ABC/Randy Holmes(LOS ANGELES) — Viola Davis wrote that her “heart just burst wide open” when responding to an Instagram post from a fan who said she named her young daughter after the actress.
Erin Morrison-Fortunato shared in an Instagram post revealed that when she was pregnant with her now 7-year-old daughter, Davis had just been nominated for her role in The Help.
“The more I heard her speak, the more I appreciated her as not just a talented #actor, but as a #humanitarian and a #thoughtful, #reflective woman,” Morrison-Fortunato wrote.
The post went on to reveal that toward the end of her pregnancy, Morrison-Fortunato’s daughter was diagnosed with a life-threatening heart condition in utero. As she sat in the OBGYN’s office afraid and exhausted, she flipped through the magazines in the room and stumbled upon a profile of Davis.
“She frankly discussed her #struggles to find her footing in her #career, the #challenges she had faced and #overcome,” Morrison-Fortunato wrote. “And, in that moment, I knew that my daughter would be her #namesake.”
The picture accompanying the post shows daughter Viola next to Davis’ tattered People magazine cover, attached to her bedroom door.
“When little Viola, now 7-years-old and #thriving, asks about how we chose her name, I tell her she is named [after] an astoundingly talented, #beautiful, #strong and #wise actor,” Morrison-Fortunato wrote.
The heartwarming Instagram post caught Voila Davis’s attention and she shared a sweet message to her namesake.
“This made my day,” Davis wrote, in part. “I’m honored to share this name with you Miss V. You already know the truth behind resilience, courage and survival. …Tell it. Share it. Sending love and a boatload of respect.”
Davis also offered to send a new magazine to replace the tattered one.
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Viola Davis (@violadavis) on Dec 1, 2019 at 5:09pm PST
Copyright © 2019, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.