Viola Davis Adopts A Girl

First Published: October 18, 2011 2:22 PM EDT Credit: Getty Premium

LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- Caption Viola Davis arrives at ELLE’s 18th Annual Women in Hollywood Tribute held at the Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills in Beverly Hills, Calif. on October 17, 2011 Viola Davis is a mom!

The actress and her husband, actor Julian Tennon, recently welcomed a new addition to their family through adoption.

“The Help” star confirmed her adoption news at ELLE magazine’s Women in Hollywood event on Tuesday night in Los Angeles.

The 43-year-old actress mentioned that the baby’s name is Genesis during the event, but did not offer up any other details.

Viola’s “The Help” co-star, Octavia Spencer, told People that she became a mom ““like, two days ago.

During her speech on Tuesday, Viola told the crowd, “What keeps me in the business is hope, and that’s the hope that women of color are also part of the narrative. [I’m] sending a telepathic message to you: Every time some young actress of color comes in a room with a character they’re auditioning for that’s not ethnically specific, that you have a space in your brain that can open up and embrace them and allow them in, because I’m telling you, their lives are just as fascinating and multifaceted.”

Viola and her husband announced their plans to adopt in August.

This is the first child for the actress.

Julian has two other children from a previous relationship.

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