Viola Davis can add another award to her resume.
At Friday night’s first annual Golden Gala, Viola Davis was recognized for her outstanding contributions to entertainment with the Cecil B. DeMille Award, one of two lifetime achievement awards presented by the Golden Globes. Previous winners of the prestigious award include Eddie Murphy, Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep, who presented her old friend Davis with the award.
The gala, hosted at the Beverly Hilton two days before the awards show, was held in honor of both Davis and Ted Danson, who received the Carol Burnett Award for outstanding contributions to television.
Viola Davis talks of growing up in Central Falls, RI in acceptance speech
In Davis’ 16-minute unscripted acceptance speech, the EGOT winner talked of her life journey from her Rhode Island roots to her Hollywood stardom.
“I was so poor,” Davis said of her childhood in Central Falls. “Growing up in a house with alcoholism and rage, infested with rats everywhere, toilets that never worked. My life just didn’t make sense.”