Viola Davis gave herself a meaningful and special birthday gift on her 55th, earlier this week.
The ‘Fences’ star bought a former slave plantation house – in which she also happened to be born in, as a gift to herself.
The Oscar winning actress shared a picture of the old house on her social media handles, and announced the overwhelming news:
“The above is the house where I was born August 11, 1965. It is the birthplace of my story. Today on my 55th year of life….I own it….all of it.”
She concluded the post with :
“May you live long enough to know why you were born.”
Viola had previously spoken about her place of birth, historically used as a plantation by slave owners. The actress talked about her humble beginnings and growing up in extreme poverty, along with her siblings.
“I wasn’t on it long, because I was the fifth child, and so we moved soon after I was born. I mean, I went back to visit briefly but still not aware of the history,” she was previously quoted telling EW. “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, they’re farmers. That’s the choice that they had. My grandmother’s house was a one room shack. I have a picture of it on my phone because I think it’s a beautiful picture.”
Congratulations Viola! And Happy 55th to you!