Viola Davis Praying Daughter Won't Become Entitled
Even though Viola Davis has a successful career decorated with Oscar and Emmy Awards, the Christian actress leans on prayer to help her succeed as a parent.
Davis, who stars in the critically acclaimed film "Fences" alongside Denzel Washington, says her number one fear is that her 6-year-old daughter Genesis will grow up with a sense of entitlement. While she came from humble beginnings, Davis prays that her daughter doesn't grow up believing she should receive special treatment because of who her mother is.
"I never had a house; Genesis has a house. I do shop at Target, I buy all her clothes at Target or H&M and maybe, if I'm feeling really good, Nordstrom Rack," she told People magazine. "Listen, there are poor kids who are entitled. So I pray."
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According to Davis, her actor husband Julius Tennon is the disciplinarian with the pair's adopted daughter.
"I came into a relationship where he already had children and grandchildren and raised his kids on his own, so he's tough — he toes the line, but in a very loving way. He holds her accountable," the 51-year-old actress said in the People report. "Me, not so much — I'm the softie."
The couple adopted Genesis in 2011. The pair were married in 2003 and have a union that the actress said she prayed to God for.
"I asked for a husband who was emotionally available, someone who was older, someone who maybe had a family before," she told Essence magazine in 2013. "I like older men. Someone from the South. Someone who loves God more than he loves himself."
Less than a month after praying, Davis said she met her husband.
"I met my husband three and a half weeks later, an ex-football player from Austin, Texas," she revealed. "On one of our first dates, he took me to church."
Davis has glorified God in the midst of her blessings throughout the years, including during her Academy Awards acceptance where she won a Best Supporting Actress honor for her work alongside lead actor and director of the film "Fences."
In her speech, she thanked actor Washington for putting God and the late "Fences" playwright August Wilson at the forefront of the project when creating it.
"Thank you for putting two entities in the driving seat: August and God. And they served you well," she said before thanking God for her parents. "My parents ― I'm so thankful that God chose you to bring me into this world."
