Viola Davis opens up about weight gain post-pandemic

‘I turn 56 and I don’t know what fits anymore’

(Getty Images for Deadline Hollyw)

Viola Davis spoke candidly about the effects that ageing and the pandemic have had on her body during a recent appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live. Davis, who stars in the upcoming Showtime series The First Lady, turned 56 years old last August and although she works out, her weight still fluctuates.

“I turn 56 and I don’t know what fits anymore,” she told Kimmel during the 11 April appearance. “That’s when it hit. Everything gets wider, bulgier and here’s the thing, I work out.

“I get on the scale. I look at it. I get back off. I get back on. I get off, and then I’ll even take a hair pin out of my hair,” she explained. “I put it on the side. I get back on, and then by that point I’m mad as hell.”

The How To Get Away With Murder actress joked that her weight gain might be due to the amount of alcohol she was consuming during the pandemic, including the weekly Tequila Thursday zoom meetings she had with her friends. “I think it has something to do with those large glasses of liquor I’ve been drinking during the pandemic,” Davis said. “I’ve been knocking that back.”

Viola Davis stars as Michelle Obama in the 10-episode political drama The First Lady, which she also executive produces. The Oscar winner also stars alongside Michelle Pfeiffer as Betty Ford and Gillian Anderson as Eleanor Roosevelt. The show’s first season will focus on both the personal and political lives of the three women, tracing “their journeys to Washington through an enlightening intimacy”, according to Showtime. Davis discussed with Kimmel the pressure she felt while portraying the former first lady.

“I mean, the stress,” she said, after telling Kimmel she was glad once they finished filming the series. “Everybody loves Michelle Obama. They know what she sounds like, they know what she looks like. And then I’m like, ‘Oh my god. I don’t want Michelle Obama calling me cussing me out.’”

The First Lady premieres on Showtime on Sunday 17 April at 9 p.m eastern standard time.