He appears on the screen a little earlier and without a preface. “Hello! You raise your head and there she is, a goddess dressed in white, her hair natural afro, low voice. It is immediately clear that this woman does not like filters, most often she uses the word connection, link, link. She is in Cannes with the L’Oréal Paris family, who have always supported women in cinema and are presenting the L’Oréal Paris Lights on Women award at the festival for the third year now: Viola Davis is on their ambassadors’ dream team, with Jane Fonda, Kate Winslet, Andie MacDowell. Born into a very poor family, eight years in a room on her grandmother’s farm, in February she joined the very exclusive club EGOT, 18 artists in the world who have won all four of the most important awards: Emmys, Grammys, Oscars and Tonys.
L’Oréal Paris’ message to women: “You deserve it.” What does this mean for her?
Relying on my values, my nature, and all this is connected with my beauty, which shines in me and surpasses self-confidence.
How are we related to his body?
He has changed a lot since filming. woman king. To become Naniska, the leader of the Agoji Riders, I trained five hours a day for three months and was 56 years old. I continued to train during the five months of shooting in South Africa, I liked the idea of having a body at my service: I play a warrior who uses it to survive. It was the only time in my life when I walked around in dresses that exposed my stomach. The parameter of male attractiveness disappeared, the pressure of beauty standards disappeared: I allowed myself to determine them.
She was one of the first stars to showcase afro prints on the red carpet: fashion has a powerful message, and she seems to understand it well. In short, he does not put on the first thing that comes across …
Oh no, definitely not (bursts into laughter). Look, we have to belong to ourselves. And when you reach this awareness, fashion becomes an extension of it. I’m not trying to be anyone else, really. I am the love of my life, and therefore fashion is a tool to highlight my beauty: yes, it has become very, very important. At this point in my life, I stopped being like a round pig trying to fit into a square hole, I am free and I am completely free.
His Instagram is a ray of sunshine, it brings joy and comfort, reading it is a good start to the day.
Thank you. All this comes from me, my brand is me, and I speak about what I consider important. Also, I say this in general, I think I am very fun in life and I bring a lot more lightness than people think, having said this, I would like people to feel less alone, this is also the meaning of my work. Everything you ever dreamed of really is on the other side of fear. We often hide, do not share our stories, our fears, our pain, our weaknesses, especially those associated with depression and mental disorders. Through my Instagram, I want to erase taboos and make room for the truth: we all need to feel connected.
He is very sensitive to the world of childhood. How did the little girl she was affect the woman she is today?
This little girl is always with me wherever I go. She sleeps with me at night, gets up with me, screams at me, pouts at me when I don’t honor her or see her, when I don’t acknowledge her dreams, her hopes, her pain. I am no longer young, but I am still trying to heal the child in me, somehow give her a happy childhood. I think this is the purest representation of who I am, who I was before the world found me. Honoring her is a good compass in my life.
You have a daughter, Genesis: is it reflected on her?
She is twelve years old and being a mom helps me heal, of course I find myself telling her many times what I need to hear, for example last night I told her: “Genesis, no matter how I loved you, no matter how your friends loved you, it doesn’t matter; you have to value yourself, you have to be your biggest protector and set boundaries, make sure others can’t hurt you. Fight for yourself, protect yourself, value yourself in every way. You are your great love. That’s what I need to hear.
She has another great love, Julius Tennon. In June, you celebrate twenty years of marriage. You are also husband and wife in the movie Air.
I asked God. It was eleven o’clock and I knelt down. I made him a list of everything I wanted from a guy. Three and a half weeks later, I met Julius and ticked all the boxes. It had some extra features that I didn’t ask for, but perfection doesn’t exist (laughs). He was the first man who made me want to know love. ok let’s do itI said to myself, let’s jump. He was the first man who wanted to share his heart with me, this never happened, others always wanted to keep it to themselves. We share it every day, it’s what keeps us together.
Like all ambassadors of L’Oréal Paris, she is a civil rights and anti-discrimination advocate. How can we accelerate change?
I think a lot of people want change but don’t want to change. And change always costs you something, the price can be comfort, exchange. In the 80s, there were stickers with the phrase of millionaire Malcolm Forbes: “Whoever dies with the most toys wins.”, the one who dies with the most toys wins. This is not true. The meaning of life is not to have as many things as possible, to feel strong, better than others, at the top, number one. Life is about feeling connected to other people and belonging to yourself. As Bell Hooks says, It’s all about loveonly love matters. Read the inscriptions on the tombstones, there are no mentions of titles or awards won, except for a beloved son, an adored wife … I read that the biggest regret on my deathbed is to leave without expressing my true self. I always say this to people close to me: if you want to help me, you must first understand why I live. Not only fight For I but With myself. How to accelerate change? This I really don’t know.
First of all, he loves…
Courage, even if sometimes I tiptoe and keep quiet. I’m not afraid to be vulnerable, to communicate with people. It is important for me to leave no one behind and make sure that my voice is heard, even when I doubt myself. No I a lot, but I’m brave. And the biggest fear is simply not finding the strength to say what I think, to take risks, to put myself on the line.
Who or what drives you?
Take it easy, mom. He is eighty years old and is starting to lose his memory. This breaks my heart. Every time I see her, I hug her, I want to stop time: the two of us are still alive, now in the same room. Every time I greet her, I feel like a six year old Viola. I still – always will – need her. Yes, I cried for my beautiful mother.
Source: Elle