Viola Davis has four sisters and one brother

They were 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 in South Carolina but raised in Rhode IslandViola Davis and her family.

Though the family moved to Central Falls, R.I. when Viola was an infant, the family struggled financially. According to The Providence Journal, Mae worked as a maid while Dan was a horse groomer. “We lived in condemned buildings — apartments infested with rats,” Viola told Sunday TODAY in 2019.

Anita had Viola’s back when it came to neighborhood bullies. The How to Get Away with Murder actress recounted her reliance on her big sister for protection in her 2022 memoir, Finding Me. “If the situation was especially sticky, as backup I would call upon my big sister Anita,” she wrote. “She instilled fear in every boy, girl, woman, man and dog in Central Falls, Rhode Island.”

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

Dianne went to HowardViola Davis and her sister Dianne.

Danielle has a large familyViola Davis’ sisters Deloris and Danielle.

Deloris teaches dramaViola Davis and her sister attend the second annual Women In Film Pre-Oscar Cocktail Party on February 20, 2009 in Beverly Hills, California.

According to The Providence Journal, Deloris received her Ph.D. in education from Rhode Island College before returning to Central Falls High School as an educator. “I like returning here every day,” she told the outlet. “I know the families. I get a sense of kinship with the community.”

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

According to Diverse magazine, Anita returned to Rhode Island Community College several decades after being unenrolled.

Viola bonded with Dianne and Deloris over a shared medical diagnosisDeloris Davis Grant and Viola Davis at XQ Super School Live on September 8, 2017.

According to the performer, her family’s experiences with the disease inspired her to narrate the 2019 documentary A Touch of Sugar, which confronts America’s diabetes crisis. “[Diabetes] has affected [my sisters] in different ways, in terms of the symptoms they’ve had,” Viola said. “But the thing that’s even more important is that they’re managing it. They have tackled it. They’re not just watching it and sitting by.”