Viola Davis: This is an award for all girls of color

When Viola Davis won an Emmy last week for her role on “How to Get Away With Murder,” becoming the first African-American to win the award for leading role in a drama series, co-star Taraji P. Henson stood and applauded. Kerry Washington cried with happiness. Twitter exploded with positive comments. However, in Viola's head, there was only herself, once a six-year-old girl who once upon a time lost in an unimportant contest for Miss.

"I expected to still be the girl who loses the pageant. But everything has changed," says Davis, after only four hours of sleep, as she is photographed at the Ric-Carlton Hotel in Los Angeles.

"I felt an incredible mixture of disbelief, joy and acceptance. It was beautiful," recalls Viola Davis.

Emi, he says, hit the most painful point - he reminded of his childhood. She grew up in poverty, until the age of five she didn't even meet her older sister Diane, because her parents couldn't afford to raise them together. When

When Diane finally returned home, Vajola remembers, she looked around the miserable apartment where they lived and asked her sister: "This is certainly not what you want from life. And what do you really want?".

"I remember not having an answer. And I was looking for it for years," explains Viola Davis.

At the ceremony, she finally found the answer. "The Emmy meant a lot to me, because to me it's not just an award. It means what it can be for young girls, especially women of color. Now that they've seen the physical manifestation of the dream, I feel like I've fulfilled my purpose," says Davis. And her success did not happen overnight, on the contrary. Driven by her passion for acting, she found her way from poverty to Juilliard. Today, at the age of 50, he has a lot of credits - from film, through theater to television. And there is no rest for Viola these days either - she has already returned to her team on the set of her series, where her colleagues greeted her with a standing ovation.

With her husband, Julius Tennon, Davis is also working on a project about activist Harriet Tubman, and says that when she found the subject, she found it useful and historical.

"We constantly talked about women this year. These are some barriers that we try to reach and cross. We dream about it. It enters our body. See who I am, accept me as I am," explains the actress, who admits that she now has the opportunity to selects projects, both in front of and behind the camera. "I've learned that narrative has power. And I want to be in control of my work, not just be in the mind of this world," says Davis.

Viola Davis was nominated for an Oscar twice - in 2008 for the film "Doubt" and in 2011 for "The Help", but she became part of the crew of the series "How to Get Away With Murder" because it was an opportunity to break the rules. "Whatever you think TV is, doesn't necessarily mean it's meant to be," she says, adding that she hopes her success will inspire those who are struggling.

She fought through adversity

I don't know if I could handle this if I was 23. I don't think I would," Vayola admits and lists all the misfortunes she has struggled with - the death of her father, rejections, failures, unemployment, earning only $120 a week - to finally find joy in her work.

"It all brought me to the point where I'm standing on stage with an Emmy in my hands, with all this energy coming. Being able to be ready to take it, that's what life brings us," explains Viola Davis.