Even before "How To Get Away With Murder" became the latest Shonda Rhimes show after "Grey's Anatomy" and "Scandal," Viola Davis had proven time and again that she was one of the best screen actresses around, having proved her worth on the big screen and the small one - so Viola Davis' Emmy win is more a relief than a surprise!
At 50 years of age, Viola Davis' Emmy comes as a new appreciation of the actress, who has turned into one of the highest-acclaimed stars of the past few years, with two Oscar nominations to her name in the past decade, first for "Doubt" and later for "The Help," and next year she's making her superhero movie debut in "Suicide Squad."
ABC.net.au, as many other news outlets in the world, have called the ceremony that brought Viola Davis' Emmy home the most diverse one to date, with a large number of non-white nominees as well as honoring the trans community with Jeffrey Tambor taking home the award for Best Actor in a Comedy Series for "Transparent," though Laverne Cox from "Orange is the New Black" wasn't nominated.
As Stuff reports after Viola Davis' Emmy win, one of her fellow competitors, Taraji P. Henson from "Empire," is also black, the two non-white women in the category this year; Shondaland pal Kerry Washington was snubbed this year after being nominated for two years in a row.
After the historic Viola Davis Emmy win, which turned her into the first-ever African American woman to take home the prize for Best Lead Actress in a Drama Series (in a ceremony that also saw Uzo Aduba from "Orange is the New Black" and Regina King from "American Crime" take awards home), Just Jared reports a series of celebrities took to social media to congratulate her.
Among the most notable celebs showing their pride for Davis were Gabrielle Union, "HtGAwM" creator Rhimes, "Scandal" star Washington, Sherri Shepherd, Darby Stanchfield, Zendaya, Oscar winner Julianne Moore, Angie Harmon and even Oprah Winfrey.
Congratulations to the actress on Viola Davis' Emmy win - watch her amazing speech below!
