Since being nominated for the Academy Award, Viola Davis has been a very busy woman. Recently her agenda has only ramped up. ABC just announced that she’ll star in a new series — How To Get Away With Murder — this fall.
But even before that announcement was made, the Tony-winner will be the keynote speaker for the 28th annual Attorneys Serving the Community luncheon on Friday, June 20, at the Anatole.
Benefiting the Foundation for the Education of Young Women, Davis is the ideal choice for the luncheon. She understands the hunger for education. Born on her grandmother’s farm in South Carolina, she grew up in Rhode Island, where her father worked at racetracks as a horse groomer. While in high school, she discovered the joy of acting. But to perfect her craft, she realized more education was needed following college. Through hard work and determination, she “earned a full scholarship to the Young People’s School of the Performing Arts,” which led to her attending Juilliard School.
The work paid off with her making her Broadway debut in 1996. Since then, the world of acting has been her ZIP Code. In addition to her success on the stage, she has earned major kudos on television (City of Angeles, Law & Order, etc.) and the big screen (Doubt, The Help, Beautiful Creatures, Eat, Pray, Love, etc.).
While most will immediately recall her performance in The Help, her role as the mother confronting Meryl Streep in Doubt was brief and a showstopper resulting in her first Academy Award nomination.
The fundraising lunch that is being chaired by Dena DeNooyer Stroh and Kelli Hinson should be fascinating thanks to this multi-talented actress, who like the ASC recognizes the importance of education and encourages young women to strive for it.
With tickets starting at $100, the money raised at the luncheon will “support an internship program at Irma Lerma Rangel Young Women’s Leadership School, the first FEYW network school in Dallas, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary.”
* Photo provided by Attorneys Serving the Community