Cicely Tyson (1924–2021) was an American model and actress admired for her unforgettable portrayals of strong and vibrant African American women. She was married to jazz legend Miles Davis in the 1980s.
Born in Harlem, New York City, Tyson was found by a fashion editor at Ebony magazine. She swiftly rose to the top of the fashion modeling world. She landed her first acting role on the NBC series Frontiers of Faith (1951.)
Tyson was best known for her Oscar-nominated role of a sharecropper’s wife, Sounder (1972,) and her Emmy-winning work in the TV movie The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman (1982.) Later projects that earned her acclaim included Fried Green Tomatoes (1991,) Hoodlum (1997,) The Help (2011,) and her role as Ophelia Harkness in the ABC series How to Get Away with Murder (the 2010s.)
Tyson won a Tony Award for her work on Broadway. She won the Presidential Medal of Freedom (2016) and an Honorary Award from the Oscars (2018.)
Tyson passed away two days after her memoir Just as I Am (2021) was published.
More: Wikipedia • READ: Works by Cicely Tyson
Challenges make you discover things about yourself that you never really knew. They’re what make the instrument stretch—what makes you go beyond the norm.
—Cicely Tyson
Topics: Difficulties, Adversity
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