Viola Davis Says "Magic" of Acting Helped "Teleport" Her Out of Poverty in Emotional Golden Globes Speech
The actress won the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the 2025 Golden Globes.
Viola Davis and her impact cannot be understated. The Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Award-winning actress and producer has been a mainstay in the entertainment industry for decades, and is widely considered by many to be one of the greatest actors of her generation. But she's not only an EGOTer, she's a fierce advocate and activist for human rights.
And during the ceremony for the Cecil B. DeMille Award—an honorary Golden Globe Award bestowed for "outstanding contributions to the world of entertainment"—Davis brought the whole room to tears in an unscripted speech that showcased just how far she's come and how much she's overcome to become one of the most venerated actresses of her time.
"I was born into a life that just simply did not make sense," she explained. "I didn't fit in. I was born into abject poverty. I was mischievous. I was imaginative. I was rambunctious. But I was also poor. Growing up in a house with alcoholism and rage, infested with rats everywhere, and toilets that never worked," a younger version of Davis never imagined a life for herself as big as the one she now has.
But for all the material and other things that her young life lacked, "what I had was magic," she said. "I was curious, and you know what my magic was? That I could teleport. I could take myself out of this worthless world and relieve myself of it at times. I could go to a place where I could belly laugh, where I could have fun—and the biggest magic was? I could see people."
It's a real tearjerker, so be warned—you'll want to grab the tissues before you watch the video below.
In one of the more poignant moments from the speech, Davis provided some sage wisdom for anyone—actor or otherwise—who has ever felt a bit lost in life.
"You know, they say that the only two people you owe anything to is your six-year-old self and your 80 year old self," she started. "And 6-year-old Viola? Sometimes I have to rely on her to give me perspective. Even in this moment—otherwise it's too big for me to imagine, going from bedwetting and poverty and despair and wrongness, to this."
"And little Viola is squealing," Davis added, "she's standing behind me now, she's pulling on my dress and she's wearing the same red rubber boots that she wore rain or shine, because they made her feel pretty ... And she's whispering, 'I told you I was a magician.'"
