--- description: In 2015, she made history when she became the first black woman to win an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series. title: Here’s Proof Viola Davis Always Gives the Best Acceptance Speeches image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt61d29e2b746f5287/6988ba7ca988cae8726bb05b/viola-davis-speech.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [celebrities](/tag/celebrities/) ## celebrities Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # This Video Is Proof That Viola Davis Always Gives the Best Acceptance Speeches by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 21, 2017 6:49 PM CUT  Viola Davis, winner of the Best Supporting actress poses in the winners room at the 70th EE British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA) at Royal Albert Hall on February 12, 2017 in London, England. Viola Davis, winner of the Best Supporting actress poses in the winners room at the 70th EE British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA) at Royal Albert Hall on February 12, 2017 in London, England.Samir Hussein—WireImage by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 21, 2017 6:49 PM CUT Odds and critical adoration favor [Viola Davis](http://time.com/4626323/golden-globes-2017-viola-davis-best-supporting-actress-fences/ "undefined") for Best Supporting Actress for her turn in _Fences_ at this Sunday’s [Academy Awards](http://time.com/4673701/oscars-2017-what-to-know/ "undefined"). If she wins, Davis, who has won numerous accolades for her acting work, will have another moment behind the podium, where she has been known to give acceptance speeches with raw, emotional qualities, often drawing on her experience as a woman of color. In 2015, she made history when she became the first black woman to win an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for her role in _How to Get Away with Murder_. Her [speech went viral](http://time.com/4048253/viola-davis-emmys-speech-ellen/ "undefined"), with quotes like “The only thing that separates women of color from anyone else is opportunity,” becoming a rallying cry. Check out some of her most inspiring acceptance speeches above. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4672059/viola-davis-acceptance-speech-watch/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4672059/viola-davis-acceptance-speech-watch/"},"headline":"This Video Is Proof That Viola Davis Always Gives the Best Acceptance Speeches","datePublished":"2017-02-21T18:49:24.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T03:21:05.285Z","description":"In 2015, she made history when she became the first black woman to win an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series.","url":"https://time.com/4672059/viola-davis-acceptance-speech-watch/","keywords":["celebrities","awards","onetime","Oscars 2017"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt61d29e2b746f5287/6988ba7ca988cae8726bb05b/viola-davis-speech.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt61d29e2b746f5287/6988ba7ca988cae8726bb05b/viola-davis-speech.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"EE British Academy Film Awards - Winners Room","caption":"EE British Academy Film Awards - Winners Room","creditText":"Samir Hussein—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":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/celebrities/","name":"celebrities"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4672059/viola-davis-acceptance-speech-watch/","name":"This Video Is Proof That Viola Davis Always Gives the Best Acceptance Speeches"}}]}] ```