She received her fourth Oscar nomination this year for Netflix movie Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.
And ahead of next month’s Academy Awards, Viola Davis stars in a pictorial essay for W magazine directed by her good friend and fellow Oscar winner Regina King.
Davis is featured on the magazine’s cover with her daughter Genesis, 10, and inside the two are joined by the actress’ husband Julius Tennon for a series of photos titled Black Americana.
Tells a story: Viola Davis stars with her family in a pictorial essay for the April issue of W magazine directed by her good friend, actress and filmmaker Regina King
Posting an image of the cover to her Instagram on Monday, Davis, 55, shared: ‘The best shoot of my life. Julius, Genesis and I are so grateful to receive the overflow of your artistry @iamreginaking. Love you.’
The photos were shot in the historic West Adams neighborhood of Los Angeles by photographer Andre D. Wagner, under King’s direction.
The series starts with the family on the porch of their modest home fixing greens for dinner before Davis and Tennon enjoy a Saturday night out together.
The following morning, the three are snapped going to church before returning home to a phone call delivering tragic news.
Family: The photos titled ‘Black Americana’ feature Oscar winner Davis, 55, her husband Julius Tennon, 67, and their daughter Genesis, 10
Chores: The series of photos, taken in the historic West Adams neighborhood of Los Angeles, starts with the family on the porch of their modest home fixing greens for dinner
Date: Davis and Tennon then head out for a Saturday night on the town
Sunday best: The next morning, the family walks to through the neighborhood to church
According to King, the photo essay is meant to convey an authentic portrayal life as a Black American.
‘I don’t think any of us are particularly happy with the state of America, but we still embrace the fact that we are Black Americans, even with all of the things that have happened in history,’ the One Night In Miami filmmaker, 50, explained in the W article.
Davis put it this way: ‘There’s a life beyond the tragedy, there’s life even within the tragedy, and there was a life before the tragedy.
‘That you can be experiencing moments of joy when tragedy comes in and invades your life, and then it melts into something else—we understand that about life in general, but not always with Black folks in it. This is the first time I’ve ever done a photo shoot like this.’
Heartbreak: Once back home again, Davis receives a devastating phone call with tragic news
Davis summed up the photo shoot this way: ‘There’s a life beyond the tragedy, there’s life even within the tragedy, and there was a life before the tragedy’
‘That you can be experiencing moments of joy when tragedy comes in and invades your life, and then it melts into something else—we understand that about life in general, but not always with Black folks in it,’ the actress explained
Davis and actor and producer Tennon, 67, married in 2003; she’s his third wife.
They adopted Genesis in 2011 and in an Instagram post celebrating her 10th birthday last July, Davis described her daughter as ‘our heartbeat, our love, our baby.’
W Magazine Volume 2 The Directors Issue hits newsstands on April 6th.
Tribute: Posting an image of the cover to her Instagram on Monday, Davis shared: ‘The best shoot of my life. Julius, Genesis and I are so grateful to receive the overflow of your artistry @iamreginaking’
Creative: King, 50, pictured last year, told W: ‘I don’t think any of us are particularly happy with the state of America, but we still embrace the fact that we are Black Americans, even with all of the things that have happened in history’