Viola Davis receives fourth Oscar nomination and a place in Hollywood history

Viola Davis has just reached the midable four mark.

She received her fourth Oscar nomination on Monday, setting a record for the most nominations for a black actress, according to Netflix.

Davis, who won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for “Fences” in 2017, was tied with Octavia Spencer, with three nominations, until his name was called to the category of Best Actress on Monday as the title character in “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom “. It also makes her the first black woman to receive two Best Actress nominations, said Netflix, who launched the screen adaptation of August Wilson’s play.

Whoopi Goldberg is the only other black actress with multiple nods, winning the Best Supporting Actress award for “Ghost” in 1991, following a nomination for Best Actress for “The Color Purple” in 1986, noted Entertainment Weekly.

“If I, returning to the Oscars four times in 2021, became the most suitable black actress in history, this is proof of the absolute lack of material that exists for artists of color”, Davis told Variety weeks before the big day.

Davis repeatedly drew attention to the racial divide in Hollywood. His call “pay me what I’m worth” for equality at Women in the World 2018 once again went viral last summer.

“I have to get that phone and people say that you are a Black Meryl Streep. There is no one like you, ”she said. “OK, so if there is no one like me, you think I am that, you pay me what I am worth.”

On the male side, Denzel Washington won a record eight nominating Oscars, along with two victories, according to EW.

Both Davis and his late “Ma Rainey” co-star Chadwick Boseman will be chasing history in the categories of Best Actress and Best Actor.

The last (and only) winner of Best Black Actress was Halle Berry for “Monster’s Ball” in 2002. The last for men was Forest Whitaker for “The Last King of Scotland” in 2007.