Oct 11, 2014 04:52 PM EDT
We all love a story of someone that has gone from rags to riches and Viola Davis is one of those stars we admire for this exact reason.
The How to Get Away With Murder star, 49, opens up at the Variety's Power of Women event on Friday in Los Angeles giving the crowd a heartfelt speech.
"Although my childhood was filled with many happy memories, it was also spent in abject poverty," she revealed. "I was one of the 17 million kids in this country who didn't know where the next meal was coming from, and I did everything to get food. I have stolen for food. I have jumped in huge garbage bins with maggots for food. I have befriended people in the neighborhood, who I knew had mothers who cooked three meals a day for food, and I sacrificed a childhood for food and grew up in immense shame."
Davis has a drive to end childhood hunger and now fans and supporters know exactly why this is so near and dear to her heart.
The event also recognized the humanitarian efforts of such stars like Jennifer Lopez, Reese Witherspoon and Jane Fonda.
The actress explained that being part of the Hunger Is campaign is the "joy in my life" she states. She felt blessed to be able to share her story with the crowd and have the chance to "Stand up in front of so many people, at the age of 49, and share my testimony and begin the process of healing."
Viola was born on her grandmothers farm on the former Singleton Plantation in St. Matthews, South Carolina. Her family quickly moved to Central Falls, Rhode Island when she was a few months old. She found her outlet while attending Central Falls High School as she excelled in acting. Eventually Davis majored in theatre at Rhode Island College, graduating in 1988.
