--- description: Find out why Naomie Harris thinks Viola Davis will win the Oscar for best supporting actress over her role in Moonlight. title: Moonlight's Naomie Harris Doesn't Think She'll Win the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7571f44b5de52d9a/6988b8fd428a9e8c56cd5c48/naomie-harris-40-year-old.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [motto](/tag/motto/) ## motto Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # _Moonlight_'s Naomie Harris Doesn't Think She'll Win the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress  by [Samantha Cooney](/author/samantha-cooney/)  ## Samantha Cooney Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 6, 2017 6:57 PM CUT  SANTA BARBARA, CA - FEBRUARY 04: Naomie Harris attends the 32nd Santa Barbara International Film Festival Virtuosos Tribute at Arlington Theater on February 4, 2017 in Santa Barbara, California. (Photo by Tibrina Hobson/WireImage) SANTA BARBARA, CA - FEBRUARY 04: Naomie Harris attends the 32nd Santa Barbara International Film Festival Virtuosos Tribute at Arlington Theater on February 4, 2017 in Santa Barbara, California. (Photo by Tibrina Hobson/WireImage)Tibrina Hobson—WireImage  by [Samantha Cooney](/author/samantha-cooney/)  ## Samantha Cooney Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 6, 2017 6:57 PM CUT Naomie Harris’ role in _Moonlight_ may have delivered her newfound fame and [an Academy Award nomination](http://time.com/4635815/2017-oscars-nominations-list/ "undefined"), but the actress’ life hasn’t always been so glamourous. In an interview with [New York _Magazine_](http://nymag.com/thecut/2017/02/spring-fashion-naomie-harris-moonlight.html "undefined"), Harris opened up about being raised by a single mother. Carmen Harris had Harris when she was 18, and raised her daughter alone in an apartment in London after Harris’ father left. Harris’ mother enrolled in university when her daughter was five, even taking her young daughter along with her to class when she couldn’t pay for a babysitter. “I remember being so inspired by her work ethic, the vision she had for herself,” Harris told New York _Magazine_. “My mum used to collect these plates because she always said, ‘One day, we’re going to live in a really nice house and we’re going to be able to use these plates.’” Harris shared that her mother finally saved enough to purchase a house when Harris was 15, and said, “My mum finally pulled out these plates.“ The star adopted her mother’s determination as she pursued a career in acting, appearing in television shows as young as age nine. Her hard work clearly paid off, as she’ll compete for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress alongside powerhouses like [Viola Davis](http://motto.time.com/4239239/viola-davis-diversity-in-hollywood-oscars/?iid=sr-link1 "undefined"), [Michelle Williams](http://ti.me/2gYhF7K "undefined") and [Octavia Spencer](http://motto.time.com/4660118/octavia-spencer-condemns-donald-trump-supporters-hidden-figures/?iid=sr-link1 "undefined") later this month. But Harris is humble about her chances for the award. “It’s not going to happen,” she said. “It’s Viola’s year.” \[[New York _Magazine_](http://nymag.com/thecut/2017/02/spring-fashion-naomie-harris-moonlight.html "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4661306/naomie-harris-oscar-single-mother/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4661306/naomie-harris-oscar-single-mother/"},"headline":"Moonlight's Naomie Harris Doesn't Think She'll Win the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress","datePublished":"2017-02-06T18:57:05.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T09:04:41.639Z","description":"She thinks it's someone else's turn","url":"https://time.com/4661306/naomie-harris-oscar-single-mother/","keywords":["motto"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7571f44b5de52d9a/6988b8fd428a9e8c56cd5c48/naomie-harris-40-year-old.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Samantha Cooney","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/samantha-cooney/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7571f44b5de52d9a/6988b8fd428a9e8c56cd5c48/naomie-harris-40-year-old.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"32nd Santa Barbara International Film Festival - Virtuosos - Arrivals","caption":"32nd Santa Barbara International Film Festival - Virtuosos - Arrivals","creditText":"Tibrina Hobson—WireImage","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/motto/","name":"motto"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4661306/naomie-harris-oscar-single-mother/","name":"Moonlight's Naomie Harris Doesn't Think She'll Win the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress"}}]}] ```