Cicely Tyson, Award-Winning Actress, Dies at 96 Javascript must be enabled to use this site. Please enable Javascript in your browser and try again. × Search search POPULAR SEARCHES SUGGESTED LINKS Join AARP for just $9 per year when you sign up for a 5-year term. Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. Leaving AARP.org Website You are now leaving AARP.org and going to a website that is not operated by AARP. A different privacy policy and terms of service will apply. Close
Actress Cicely Tyson Dies at 96
The award-winning film screen and stage star was known for portraying strong African American women
Getty Images Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. Her seven-decade career in television, film and on stage, which she began as a fashion model, was filled with memorable portrayals of African American women of grit and determination, from everyday characters to the historical Harriet Tubman and Coretta Scott King. Her “considerable reputation as an actress ... is primarily based on her ability to personify conviction under siege,” the New York Times once observed. She was highly awarded for her performances, which garnered three Emmys, a Tony, a Screen Actors Guild Award, a Peabody Award and four Black Reel Awards. She was also nominated for the Academy Award and the Golden Globe Award, and received an honorary Oscar. However, beyond such honors, her impact and influence as an actor of color is almost incalculable. Growing up in Harlem, the middle child of three born to a domestic worker and a carpenter-painter, both of whom had emigrated from the West Indies, Tyson never thought of becoming an entertainer. She was too shy, and her family life revolved around the church. When modeling led to acting (she was featured on the covers of Vogue and Harper's Bazaar), she decided to use her career as a platform and “try to make a dent in some of these injustices that I witnessed and experienced in life,” as she put it. “I said if just reach one person, one person, then I will be happy.” Flowers & Gifts 25% off sitewide and 30% off select items See more Flowers & Gifts offers > That maternal praise meant the world: “If she had not been able to participate in the recognition and the acclaim that I have gotten over the years, I don't think it would mean anything to me at all,” Tyson said. “She's my source of energy, and I used that to prove her wrong.” Tyson, who carried a noble presence, was that rare actor who worked as much as she wanted, whether it was in episodic TV (from the ‘60s through 2020 with House of Cards, How to Get Away with Murder, and Cherish the Day) or groundbreaking projects such as Roots, the 1977 miniseries in which she played Binta, the mother of Kunta Kinte (LeVar Burton). Binta was a small role for someone coming off of the success of Pittman, but Tyson didn't care. “First of all, [I] don't think there are any small roles.... When I read a script, and I say this all the time, either my skin tingles or my stomach churns. When my stomach churns I know it is something I cannot touch. I can't do it. When I get so excited, my skin [tingles], I can't wait, I can't wait, I can't wait!" In 1981, she married troubled jazz trumpeter Miles Davis in a ceremony at the home of comedian Bill Cosby. It was her second marriage, after a brief union as a teenager. But life with Davis, who later credited Tyson for helping him overcome his cocaine addiction, was tumultuous, and she divorced him at the end of the decade. AARP NEWSLETTERS %{ newsLetterPromoText }% %{ description }% Subscribe More on entertainment AARP NEWSLETTERS %{ newsLetterPromoText }% %{ description }% Subscribe AARP VALUE & MEMBER BENEFITS See more Health & Wellness offers > See more Flights & Vacation Packages offers > See more Finances offers > See more Health & Wellness offers > SAVE MONEY WITH THESE LIMITED-TIME OFFERS