“There’s a feeling like you’re no longer valuable when you get older,” Viola Davis told ESSENCE in an interview about her L’Oréal partnership back in 2021. But aging “is about liberating yourself from all of that.” As someone who has never lied about how old she is, the talented actress—who’s turning 60 today—is the definition of “better with age.”
Since her Broadway debut in the 1990s, Davis has long channelled the beauty within Black emotion. At the Annual Outer Critics Circle Awards in 2001, her burgundy lipstick held the same depth seen on stage, paired with a simple eyeliner and well-rounded ‘fro. A few years later, she traded her natural hair for cropped fringe bangs and dark lipstick for something more sheer at the Get Rich or Die Tryin’ premiere.
By the 2010s, her beauty evolved into heavier makeup, pixie cuts, and an overall more refined look. At a 2013 pre-Oscar cocktail party, however, her long, straight Diana Ross-like lashes were the star of the show. Fast forward to the 2023 Met Gala, the EGOT’s dress was almost as jaw-dropping as her beauty, which featured pink eyeshadow and matching blush swiped across her cheekbone.
In one of her latest beauty moments, Davis arrived at the 78th annual Cannes Film Festival in more color than usual: a bright red lip, purple eyeshadow, and a voluminous afro, proving that, with age, the actress’s beauty only gets better.
From wine red lipstick to perky short cuts, scroll on to see how Viola Davis’s beauty has evolved over the years.
2001
NEW YORK CITY – MAY 24: Actress Viola Davis attends the 51st Annual Outer Critics Circle Awards on May 24, 2001 at Sardi’s Restaurant in New York City. (Photo by Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)
2005
Viola Davis during Paramount Pictures’ “Get Rich or Die Tryin'” Los Angeles Premiere – Arrivals at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, California, United States. (Photo by SGranitz/WireImage)
2009
LOS ANGELES, CA – OCTOBER 06: Actress Viola Davis arrives at the Los Angeles premiere screening of Overture Films’ “Law Abiding Citizen” on October 6, 2009 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images)
2013
WEST HOLLYWOOD, CA – FEBRUARY 22: Actress Viola Davis attends the 6th annual Women In Film pre-Oscar cocktail party at Fig & Olive Melrose Place on February 22, 2013 in West Hollywood, California. (Photo by Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic)
2017
HOLLYWOOD, CA – FEBRUARY 26: Actor Viola Davis, winner of the Best Supporting Actress award for ‘Fences’ poses in the press room during the 89th Annual Academy Awards at Hollywood & Highland Center on February 26, 2017 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
2023
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MAY 01: Viola Davis attends The 2023 Met Gala Celebrating “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line Of Beauty” at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 01, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/MG23/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue)
2025
CANNES, FRANCE – MAY 23: Viola Davis attends the “The Mastermind” red carpet at the 78th annual Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals on May 23, 2025 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Tristan Fewings/Getty Images)
