While 2015 has been a phenomenal year for Emmy winning actress Viola Davis, it’s also been a year filled with growth and development—particularly in the fashion and self-awareness departments. Although the 50-year-old manages to look amazing on red carpets, having a sense of style (and knowing designers in the industry) doesn’t come natural to her. In fact, she has to work at it.
“Back in the day, my style was whatever was different and cheap,” she recently told InStyle magazine. “I was an artist, and I wanted my clothes to reflect that. I now understand fashion in a way that I don’t even have a language for. I know designers. Before, you could’ve put a gun to my head and asked me to name just one designer and I would’ve been dead.”
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Equally as important is her self-awareness as a woman of faith making it in Hollywood. “What’s released me most from the fear of aging is self-awareness,” she says. “I’ve never determined my value based on my looks or anything physical. I’ve been through a lot in life, and what has gotten me through is strength of character and faith.”
Much of her happiness comes from her adopted daughter, Gennis Tennon (who was Viola for Holloween). “I always tell Genesis she was born from my heart, not my belly,” she says.
Well said, Viola. Well said.