Cicely Tyson, pioneering award-winning Black actress known for her groundbreaking roles, has died Thursday at the age of 96.
Tyson’s death was announced by her family, via her manager Larry Thompson, who did not immediately provide additional details.
“With heavy heart, the family of Miss Cicely Tyson announces her peaceful transition this afternoon. At this time, please allow the family their privacy.”
Tyson begin her career in the 1950’s and begin receiving fame in the 1970s when Black women were finally getting starring roles.
She received three Emmy’s, one Tony, and an Oscar throughout her career. She also won numerous through NAACP, SAG, BET, and more.
She received an Oscar nomination for her role as a sharecropper’s wife in Sounder and an Academy honorary award. Tyson won awards for her roles in films such as: Sounder, The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, and The Trip to Bountiful.
Tyson is also recognized for playing significant roles in Roots, The Women of Brewster Place and Tyler Perry films.
She just published her memoir this week, and Perry made sure to spread the word.
In an interview on the Turner Classic Movies cable channel, she recalled that she had been asked to test for a smaller role in the film Sounder and said she wanted to play the mother, Rebecca. She was told, “You’re too young, you’re too pretty, you’re too sexy, you’re too this, you’re too that, and I said, `I am an actress.’”
She was one of the recipients for the 2016 Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor. At that ceremony, President Barack Obama said: “Cicely’s convictions and grace have helped for us to see the dignity of every single beautiful memory of the American family.”
Cicely Tyson Receives 2020 Peabody Career Achievement Award
The Associated Press talk to Tyson about her many roles and she told them, “People ask me what I prefer doing — film, stage, television? I say, ‘I would have done “Jane Pittman” is the basement or in a storefront.’ It’s the role that determines where I go.”
In an interview on Good Morning America with Gayle King, Tyson was asked, “When the time comes, what do you want us to remember about you?” She paused and said, “I’ve done my best.”
And that she has done. Rest in peace, Queen.
