Viola Davis to publish memoir ‘Finding Me’ in 2022
Davis' book, due out next April, will trace her rise from poverty in Rhode Island to become one of our most acclaimed stars.
Academy Award-winning actress Viola Davis is set to release Finding Me, her memoir, next spring.
The book, which will reach store shelves on April 19, 2022, will trace Davis’ rise from poverty in Rhode Island and her ascent to become one of the most acclaimed actors in the world.
“I believe that our stories, and the courage to share them, is the most powerful empathetic tool we have,” she said in a statement. “This is my story … straight no chaser.”
Finding Me will be released in partnership with Ebony Magazine Publishing via HarperOne, a HarperCollins Publishers imprint.
“Viola Davis is a powerful truth-teller — through her work on stage and screen, as well as in her life,” Judith Curr, HarperOne president and publisher, said in a statement. “I’m looking forward to working with her on a book that powerfully reveals the risk and danger for a Black woman living in the fullness of her talents and gifts — and the reward and freedom that comes with it.”
Davis, 55, won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar in 2016 for her turn in the film adaptation of the acclaimed August Wilson play, Fences. She was also nominated in 2020 for Best Actress for her role in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.
Earlier this year, Davis appeared on Variety’s Awards Circuit Podcast, where she commented on Hollywood’s treatment of Black actors.
“It’s so hard to get films made that don’t fit a certain box of how they see us. Inclusivity cannot be a hashtag,” she said.
“You’ve got to write roles for people of color that are culturally specific — that is just as thought out as our white counterparts’ roles, to get to the point of excellence, so that we can be considered for awards,” Davis contended. “But a lot of time with inclusivity, it’s a second thought. We’re the leftovers.”
The screen and stage star is no stranger to awards, having also snagged a 2015 Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series Emmy for How to Get Away with Murder and two Tony Awards — a Best Leading Actress in a Play trophy for the 2010 stage version of Fences and another, nine years prior, for Best Featured Actress in a Play after wowing audiences in King Hedley II.
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