Viola Davis stunned as she accepted her award at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards on Sunday, February 5. The Fences actress, 57, was nominated in the spoken word category for Best Audio Book Narration, And Storytelling Recording for her memoir Finding Me at the 2023 Grammys ceremony. “It has been such a journey. I just EGOT,” she said excitedly as she accepted the award.
For those who want to see Viola Davis’s #Grammys speech:
“I wrote this book to honor the 6-year-old Viola” pic.twitter.com/Mlp6loEKYo
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) February 5, 2023
As she accepted the award, Viola sported a colorful dress with sparkling red, silver, and blue panels all over the gown, which was designed by Naeem Khan. The dress’s red, silver, and blue sections were divided with black lines. She also sported circular earings for the occasion. She looked so proud to accept her award.
Viola’s win was announced during the preshow ceremony during the day. She was up against Jamie Foxx, Lin Manuel-Miranda, Mel Brooks, and Questlove for the category. With the Grammy win, Viola is the latest performer to earn the title of an EGOT, which is the rare honor of having won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony. Her fellow nominee Mel Brooks is also an EGOT, and Lin Manuel-Miranda is also only an Oscar away from becoming an EGOT himself.
Viola received a wide array of congratulations after she won, including from Grammy-winner Taylor Swift, who shared the Recording Academy’s tweet, and celebrated how many awards she has won. “EGOT BABYYYYYYY,” she wrote with a bunch of heart emojis.
Viola opened up about how special it was to be a first-time Grammy nominee in an interview with the Recording Academy. She also admitted that it was an unexpected surprise to get the nomination. “When I wrote the book, I was just trying to write a good book. That was the goal,” she said. “Everything else that came out of it has been the icing on the cake, those beautiful sort of boons and gifts that come when you put yourself out there. ‘Cause they don’t always come. The GRAMMY nomination and how the book has done have been truly a gift that I didn’t expect.”
Viola’s appearance at the Grammys comes just less than a month after she appeared at the 80th Annual Golden Globes, where she was nominated for Best Actress in a Drama for her performance as General Nanisca in The Woman King. Unfortunately, she lost to Cate Blanchett for her portrayal of Lydia Tar in Tar, but Viola still looked fabulous in a bright blue gown for the occasion. Viola was sadly snubbed for an Oscar nomination when the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the stars on their 2023 roster.
Despite the Academy Award snub, Viola’s Grammy appearance still comes after an epic year for the actress. Besides The Woman King, she expanded her presence in the DC extended universe by reprising her Suicide Squad role as Amanda Waller in the HBO series Peacemaker and an appearance in Black Adam. Not only that, she had a starring role in the Showtime series The First Lady, where she played none other than Former First Lady Michelle Obama.