EGOT winner Viola Davis received her latest accolade at the Golden Globes Gala.
She accepted the prestigious Cecil B. DeMille Award on Saturday, January 4, PEOPLE reports. Named after the legendary actor, the award is given “to an exceptional actor, director, or anyone who has made “outstanding contributions to the world of entertainment.”
First created in 1952, past recipients include Sidney Poitier, Oprah Winfrey, and Eddie Murphy.
During her acceptance speech, she reflected on her journey to becoming one of the most acclaimed actresses of all time.
“I decided to be an actor because acting was just a cosmic carrot for a much higher journey. A journey in finding me, finding a sense of belonging, finding my worth,” she said. “I was born into a life that just simply did not make sense. I was poor going up in a house with alcoholism and infested with rats everywhere. Toilets never worked.”
“My life just didn’t make sense. And on top of all that, everyone ever said that I wasn’t pretty. By the way, what the hell is pretty? I wasn’t pretty. I just wanted to be somebody.”
Despite all of her challenges, the How to Get Away with Murder star said she tapped into the “magic” inside her.
“And you know what my magic was? That I could teleport. That I can take myself out of this worthless world and relieve myself of it at times,” she added.
She also noted that she “took a lot of jobs because of the money… Because sometimes for a dark-skinned Black woman with a wide nose and big lips, that’s all there is out there. Alright? If I waited for a role that was written for me, well-crafted, I wouldn’t be standing up here. So I took it for the money.”
Davis said that every character she played, even if it was someone “nobody cares about,” propelled her to find the “elixir” she was always in search of.
“And here’s the thing, she’s powerful,” Davis concluded her speech. “So little Viola is squealing. She’s standing behind me now and she’s pulling on my dress, and she’s wearing the same red rubber boots as she wore rain or shine because they made her feel pretty. She’s squealing and she’s saying one thing. She says, ‘Make them hear this.’ And what she’s whispering is, ‘I told you I was a magician.”