Viola Davis Explains Why She Only Has One Photo From Her Childhood

Newly crowned Best Supporting Actress Viola Davis just opened up about her very humble beginnings in an interview with People — including the heartbreaking story behind her sole childhood photo.

The 51-year-old actress told People that she was born in a one-room shack on her grandmother's farm, which was located on the site of a former slave plantation. Davis and her family moved to Rhode Island shortly after her birth, where they struggled with poverty and hunger.

"I was the kind of poor where I knew right away I had less than everyone around me," Davis said. "Our environment, our physical space reflected our income." 

Her family had to put up with "shoddy plumbing and no phone and no food and rats and all of that," she explained.

Because they had trouble making ends meet, Davis' family couldn't afford a camera.

"The only picture I have of my childhood is the picture of me in kindergarten," David said. "I have this expression on my face — it’s not a smile, it’s not a frown. I swear to you, that’s the girl who wakes up in the morning and who looks around her house and her life saying, ‘I cannot believe how God has blessed me.' " 

Now just a Grammy away from an EGOT, Davis said her childhood struggle has been her "motivation" as she's become more and more successful.

"It very much has helped me appreciate and value the things that are in my life now because I never had it," she told People. "A yard, a house, great plumbing, a full refrigerator, things that people take for granted, I don’t."

Such an inspiration. You can read her entire interview here.