South Carolina Native, Viola Davis Receives Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts Degree At AFI Conservatory Commencement

The American Film Institute (AFI) conferred Doctorates of Fine Arts degrees, honoris causa, for contributions of distinction to the art of the moving image upon trailblazing actress and producer Viola Davis and legendary film editor and sound designer Walter Murch during the AFI Conservatory's Class of 2025 commencement ceremony at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.
Davis was introduced on stage by groundbreaking filmmaker and black Hollywood trailblazer Gina Prince-Bythewood. Prince-Bythewood was chosen by the star and her husband, Julius Tennon, to direct 2022’s The Woman King. Tennon and Davis served as producers on the film.
The commencement celebrated the AFI Fellows’ completion of two years of concentrated study in AFI’s MFA program. 
In accepting her AFI Honorary Degree, Davis remarked, “You have the power to come home to that one thing that made you want to do this. To be healers, to be alchemists, to buck the system, to see life just a little bit different, and therefore you don’t just leave something for people. You leave something in them. As far as we can discern, the sole purpose of human existence is to kindle a light in the darkness that is near being. The gift is that person who runs into the movie theater with the Sour Patch Kids, popcorn, and the Diet Coke, and they’re willing to not escape. They’re willing to bring their loneliness, angst, shame of not feeling worthy, anxiety, depression, awkwardness, and mess. And the curtains open. The movie plays, and they’re reminded that they’re not alone.”
One of the most renowned actresses of her generation and an EGOT recipient, Davis is known for her iconic roles in film and television, such as The Help and How To Get Away With Murder.
Davis joins an esteemed group of distinguished past recipients, including Robert Altman, Maya Angelou, Saul Bass, Angela Bassett, Kathryn Bigelow, Mel Brooks, Carol Burnett, Anne V. Coates, Jamie Lee Curtis, Ernest R. Dickerson, Clint Eastwood, Roger Ebert, Nora Ephron, Jodie Foster, Lesli Linka Glatter, Lawrence Herbert, James Earl Jones, Lawrence Kasdan, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Kathleen Kennedy, Angela Lansbury, Spike Lee, David Lynch, Helen Mirren, Rita Moreno, Gina Prince- Bythewood, Paul Schrader, Quentin Tarantino, Lily Tomlin, Robert Towne, Cicely Tyson, Haskell Wexler, John Williams and Michelle Yeoh.
About Viola Davis
Viola Davis is a critically revered artist, activist, producer, philanthropist and New York Times best-selling author. Davis has earned EGOT status through her Oscar®, Emmy®, Grammy, and multi-Tony Award wins. She was honored in 2017 by Time 100 as one of the world’s most influential people, in 2022, was honored with the Public Counsel’s William O Douglas Award for her commitment to social justice causes and in 2025 received the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the Golden Globes. 
Davis has described herself as having "lived in abject poverty and dysfunction" during her childhood, recalling living in "rat-infested and condemned" apartments. Davis has partnered with multiple programs to eradicate childhood hunger in the United States. She started the Davis-Tennon Foundation, which is committed to driving meaningful change by funding initiatives that address critical needs within Rhode Island communities.
Davis was born on August 11, 1965, in St. Matthews, South Carolina to Mae Alice Davis (née Logan) and Dan Davis. She was born on her grandmother's farm on the Singleton Plantation. Her father was a horse trainer, and her mother was a maid, factory worker and homemaker. She is the second youngest of six children, having four sisters and a brother. Davis is a second cousin of actor Mike Colter, known for portraying the Marvel Comics character Luke Cage.
In 2012, Davis and her husband Julius Tennon founded their production company, JuVee Productions, with its focus on giving a voice to the voiceless through strong, impactful narratives. JuVee creates scripted and non-scripted television, film, documentary, theater, and digital immersive content for global audiences. It remains at the forefront of innovation, while developing and producing a library of socially relevant entertainment, defined by inclusion. A graduate of The Juilliard School, Davis received an Honorary Doctorate during its 109th Commencement Ceremony and she also holds an Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts degree from her alma mater, Rhode Island College.
About the American Film Institute (AFI)
The American Film Institute (AFI) is a nonprofit organization with a mandate to champion the moving image as an art form. Established in 1967, AFI launched the first comprehensive history of American film and sparked the movement for film preservation in the United States. In 1969, AFI opened the doors of the AFI Conservatory, a graduate-level program to train narrative filmmakers. The Conservatory, which counts Deniese Davis, Affonso Gonçalves, Susannah Grant, Matthew Libatique, David Lynch, Melina Matsoukas and Rachel Morrison as Alumni, is ranked as one of the top film schools in America.