CICELY TYSON
Name: Cicely Tyson
Born: 19 December 1933 New York City, New York, U.S.
Cicely Tyson (born December 19, 1933) is an Emmy Award-winning and Academy Award-nominated
American actress.
A successful stage actress, Tyson is also known for appearances in the film
Sounder and the television specials The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman and
Roots
Tyson's devout Christian parents came from the island of Nevis of Saint Kitts
and Nevis in the West Indies, but she was born and raised in Harlem, New York
City.
Tyson was discovered by a photographer for Ebony magazine, and became a popular
fashion model. Her first film was an uncredited role in Carib Gold in 1957, but
she went on to do television - the celebrated series East Side/West Side and the
long-running soap opera The Guiding Light.
In 1961, Tyson appeared in the original cast of French playwright Jean Genet's "The
Blacks", the longest running Off-Broadway non-musical of the decade, running for
1,408 performances. The original cast also featured James Earl Jones, Roscoe Lee
Browne, Louis Gossett, Jr.,Godfrey Cambridge, Maya Angelou and Charles Gordone.
In 1966 she starred opposite Sammy Davis Jr. in the film, "A Man Called Adam",
and in 1967, she appeared in The Comedians. The following year she had a
featured role in The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter.
In 1972, she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role
in the critically acclaimed Sounder. In 1974 she won two Emmy Awards for The
Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman. Other acclaimed television roles included
Roots, King, in which she portrayed Coretta Scott King, The Marva Collins Story,
When No One Would Listen and Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All for which
she received her third Emmy award.
In 2005, Tyson co-starred in the movies Because of Winn-Dixie and Diary of a Mad
Black Woman. Also the same year she was honored by Oprah Winfrey at her Legends
Ball.
She was married to trumpeter Miles Davis from 1981 to 1988.
The Cicely Tyson school of Performing and Fine Arts, a magnet school in East
Orange, New Jersey was renamed in her honor.
Name: Cicely Tyson
Born: 19 December 1933 New York City, New York, U.S.
Cicely Tyson (born December 19, 1933) is an Emmy Award-winning and Academy Award-nominated
American actress.
A successful stage actress, Tyson is also known for appearances in the film
Sounder and the television specials The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman and
Roots
Tyson's devout Christian parents came from the island of Nevis of Saint Kitts
and Nevis in the West Indies, but she was born and raised in Harlem, New York
City.
Tyson was discovered by a photographer for Ebony magazine, and became a popular
fashion model. Her first film was an uncredited role in Carib Gold in 1957, but
she went on to do television - the celebrated series East Side/West Side and the
long-running soap opera The Guiding Light.
In 1961, Tyson appeared in the original cast of French playwright Jean Genet's "The
Blacks", the longest running Off-Broadway non-musical of the decade, running for
1,408 performances. The original cast also featured James Earl Jones, Roscoe Lee
Browne, Louis Gossett, Jr.,Godfrey Cambridge, Maya Angelou and Charles Gordone.
In 1966 she starred opposite Sammy Davis Jr. in the film, "A Man Called Adam",
and in 1967, she appeared in The Comedians. The following year she had a
featured role in The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter.
In 1972, she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role
in the critically acclaimed Sounder. In 1974 she won two Emmy Awards for The
Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman. Other acclaimed television roles included
Roots, King, in which she portrayed Coretta Scott King, The Marva Collins Story,
When No One Would Listen and Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All for which
she received her third Emmy award.
In 2005, Tyson co-starred in the movies Because of Winn-Dixie and Diary of a Mad
Black Woman. Also the same year she was honored by Oprah Winfrey at her Legends
Ball.
She was married to trumpeter Miles Davis from 1981 to 1988.
The Cicely Tyson school of Performing and Fine Arts, a magnet school in East
Orange, New Jersey was renamed in her honor.