Cicely Tyson

Cecily Louise "Cicely" Tyson (/ˈsɪsəliː/; December 19, 1924 – January 28, 2021) was an American actress. In a career spanning seven decades, she portrayed complex and strong-willed African American women. She received several awards including three Emmy Awards, a Peabody Award and a Tony Award, as well as nominations for a BAFTA Award and a Golden Globe Award. She was awarded the Kennedy Center Honors in 2015, the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016, and the Honorary Academy Award in 2018.

Tyson garnered widespread attention and critical acclaim for her performance as a Black mother facing adversity in the dramatic film Sounder (1972), for which she was nominated for both the Academy Award for Best Actress and Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama. She also acted in films such as A Man Called Adam (1966), The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter (1968), The River Niger (1976), Fried Green Tomatoes (1991), Diary of a Mad Black Woman (2005), Because of Winn-Dixie (2005), The Help (2011) and Last Flag Flying (2017).

On television, she broke barriers by taking a regular role on the CBS drama series East Side West Side (1963–1964). She won two Primetime Emmy Awards, her first for Best Lead Actress in a Drama for The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman (1974), and her second for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Movie for Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All (1994). She was Emmy-nominated for her roles in Roots (1977), King (1978), Sweet Justice (1995), A Lesson Before Dying (1999), The Trip to Bountiful (2013) and How to Get Away With Murder (2015–2020).

In addition to her screen career, Tyson starred on Broadway. She made her debut in the Lonnie Coleman play Jolly's Progress (1959), followed by Tiger, Tiger Burning Bright (1962), Carry Me Back to Morningside Heights (1968) and The Corn Is Green (1983). At age 88, she became the oldest winner for the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her role in the revival of the Horton Foote play The Trip to Bountiful (2013). She made her final Broadway appearance starring in the revival of The Gin Game (2016), opposite James Earl Jones.

Tyson was born on December 19, 1924, in the Bronx, New York City, but soon relocated with her family to East Harlem. She was one of three children born to Fredericka (Huggins) Tyson, a domestic worker, and William Augustine Tyson, who worked as a carpenter and painter. Her parents were immigrants from Nevis in the West Indies. Her father arrived in New York City at age 21 and was processed at Ellis Island on August 4, 1919.

Tyson grew up in a religious atmosphere. She sang in the choir and attended prayer meetings at an Episcopal church in East Harlem. Tyson's mother was opposed to her becoming an actress and would not speak to her for a time. She changed her mind when she saw Cicely appear on stage.

Tyson was discovered by a photographer for Ebony magazine and became a successful fashion model. Her first acting role was a bit part in the 1956 film Carib Gold and she first appeared onstage in Vinnette Carroll's production of Dark of the Moon at the Harlem YMCA in 1958. Tyson had small roles in the 1959 films Odds Against Tomorrow and The Last Angry Man, as well as the 1960 comedy, Who Was That Lady? In 1961, she made her television debut in the NBC series Frontiers of Faith. In 1962, she became the first African American woman to wear an Afro on television in the United States.^{[citation needed]}

In the early 1960s, Tyson appeared in the original cast of French playwright Jean Genet's The Blacks. She played the role of Stephanie Virtue Secret-Rose Diop; other cast members included Maya Angelou, James Earl Jones, Godfrey Cambridge, Louis Gossett Jr., and Charles Gordone. The show was the longest running off-Broadway non-musical of the decade, running for 1,408 performances. She won the 1961–1962 Vernon Rice Award (later known as the Drama Desk Award) for her performance in another off-Broadway production, Moon on a Rainbow Shawl. In 1963, Tyson appeared on the game show To Tell The Truth as an "imposter" for Australian singer Shirley Abicair, receiving two of the four possible votes.