Viola Davis is the first black entertainer to win an Oscar, Emmy, and Tony for acting

Viola Davis.
(Image credit: Frederic J. Brown/Getty Images)

With her Academy Award win for best supporting actress on Sunday night, Fences star Viola Davis became the first black performer, and the 23rd person overall, to win an Oscar, an Emmy, and a Tony for acting.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.