“The only thing that separates women of color from anyone else is opportunity. You cannot win an Emmy for roles that simply are not there,” said Viola Davis as she accepted her Emmy in September 2015. Having taken full advantage of the opportunity given to her to play Annalise Keating on ABC’s How to Get Away with Murder, she is one of the five women gracing Elle Magazine’s sixth annual Women in TV issue. Viola shares the spotlight with Olivia Wilde, star of HBO’s Vinyl, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Priyanka Chopra, and Golden Globe Winner/Empire’s own Taraji P. Henson as each grace their own cover, making it the most diverse feature to date.
“It was very important to me that [Cookie Lyon] not be sassy and neck-rollin’ and eye-bulgin’ and attitude all the time. Everything she does is coming from a place of fighting for her family. That’s why she’s not a caricature,” Taraji tells Elle magazine.
Olivia Wilde talks about the highs and lows of Hollywood.
“One day all these people were bowing down to me and throwing free clothes at me and telling me I was the best thing since sliced bread, and the next day…all of that disappeared. That was great for an 18-year-old to learn, and I will never again take the BS seriously.”
“Why should a woman have to pick between global domination and having the love of her life?” Priyanka asked in regards to the idea that women must choose between their career and a love life.
“Go to the movies—how many good scripts are you really seeing out there? How many good, meaty roles are there for women within those scripts,” Julia inquired as she highlighted the lack of quality opportunities on the big screen.
Whether it’s the issue of diversity, fear of challenging the status quo, or dealing with the reality of fleeting success, all five women opened up to Elle Magazine discussing life, love, and their various experiences of being Women in Hollywood.
Elle’s Women in TV issue hits newsstands nationwide on January 19.
By: Sweenie Saint-Vil
