Ahead of the 2025 Golden Globes on Jan. 5, Viola Davis gave an emotional speech while accepting the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the Golden Gala Jan. 3.
You’ll need no help understanding why Viola Davis received this standing ovation.
The EGOT winner delivered a powerful speech while accepting the Cecil B. DeMille Award Speech ahead of the 2025 Golden Globes, hosted by Nikki Glaser on Jan. 5. At the Golden Gala on Jan. 3, Davis shared a touching message on her journey from childhood to stardom.
“I was born into a life that just simply did not make sense. I didn’t fit in,” Davis, 59, said. “I was born into abject poverty. I was mischievous. I was imaginative. I was rambunctious. But I was so poor. Growing up in a house with alcoholism and rage, infested with rats everywhere. Toilets that never worked.”
The Help star turned to her imagination as an escape.
“What I had was magic. I was curious. I could teleport—I could take myself out of this worthless world and relieve myself of it at times,” she continued. “I could go to a place where I can have belly laughs. Where I can have fun. The biggest magic was, I could see people.”
She added, “What you gotta figure out is you. Your story. You as is—you are worthy. I had my ruby slippers.”
Now, Davis feels grateful for her life with husband Julius Tennon and 14-year-old daughter Genesis, noting that her younger self “can’t believe she married the most handsome man in the world.”
“She can’t believe she has a daughter that has burst her heart wide open,” the Fences star continued. “She cannot believe that despite the fact that she smells or was mischievous or was messy and rough around the edges–she has friends who see all of that but love her. And here’s the thing–they think she’s beautiful.”
The Cecil B. DeMille Award—created in 1952—has previously been bestowed upon legends including Walt Disney, Barbra Streisand and Oprah Winfrey. And it’s no secret why Davis fits right in.
“Viola Davis is a luminary whose profound talent has continuously shifted the lens through which we see and understand film,” Golden Globes president Helen Hoehne said in a statement. “Viola’s courage in portraying complex, powerful characters has broken barriers and paved new paths, making her an emblem of excellence and an ideal recipient of this prestigious award.”
So, who else took home a statue at the 2025 Golden Globes? Ted Danson was recognized with the Carol Burnett Award, which honors a star “who has made outstanding contributions to television on or off the screen.”
Read on for more stars who picked up a trophy at the 2025 Golden Globes.
Best Motion Picture—Drama
WINNER: The Brutalist
A Complete Unknown
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Nickel Boys
September 5
Best Motion Picture—Musical or Comedy
Anora
Challengers
WINNER: Emilia Pérez
A Real Pain
The Substance
Wicked
Best Actress in a Motion Picture—Musical or Comedy
Amy Adams, Nightbitch
Cynthia Erivo, Wicked
Karla Sofía Gascón, Emilia Pérez
Mikey Madison, Anora
WINNER: Demi Moore, The Substance
Zendaya, Challengers
Best Actress in a Motion Picture—Drama
Pamela Anderson, The Last Showgirl
Angelina Jolie, Maria
Nicole Kidman, Babygirl
Tilda Swinton, The Room Next Door
WINNER: Fernanda Torres, I’m Still Here
Kate Winslet, Lee
Best Actor in a Motion Picture—Drama
WINNER: Adrien Brody, The Brutalist
Timothée Chalamet, A Complete Unknown
Daniel Craig, Queer
Colman Domingo, Sing Sing
Ralph Fiennes, Conclave
Sebastian Stan, The Apprentice
Best Supporting Actress—Series, Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television
Liza Colón-Zayas, The Bear
Hannah Einbinder, Hacks
Dakota Fanning, Ripley
WINNER: Jessica Gunning, Baby Reindeer
Allison Janney, The Diplomat
Kali Reis, True Detective: Night Country
Best Actress in a Television Series—Drama
Kathy Bates, Matlock
Emma D’Arcy, House of the Dragon
Maya Erskine, Mr. and Mrs. Smith
Keira Knightley, Black Doves
Keri Russell, The Diplomat
WINNER: Anna Sawai, Shogun
Best Supporting Actress—Motion Picture
Selena Gomez, Emilia Pérez
Ariana Grande, Wicked
Felicity Jones, The Brutalist
Margaret Qualley, The Substance
Isabella Rossellini, Conclave
WINNER: Zoe Saldaña, Emilia Pérez
Best Television Series—Musical or Comedy
Abbott Elementary
The Bear
The Gentlemen
WINNER: Hacks
Nobody Wants This
Only Murders in the Building
Best Miniseries or Motion Picture—Television
WINNER: Baby Reindeer
Disclaimer
Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story
The Penguin
Ripley
True Detective
Best Television Series—Drama
The Day of the Jackal
The Diplomat
Mr. and Mrs. Smith
WINNER: Shogun
Slow Horses
Squid Game
Best Supporting Actor—Series, Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television
WINNER: Tadanobu Asano, Shogun
Javier Bardem, Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story
Harrison Ford, Shrinking
Jack Lowden, Slow Horses
Diego Luna, La Máquina
Ebon Moss-Bachrach, The Bear
Best Actor in a Miniseries or Motion Picture—Television
WINNER: Colin Farrell, The Penguin
Richard Gadd, Baby Reindeer
Kevin Kline, Disclaimer
Cooper Koch, Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story
Ewan McGregor, A Gentleman in Moscow
Andrew Scott, Ripley
Best Actor in a Television Series—Drama
Donald Glover, Mr. and Mrs. Smith
Jake Gyllenhaal, Presumed Innocent
Gary Oldman, Slow Horses
Eddie Redmayne, The Day of the Jackal
WINNER: Hiroyuki Sanada, Shogun
Billy Bob Thornton, Landman
Best Supporting Actor—Motion Picture
Yura Borisov, Anora
WINNER: Kieran Culkin, A Real Pain
Edward Norton, A Complete Unknown
Guy Pearce, The Brutalist
Jeremy Strong, The Apprentice
Denzel Washington, Gladiator II
Best Actor in a Motion Picture—Musical or Comedy
Jesse Eisenberg, A Real Pain
Hugh Grant, Heretic
Gabriel LaBelle, Saturday Night
Jesse Plemons, Kinds of Kindness
Glen Powell, Hit Man
WINNER: Sebastian Stan, A Different Man
Best Actress in a Television Series—Musical or Comedy
Kristen Bell, Nobody Wants This
Quinta Brunson, Abbott Elementary
Ayo Edebiri, The Bear
Selena Gomez, Only Murders in the Building
Kathryn Hahn, Agatha All Along
WINNER: Jean Smart, Hacks
Best Actress in a Miniseries or Motion Picture—Television
Cate Blanchett, Disclaimer
WINNER: Jodie Foster, True Detective: Night Country
Cristin Milioti, The Penguin
Sofía Vergara, Griselda
Naomi Watts, Feud Capote vs. the Swans
Kate Winslet, The Regime
Best Actor in a Television Series—Musical or Comedy
Adam Brody, Nobody Wants This
Ted Danson, A Man on the Inside
Steve Martin, Only Murders in The Building
Jason Segel, Shrinking
Martin Short, Only Murders in The Building
WINNER: Jeremy Allen White, The Bear
Best Motion Picture—Animated
WINNER: Flow
Inside Out 2
Memoir of a Snail
Moana 2
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
The Wild Robot
Best Original Song—Motion Picture
“Beautiful That Way,” The Last Showgirl
“Compress/Repress,” Challengers
WINNER: “El Mal,“ Emilia Pérez
“Forbidden Road,” Better Man
“Kiss the Sky,” The Wild Robot
“Mi Camino,” Emilia Pérez
Best Cinematic and Box Office Achievement—Motion Picture
Alien: Romulus
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
Deadpool & Wolverine
Gladiator 2
Inside Out 2
Twisters
WINNER: Wicked
The Wild Robot
Source: www.eonline.com