Viola Davis grew up a long way from Hollywood, in Central Falls, Rhode Island, and she was born even further away from the world of showbiz on a former plantation in South Carolina.
In a sit-down with Jess Cagle, editorial director of PEOPLE and Entertainment Weekly, Davis recounted her short time living on her grandmothers farm, which was on Singleton Plantation in St. Matthews, South Carolina.
I wasnt on it long, because I was the fifth child, and so we moved soon after I was born, she said during the latest episode of The Jess Cagle Interview. I mean, I went back to visit briefly but still not aware of the history. I think I read one slave narrative of someone who was on that plantation which was horrific. 160 acres of land, and my grandfather was a sharecropper. Most of my uncles and cousins, theyre farmers. Thats the choice that they had. My grandmothers house was a one room shack. I have a picture of it on my phone because I think its a beautiful picture.
(Source)