"How to Get Away With Murder" star Viola Davis became the first African-American woman to snag the Best Actress trophy plum during last Sunday's Emmy Awards. But to the actress, she's really just a mom whose biggest happiness is when her daughter surprised her with a lovely message on her Instagram.
After celebrating her win, Viola took to her Instagram to post the video of her daughter, three-year-old Genesis. The little girl apparently "hacked" into her account so that she can tell her mom these words: "I love you, Mommy, and I hope you win another Emmy. You're my favorite girl. I love you."
The 50-year-old mom also posted a photo of her baby girl wearing the jewelry she had on at the awards night, captioning this with, "Genesis posing with my Emmy Neil Lane jewels. Don't know where she got that pose from. My baby!!!"
Backstage at the Emmy's, Viola was interviewed by the Entertainment Tonight (ET) team minutes after her big win and they tried to give Genesis a call at home. When they couldn't reach the toddler, Viola told ET, "She probably fell asleep," she said with a laugh. "You ask how I handle the success, this is it. People are just not impressed by me at home."
Voila is no stranger to winning big, though as the actress has already won Tony Awards in 2001 and 2010. She has received several acting nominations in her career, especially for the critically acclaimed film, "The Help."
In accepting her Best Actress award, Viola's speech was rather poignant and reflective of the plight of women of color. "The only thing that separates women of color from anyone else is opportunity," she said. "You cannot win an Emmy for roles that are simply not there. Here's to all the writers. ... People who have redefined what it means to be beautiful, to be sexy, to be a leading woman, to be black."
The actress' win is just the beginning, as she vows to be part of a huge change in the industry. "Women are bold! And now that I'm producing, I'm seeing what's happening behind the scenes with people like Alfre Woodard, with people like Sanaa Lathan, with Taraji P. Henson, with Kerry Washington," she told New York Times. "These are all women who are producing their own material. They know their beauty, they know their talent. The women I know don't accept the statistics anymore. They don't accept the numbers as cementing their future."
