Viola Davis felt "invisible" growing up.
Viola Davis
The 'How To Get Away With Murder' star didn't feel like she had a voice as a child and says it has taken a lot of "courage" to speak out, even now.
She said: "You know, I came from a story where I didn't feel just less than or I just didn't have a voice or not pretty. I felt invisible. I came from a long line of women who felt invisible. And they're the ones who attempted to throw me an invisible rope. Courage is just fear said with prayers. And I feel that it takes a great deal of courage to hit bottom and feel invisible and then to share one's story. But it's in the sharing of the story in front of people who have empathy that kills shame. And once that shame is killed, guess what? You're running. When I look at the zeitgeist today and look at what is happening with women in terms of sexual assault, in terms of poverty, in terms of politically what's happening, I think to myself the change and the shift that needs to happen is the internal. It's finding the courage to own one's story."
And the 53-year-old actress wants to encourage women to know their worth and not focus too much on being "perfect".
In her acceptance speech, as she collected one of Glamour's 2018 Women of the Year awards in New York City, she added: "To say and wake up one day and feel, like, 'Damn, I'm not perfect. Sometimes I don't feel pretty. Sometimes I don't want to slay the dragon. Sometimes the dragon I'm slaying is myself, but damn it, I am worth it. I don't have to barter for my worth. I don't have to pay someone for it. I came out of my mom's womb worthy."
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