a self-discovery journey in the film, traveling to Italy, India, and Indonesia in pursuit of love, spirituality, and life balance.Davis portrayed Delia Shiraz, Gilbert’s close friend. The film earned $80.6 million in the United States and Canada and $124 million worldwide. The film grossed a total of $204.5 million worldwide.
The Suicide Squad: Worldwide Box Office Gross: $168.6 Million
The Suicide Squad is a 2021 sequel to the similarly titled Suicide Squad, which was released in 2016.
Davis as Amanda Waller in The Suicide Squad, leading a squad of supervillains including Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), Bloodsport (Idris Elba), and Peacemaker (John Cena) to destroy any remnants of the enormous alien starfish in the South American island nation of Corto Maltese. The film grossed approximately $55.8 million in the United States and $112.9 million in foreign regions.