Multiple award-winning actress and activist Viola Davis will be honored with the Chairman’s Award at this year’s NAACP Image Awards, it was announced Thursday.
The Chairman’s Award honors individuals who “excel in public service and leverage their unique platforms to ignite and drive meaningful change,” according to the NAACP.
Davis has partnered with various programs to eradicate childhood hunger in the United States and recently launched the Davis-Tennon Foundation.
The “Fences” and “How to Get Away With Murder” actress has earned EGOT status through her Oscar, Emmy, Grammy and multi-Tony Award wins. She has already collected nine NAACP Image Awards for her performances and for her 2022 memoir “Finding Me.”
“Viola Davis is a generational talent who has commanded audiences with her powerful and transcending performances,” Leon W. Russell, chair of the NAACP National Board of Directors, said in a statement. He acknowledged Davis for her “deeply impactful commitment to driving change.”
Davis received the Cecil B. DeMille honor at the 2025 Golden Globes. Last summer, she was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame and also received an honorary doctorate from the American Film Institute. In 2022, she was honored with Public Counsel’s William O. Douglas Award for her commitment to social justice causes.
Davis will be presented with the award during the 57th annual NAACP ceremony on Feb. 28, broadcast live on BET and CBS from the Pasadena Civic Auditorium. Davis is also nominated for an Image Award for her role in the action-thriller “G20.”
Other special honorees during this year’s NAACP Image Awards week include A$AP Rocky, who will receive the Vanguard Award for fashion, presented at the group’s annual fashion show on Feb. 27,