Cicely Tyson
Cicely Tyson | |
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Spouse | Miles Davis (1981-1988) |
Cicely Tyson (b. December 19 1933) is an award-winning American actress.
Tyson's devout Christian parents came from the island of Nevis of Saint Kitts and Nevis in the West Indies, but Cicely was born and raised in Harlem, New York City.
Career
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 1967, she appeared in The Comedians, and the following year, 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.
Tyson co-founded the Dance Theatre of Harlem.
She was married to the late trumpeter Miles Davis (1926–1991) from 1981 to 1988.
Filmography
- Idlewild (2006)
- Fat Rose and Squeaky (2006)
- Madea's Family Reunion (2006)
- Diary of a Mad Black Woman (2005)
- Because of Winn-Dixie (2005)
- The Double Dutch Divas! (2001)
- Hoodlum (1997)
- Fried Green Tomatoes (1991)
- The Kid Who Loved Christmas (1990)
- Bustin' Loose (1981)
- The Concorde: Airport '79 (1979)
- Roots (1977)
- A Hero Ain't Nothin' But a Sandwich (1978)
- The River Niger (1976)
- The Blue Bird (1976)
- Sounder (1972)
- The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter (1968)
- The Comedians (1967)
- A Man Called Adam (1966)
- The Last Angry Man (1959)
- Odds Against Tomorrow (1959)
- Carib Gold (1957)
External links
- Cicely Tyson at the Internet Broadway Database
- Cicely Tyson at IMDb
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- Cicely Tyson at the TCM Movie Database
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