Meet Viola Davis' Sisters! All About Dianne, Deloris, Anita and Danielle

Viola Davis and her siblings had a difficult childhood, but they write their own happy endings.

Born on August 11, 1965, Viola is the fifth of six children born to Mae Alice Davis and Dan Davis.

The couple, who married as teenagers, welcomed their first child and only son, John Henry Davis, when Mae was just 15. He was followed by Viola’s sisters Dianne Davis Wright, Deloris Davis Grant and Anita Davis. “[My mother] he had my sister Dianne when she was eighteen, Anita at nineteen, Deloris at twenty and me at twenty-two,” Viola wrote in her 2022 memoir. Finding me.

The couple’s youngest daughter, Danielle Eugina Davis, was born 12 years after Viola, on April 21, 1977.

Although the Davis children had what Viola called “happy memories” growing up on TODAY Sunday 2019, their childhoods were also filled with what she called “darkness.”

Their siblings’ early years were marked by extreme poverty and sexual abuse. They also witnessed violence, with Dan physically abusing Mae. (Dan died of pancreatic cancer in 2006, though Viola told PEOPLE he reconciled with Mae before his death.)

The sisters turned to each other for strength. Viola wrote in her memoirs: “We all needed each other. None of us could fight individually.”

And together they persevered. “Me, my sister Deloris, my sister Dianne, many members of my family broke generational curses because we dared to dream big,” the actress told Ancestry 2023. “We just dared to dig deep into the dirt and grime and trauma of our childhoods and we want better for our lives.”

Keep reading to learn more about Viola Davis’ sisters Dianne, Deloris, Anita, and Danielle and their relationships with each other.

They were born in South Carolina but grew up in Rhode Island

Viola Davis and her family.

Viola Davis Instagram

Viola opened her ancestry to Ancestry in 2023. “I came from Singleton Plantation in St. Matthews, SC,” she said. “I was born in my grandmother’s share house.”

Although the family moved to Central Falls, RI when Viola was a child, the family struggled financially. According to The Providence Journal, Mae worked as a maid while Dan was a horse groomer. “We lived in forbidden buildings – apartments full of rats,” Viola told Sunday TODAY 2019.

They also struggled to fit into the Central Falls community where they grew up. As Deloris explained to Ancestry 2023, “Viola and I and my sisters, we all struggled because we grew up in a community where there were no African Americans. ”

Anita stood up to Viola’s bullies

Anita had Viola’s back when it came to the thugs in the neighborhood. The How to get away with murder The actress recounted how she relied on her big sister for protection in her 2022 memoir. Finding me. “If the situation gets particularly awkward, I would call my older sister Anita as a backup,” she wrote. “She struck fear into every boy, girl, woman, man and dog in Central Falls, Rhode Island.”

According to the Oscar winner, Anita even “grew her nails to be a better fighter”.

Viola shared Anita’s secret for “intimidating” her sister’s tormentors in an interview with Stephen Colbert in 2016, explaining, “She had this whole method where she would growl and drool.” She added, “It was really very effective. I recommend it. . .. Just drool with a little brick in hand.”

Deloris spurred Viola into action

Julius Tennon, Deloris Grant and Viola Davis attend XQ Super School Live on September 8, 2017 in Santa California.

Christopher Polk/Getty

In an interview with Ancestry in 2023, Viola revealed that at one point she almost gave up on her dreams of becoming an actress. According to the producer, she decided to pursue a career as a teacher in order to earn a more stable income. “I was taking a bunch of English classes and I was more depressed than I’d ever been in my life,” she said.

Her trajectory was changed by her older sister, who encouraged her to follow her heart and do what she loves. “It only changed when my sister Deloris said, ‘Viola, you said you always wanted to be an actress,'” the actress recalled. “I said, ‘How am I going to be an actor?’ She said: ‘I don’t know! I just know you liked it. So do it!’ ”

Viola added: “As soon as I did that, the depression went away.”

Deloris explained the reasoning behind her guidelines, saying, “Viola was never happy unless she was acting. What other advice would I give her?”

Dianne went to Harvard

Viola Davis and her sister Dianne.

Viola Davis Instagram

Dianne dedicated herself to studying after being held back in first grade. “That’s when I got serious about education,” she said while accepting the TRIO Family Achievement Award from the Council on Educational Opportunity in September 2018.

The former USDA employee, who worked as a civil rights civil servant for 40 years before retiring, said she shared her newfound love of knowledge with her siblings. “Everything I learned at school, I took home for my sisters,” she joked, “I was the only one who could be a teacher or principal.”

As Dianne told the audience, her pursuit of learning eventually led to her acceptance to an Ivy League school. She spent two years at Rhode Island College before transferring to Harvard University.

Danijela has a large family

Sisters Viola Davis Deloris and Danielle.

Viola Davis Instagram

Viola’s younger sister, Danielle, is the most intimate of her siblings.

Although not much is known about her, Viola revealed in a 2015 speech that Danielle is the mother of at least six children.

Davis also wished her little sister a happy birthday on social media in 2023, writing: “I remember it like it was yesterday. You broke all our hearts, opened our lives wide open. Danielle…..YOU are the love of your life…..YOU are your gift! I love you my Nelly! I wish you the best day.”

The sisters received an award for their educational work

On September 15, 2018, Dianne, Deloris, Anita, Viola and their mother, Mae, received the Council on Educational Opportunity’s first TRIO Family Award. This award honors the success of families who have participated in federal programs aimed at supporting success in higher education, such as Upward Bound and Student Support Services.

Maureen Hoyler, president and CEO of the Council, released a statement about the decision, saying, “The success of the Davis sisters is a prime example of why federal support for education is an investment that strengthens families and communities. When one sibling enrolls in a program like Upward Bound and goes to college, younger siblings and even parents often follow.”

Deloris teaches drama

Viola Davis and her sister at the 2nd Annual Women In Film Pre-Oscar Cocktail Party on February 20, 2009 in Beverly Hills, California.

Frederick M. Brown/Getty

Viola isn’t the only one with acting connections in the Davis family. Her older sister Deloris, who won a skit with Viola as a child, grew up to become a drama and advanced English teacher.

According to The Providence Journal, Deloris received her Ph.D. studied at Rhode Island College before returning to Central Falls High School as a teacher. “I love coming back here every day,” she told the newspaper. “I know those families. I get a sense of kinship with the community.”

She added: “I see myself in these children.”

Deloris previously spoke about the impact her younger sister had on her teaching in a 2012 interview. Rhode Show. “She is the biggest inspiration for our students,” said the teacher. “Especially the students I have in my drama class, because they’re up on the stage where Viola Davis stood, where Viola Davis acted.”

As of 2022, Deloris had been at the school for 25 years.

Anita has multiple sclerosis

According to Various Anita returned to Rhode Island Community College decades after being discharged.

She faced a unique set of challenges as a student: in addition to being the oldest person in her class, she also has multiple sclerosis.

Viola bonded with Dianne and Deloris over a shared medical diagnosis

Deloris Davis Grant and Viola Davis at XQ Super School Live on September 8, 2017

WENN Rights Ltd / Alamy

Viola told PEOPLE in 2019 that her pre-diagnosis of diabetes in 2016 brought her closer to Dianne and Deloris, who both have type 2 diabetes. “It hit home for me,” she said. “My two sisters have type 2 diabetes, my great aunt had type 2 diabetes. (She) lost both legs and was in a wheelchair for decades, until she finally succumbed to the disease. Like my grandmother on my father’s side.”

According to the performer, her family’s experiences with the disease inspired her to write the 2019 documentary. A touch of sugar, which confronts America’s diabetes crisis. “[Diabetes] had an effect [my sisters] in different ways, in terms of the symptoms they had,” Viola said. “But what’s even more important is that they succeed. They solved it. They don’t just watch it and sit back.”

Deloris has traveled to more than 80 countries

While accepting the TRIO Family Achievement Award in September 2018, Deloris revealed that she is a world traveler.

“I wanted to be an archaeologist almost my whole life … because I wanted to travel,” she said.

According to the teacher, her time in TRIO’s federally funded Upward Bound program, which helps prepare participants for college, fueled her desire to see the world by exposing her to people of different backgrounds and cultures. “When I was at Upward Bound, I met so many people from all over the world, Cambodia, Laos, China, South America, and I loved hearing their stories,” she said.

As a result, Deloris began visiting their lands. She shared, “Those stories inspired me to travel to probably more than 80 countries — at least I stopped counting after 80.”

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Source: HIS Education