Cicely Tyson: Groundbreaking Actress and Presidential Medal of Freedom R

Cicely Tyson was an American actress whose seven-decade career broke barriers for Black women on stage and screen. Born on December 19, 1924, in New York City to immigrant parents from Nevis, she began as a model before turning to acting.

Tyson was nominated for an Oscar for Sounder (1972) and won three Primetime Emmy Awards, including for The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman (1974). She appeared in Roots, Fried Green Tomatoes, The Help and How to Get Away with Murder. In 2013 she won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for The Trip to Bountiful at age 88, the oldest winner in the category.

Tyson received the Kennedy Center Honors in 2015, the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016 and an Honorary Academy Award in 2018. She was married to jazz legend Miles Davis from 1981 to 1989. Her memoir Just as I Am was published on January 26, 2021. She died in New York City on January 28, 2021, at age 96.

Achievements: Oscar nomination for Sounder (1972), three Emmy Awards, Tony Award (2013), Presidential Medal of Freedom (2016), Honorary Academy Award (2018).

Birth: December 19, 1924 - New York City.

Profession: Actress.

Interesting Facts: She was the first African American regular in a television drama cast, in East Side/West Side (1963). She was married to Miles Davis.