RI's Davis Wins Screen Actors Guild Award for Performance in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom

RI's Davis Wins Screen Actors Guild Award for Performance in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom

Rhode Island native Viola Davis -- who already has an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and two Tony Awards, won the 2021 Screen Actors Guild (SAG) award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role in a Motion Picture

She faced the following nominees in the award announced Sunday night. 

Amy Adams, Hillbilly Elegy
Viola Davis, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Vanessa Kirby, Pieces of a Woman
Frances McDormand, Nomadland
Carey Mulligan, Promising Young Woman

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The late Chadwick Boseman posthumously won Best Male Actor in a Leading Role for his performance in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom. 

In her acceptance speech, Davis thanked the film's cast, including the "beautiful" Chadwick Boseman; director George C. Wolfe; the film's producers, including Denzel Washington; and August Wilson, who wrote the play on which the Netflix film is based, thanking him for "leaving a legacy to actors of color that we can relish for the rest of our lives."

Up for Another Oscar 

In March,  Davis nominated in the category for Best Actress in a Leading Role in this year's Academy Awards for her performance in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom. 

Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2012 and 2017. In 2017, Davis received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

In 2020, The New York Times ranked Davis ninth on its list of "The 25 Greatest Actors of the 21st Century".

Davis joins the following nominees in the "Best Actress in a Leading Role" category:

Viola Davis, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
Andra Day, United States vs. Billie Holiday
Vanessa Kirby, Pieces of a Woman
Frances McDormand, Nomadland
Carey Mulligan, Promising Young Woman