Viola Davis to Receive the 2025 Cecil B. DeMille Award

The Golden Globes® has announced that actress, producer and Golden Globe winner Viola Davis has been named the Cecil B. DeMille Award honoree for 2025. Davis earned her first Golden Globe award for Best Supporting Actress in the film adaptation of August Wilson’s screenplay, Fences, in 2017 opposite fellow Cecil B. DeMille Award winner Denzel Washington.  

First created in 1952 and honoring the eponymous director, the Cecil B. DeMille Award has been bestowed on 69 honorees drawn from Hollywood’s greatest and most iconic talents, including Walt Disney, Jack Warner, Sidney Poitier, Robert Redford, Barbra Streisand and Oprah Winfrey. 

"Viola Davis is a luminary whose profound talent has continuously shifted the lens through which we see and understand film," stated Helen Hoehne, President of the Golden Globes. "Presenting her with the 2025 Cecil B. DeMille Award is not only an honor but a reflection of our admiration for her relentless dedication to her craft and her monumental impact on the industry. 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." 

Davis is a critically revered artist, activist, producer, philanthropist, and New York Times best-selling author. She earned EGOT status through her Oscar, Emmy, Grammy, and multi-Tony Award wins.  She was honored in 2017 by Time 100 as one of the world’s most influential people and, in 2022, was honored with the Public Counsel’s William O Douglas Award for her commitment to social justice causes. Davis has partnered with multiple programs to eradicate childhood hunger in the United States.  

In 2012, Davis and her husband Julius Tennon founded their production company, JuVee Productions, with its focus on giving a voice to the voiceless through strong, impactful narratives. JuVee creates scripted and non-scripted television, film, documentary, theater, and digital immersive content for global audiences. It remains at the forefront of innovation, while developing and producing a library of socially relevant entertainment, defined by inclusion. A graduate of The Julliard School, Davis received an Honorary Doctorate during its 109th Commencement Ceremony and she also holds an Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree from her alma mater, Rhode Island College.  

Davis, along with the 2025 Carol Burnett Award winner, honoring television achievements, will be feted at a gala dinner on Friday, January 3, 2025, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. For the first time ever, THE GOLDEN GLOBES will host a special evening dedicated to these two most historic awards. Davis will also be recognized on the 82nd Annual Golden Globes® broadcast.  

The first major award show of the season, THE GOLDEN GLOBES will air Sunday, January 5, 2025 (8:00-11:00 PM, live ET/5:00-8:00 PM, live PT) on the CBS Television Network, and stream on Paramount+ in the U.S. (live and on-demand for Paramount+ with SHOWTIME subscribers, or on-demand for Paramount+ Essential subscribers the day after the special airs). Nominations for THE GOLDEN GLOBES will be announced on Monday, December 9, 2024. 

Photo Courtesy of AB+DM