Cicely Tyson received another Emmy Award nomination for her role as Binta in the acclaimed series Roots.
53 Facts About Cicely Tyson
2.
Cicely Tyson continued to act in film and television in the 21st century in projects such as Fried Green Tomatoes, A Lesson Before Dying, Because of Winn-Dixie, Diary of a Mad Black Woman, The Help, The Trip to Bountiful and Last Flag Flying.
3.
Cicely Tyson played the recurring role of Ophelia Harkness in the ABC legal drama TV series How to Get Away With Murder from the show's inception in 2014, for which she was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series five times.
4.
Cicely Tyson received a Vernon Rice Award in 1962 for her Off-Broadway performance in Moon on a Rainbow Shawl.
5.
Cicely Tyson starred as Carrie Watts in the Broadway play The Trip to Bountiful, winning the Tony Award, the Outer Critics Award, and the Drama Desk Award for Best Actress in a Play in 2013.
6.
Cicely Tyson returned to Broadway in the 2016 revival of The Gin Game starring opposite James Earl Jones.
7.
In November 2016, Cicely Tyson received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which is the highest civilian honor in the United States.
8.
Cicely Tyson was born in the Bronx, New York City, but soon relocated with her family to East Harlem.
9.
Cicely Tyson's parents were immigrants from Nevis in the West Indies.
10.
Cicely Tyson's father arrived in New York City at age 21 and was processed at Ellis Island on August 4,1919.
11.
Cicely Tyson sang in the choir and attended prayer meetings at an Episcopal church in East Harlem.
12.
Cicely Tyson's mother was opposed to her becoming an actress and would not speak to her for a time.
13.
Cicely Tyson changed her mind when she saw Cicely appear on stage.
14.
In 1963, while a student at New York's New School For Social Research, Cicely Tyson appeared on the network television game show To Tell The Truth as an "imposter" for Australian singer Shirley Abicair, receiving two of the four possible votes.
15.
Cicely Tyson was discovered by a photographer for Ebony magazine and became a successful fashion model.
16.
Cicely Tyson's 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.
17.
Cicely Tyson was at the time the only African-American regular member of a TV cast, The show was noted for its treatment of social issues, and one of its episodes, on an African-American couple in Harlem, was blacked out in Atlanta and Shreveport, Louisiana.
18.
In 1968 Cicely Tyson had a featured role in The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter.
19.
In 1972, Cicely Tyson played the role of Rebecca Morgan in the film Sounder.
20.
Cicely Tyson was nominated for both the Academy Award and Golden Globe Award for Best Actress for her work in Sounder, and won the NSFC Best Actress and NBR Best Actress Awards.
21.
In 1974, Cicely Tyson played the title role in the television film The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman.
22.
Cicely Tyson was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her work in this television film.
23.
In 1989, Cicely Tyson appeared in the television miniseries The Women of Brewster Place.
24.
In 1991, Cicely Tyson appeared in Fried Green Tomatoes as Sipsey.
25.
In 2011, Cicely Tyson appeared in her first music video in Willow Smith's 21st Century Girl.
26.
At the 67th Tony Awards, on June 9,2013, Cicely Tyson won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her performance as Miss Carrie Watts in The Trip to Bountiful.
27.
Cicely Tyson won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play and the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play for the role.
28.
In 2013, Cicely Tyson played a supporting role in the horror film The Haunting in Connecticut 2: Ghosts of Georgia.
29.
At the age of 18, Cicely Tyson married Kenneth Franklin on December 27,1942.
30.
Cicely Tyson began dating jazz trumpeter Miles Davis in the 1960s when he was in the process of divorcing dancer Frances Davis.
31.
Davis credited Cicely Tyson with saving his life and helping him overcome his cocaine addiction.
32.
Cicely Tyson was godmother to the singer Lenny Kravitz, having been friends with his mother, actress Roxie Roker, as well as to Denzel Washington's daughter Katia and Tyler Perry's son Aman.
33.
Cicely Tyson was an honorary member of Delta Sigma Theta sorority.
34.
Cicely Tyson was a member of the Abyssinian Baptist Church of New York.
35.
Cicely Tyson was a first-cousin of Louis Farrakhan, a longtime leader of the Nation of Islam.
36.
Cicely Tyson was interred in Woodlawn Cemetery with former husband Miles Davis.
37.
Cicely Tyson is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Honorary Award, three Emmy Awards, and a Tony Award.
38.
Cicely Tyson has won three Primetime Emmy Awards for her work in television winning for, The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, and Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All.
39.
Cicely Tyson won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play her performance in The Trip to Bountiful in 2014.
40.
Cicely Tyson has received various honours for her lifetime achievement as a groundbreaking artist.
41.
In 1977, Cicely Tyson was inducted into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame.
42.
In 1982, Cicely Tyson was awarded the Women in Film Crystal Award.
43.
In 1988, Cicely Tyson received a Candace Award for Distinguished Service from the National Coalition of 100 Black Women.
44.
In 2005, Cicely Tyson was honored at Oprah Winfrey's Legends Ball.
45.
Cicely Tyson was honored by the Congress of Racial Equality, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and the National Council of Negro Women.
46.
Cicely Tyson was awarded the NAACP's 2010 Spingarn Medal for her contribution to the entertainment industry, her modeling career, and her support of civil rights.
47.
Cicely Tyson was a recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors in 2015.
48.
Cicely Tyson was awarded the United States' highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, by President Barack Obama in November 2016.
49.
In September 2018, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that Cicely Tyson would receive an Academy Honorary Award.
50.
On November 18,2018, Cicely Tyson became the first African-American woman to receive an honorary Oscar.
51.
In 2018, Cicely Tyson was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame.
52.
Cicely Tyson was chosen to be inducted into the Television Academy's Hall of Fame in 2020.
53.
Cicely Tyson received honorary degrees from Clark Atlanta University, Columbia University; Howard University; and Morehouse College, an all-male historically black college.