Road to the Oscars: Sit down with Viola Davis’ sister
By: Liz Tufts
ltufts@abc6.com
CENTRAL FALLS, R.I. — Viola Davis, the Hollywood superstar from Central Falls. When we first sat down with her big sister, Deloris Grant, three years ago, even then she was bursting with pride saying she has always known that viola would turn heads on the big screen.
“The drama teacher looked at viola and said, you are going to win an award and we all knew it was true,” said Grant.
Flash forward to today, and Viola’s resume has exploded and so has her fame.
Viola recently became the first black woman to receive three academy award nominations with her nod for a supporting role in “Fences.”
In 2015, she was the first black woman to win an Emmy for a Lead Actress in a Drama Series, “How to get away with murder.”
She is also the first African American female to get five SAG awards, but Deloris says the glitz and glamour that comes with that recognition has not changed Viola.
“Viola is such a unique individual, she is still the same. She’s caring, She cares about the people around her, she’s not unreachable,” said Grant.
Something Deloris maybe did not expect. Viola’s success has catapulted her entire family into the spotlight.
“I get a lot of attention, sometimes I get fan mail because a lot of people know where I work so it’s easy to contact me but I also have students who think that I am famous,” adds Grant.
Grant is the drama teacher at Central Falls High School. Her sister’s fame has impacted her students tremendously.
ABC6 News got a sneak peak at what Deloris will be wearing. Win or no win, Deloris says her sister already has broken so many barriers, giving others, even strangers, the push and drive to never give up on their dreams.
“I get messages from other people all around the world, all over the continent and they all have the same message. that viola is the example of what they can achieve,” said Grant.
©WLNE-TV / ABC6 2017
