Viola Davis Says She Feels ‘My Value Is Going Up’ After Turning 61 (Exclusive) Tommy McArdleThu, September 10, 2026 at 1:29 PM UTC 0 Viola Davis on March 1, 2026Credit: Julian Hamilton/GA/The Hollywood Reporter via Getty Viola Davis discussed how her confidence in herself has grown over the years in a new cover story for AARP’s Movies for Grownups “I feel like right now at this point in my life I actually have the freedom of being me,” she told the outlet Davis will next appear on the big screen in January when she stars in Children of Blood and Bone Viola Davis is feeling happy about her plac...
Viola Davis Says She Feels ‘My Value Is Going Up’ After Turning 61 (Exclusive)
Tommy McArdleThu, September 10, 2026 at 1:29 PM UTC
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Viola Davis on March 1, 2026Credit: Julian Hamilton/GA/The Hollywood Reporter via Getty -
Viola Davis discussed how her confidence in herself has grown over the years in a new cover story for AARP’s Movies for Grownups
“I feel like right now at this point in my life I actually have the freedom of being me,” she told the outlet
Davis will next appear on the big screen in January when she stars in Children of Blood and Bone
Viola Davis is feeling happy about her place in the world after turning 61 in August.
The EGOT recipient is featured on the cover of AARP’s Movies for Grownups 25 Most Fabulous Gen X Actresses issue, unveiled Thursday, Sept. 10, leading a top five that includes Charlize Theron, Halle Berry, Penelope Cruz and Drew Barrymore. While Davis spoke with the outlet about her upbringing and experiences in Hollywood, she shared that she has grown more confident with age.
“I think that when I was younger, I was so afraid of failure. I was so terrified that failure would define me. No it doesn’t. It doesn’t define me and it also does not challenge my worth,” she told the outlet. “Who I am is really shaped by my family, my background. I wasn’t an MTV girl. We didn’t have cable TV because I was poor. We didn’t have a telephone. What shaped me is, actually, sometimes, bad memories and bad experiences. Knowing that they were there, but they were not there to cripple me - they were there to challenge what I already had inside me.”
“Here’s the thing. I see myself as brave. But when I say brave, is, I had the ability to survive the hard stuff. I can do the hard stuff,” she added. “It doesn’t matter if people think that I’m beautiful. It doesn’t matter if people feel like Viola, at 61, you can’t do an action movie, you can’t do a love scene, you can’t do A, B and C.’ My ability to overcome and to challenge and to believe in my ability is mine.”
Davis completed her EGOT when she won a Grammy in 2023. In recent years, she has starred in action movies like G20 and The Woman King, took part in major franchises like The Hunger Games with 2023’s prequel The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes and made memorable appearances in movies like Air alongside her husband Julius Tennon.
“When you come to Hollywood, I think women over 40, then over 50, you feel like you’ve just sort of disappeared and fallen off a cliff. So it’s nice to know that’s not true,” Davis told AARP. “I feel like my value is going up. It feels fabulous. I don’t see my age as a limitation or anything. I feel like right now at this point in my life I actually have the freedom of being me. Mistakes, dreams, successes, all of it is mine to define, and I think that that’s the award and the reward as I’m aging, is a discovery of that.”
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Viola Davis on the cover of AARP The Magazine, Sept. 10, 2026Credit: AARP's Movies for Grownups
“Every once in a while I’ll say ‘I worked hard in my life. I got some awards and I did some great films, or whatever,’ and I always have to stop myself and say ‘Viola, even without any of that, none of that didn’t have to happen. You’re still worthy,’” she added.
Davis celebrated her birthday publicly on Aug. 11 when she shared a photo of herself and pictures of decorations her family put up in a villa they stayed at in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. On top of a significant balloon display, Davis’ family — Tennon, 72, whom she has been married to since 2003, and their daughter Genesis, now 16 — also appeared to arrange for a musical performance and cake to be delivered to the actress.
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“Oh! Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all of your birthday wishes,” Davis wrote in a caption to that post. “God has blessed me with such an abundant life. I have love, gratefulness, joy, and awe… it is truly the life I prayed for.” She also thanked the luxury villa brand Casa Nahui and “the beautiful Puerto Vallarta” for hosting her on her birthday. “Te amo. Thank you for your kindness, the breathtaking views, and the beyond-hospitable staff. Raices Calinces, thank you for your artistry. And to my friends, my beautiful husband, and my daughter—you all make my life so incredibly special,” she added in her caption. “Muchas gracias!! ♥️💃🏿🙏🏿”
Davis will next appear on the big screen in January when she stars in Children of Blood and Bone, a feature film adaptation of author Tomi Adeyemi’s 2018 young adult novel of the same name.
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Source: Entertainment
Published: September 10, 2026 at 04:45PM on Source: MORNING MAG
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