Cicely Tyson

Cicely Tyson
Cicely Tyson
	Tyson in 1997
Born	December 19, 1924; Harlem, New York City, U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1948–present
Notable work	Sounder (1972); The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman (1974); Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All (1994); Diary of a Mad Black Woman (2005); The Help (2011); How to Get Away with Murder (2015–2020);
Spouse(s)	Kenneth Franklin (m. after 1942)[1] divorce date unknown; Miles Davis (m. 1981; div. 1989)

Cicely L. Tyson (born December 19, 1924) is an American actress and former fashion model. In a career spanning more than seven decades, she became known for her portrayal of strong African-American women.[2][3] Tyson is the recipient of three Primetime Emmy Awards, four Black Reel Awards, one Screen Actors Guild Award, one Tony Award, an honorary Academy Award, and a Peabody Award.

Having appeared in minor film and television roles early in her career, Tyson garnered widespread attention and critical acclaim for her performance as Rebecca Morgan in Sounder (1972); she was nominated for both the Academy Award and Golden Globe Award for Best Actress for her work in the film. Tyson's portrayal of the title role in the 1974 television film The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman won her further praise; among other accolades, the role won her two Emmy Awards and a nomination for a BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role.

Tyson has continued to act in film and on television in the 21st century. In 2011, she played the role of Constantine Jefferson in the award-winning film The Help. She has also played the role of Ophelia Harkness in American Broadcasting Company's legal drama How to Get Away With Murder since 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.

In addition to her screen career, Tyson has appeared in various theater productions. She received a Drama Desk Award in 1962 for her Off-Broadway performance in Moon on a Rainbow Shawl. Tyson also 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. Tyson was named a Kennedy Center honoree in 2015. In November 2016, Tyson received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which is the highest civilian honor in the United States. In 2020, she was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame.

Early life

Tyson was born in Harlem on December 19, 1924,[4][5] the daughter of Frederica Tyson, a domestic worker, and William Augustine Tyson, who worked as a carpenter, painter, and at any other jobs he could find. Her parents were immigrants from Nevis in the West Indies.[6][7][8] Her father arrived in New York City at age 21 and was processed at Ellis Island on August 4, 1919.[9]

Career

Early work

Tyson in 1973

Tyson was discovered by a photographer for Ebony magazine and became a popular fashion model. Her first acting role was on the NBC series Frontiers of Faith in 1951. Tyson played her first stage role in 1950 and her first film role in Carib Gold in 1956, but she went on to do more television work, such as the celebrated series East Side/West Side, in which she became the first African American to star in a television drama,[10] and the soap opera The Guiding Light. In the early 60's (first performed May 4th, 1961, St. Marks Playhouse in NYC) Tyson played the role of Stephanie Virture Secret-Rose Diop in The play "The Blacks (Les Negres): A Clown Show" ISBN 0-394-17220-5, an absurd play written by Jean Genet, first published in France in 1958. Other actors in this work included Maya Angelou Make, James Earl Jones, Godfrey Cambridge, Louis Gossett Jr, and Charles Gordone.[11]

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. On March 25, 1963, Tyson appeared on the game show To Tell The Truth as a decoy contestant for Shirley Abicair.[12] She appeared with Sammy Davis Jr. in the film A Man Called Adam (1966) and starred in the film version of Graham Greene's The Comedians (1967). Tyson had a featured role in The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter (1968), and appeared in a segment of Roots.[13]

Stardom

In 1972, Tyson played the role of Rebecca Morgan in the critically acclaimed film Sounder. She was nominated for both the Academy Award and Golden Globe Award for Best Actress for her work in Sounder, and also won the NSFC Best Actress and NBR Best Actress Awards.

In 1974, Tyson played the title role in the television film The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman. Tyson's portrayal of a young black slave won her a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress – Miniseries or a Movie and an Emmy Award for Actress of the Year – Special. Tyson was also nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her work in this television film.

Tyson's acclaimed television roles include: Binta in the 1977 miniseries Roots, for which she was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress – Miniseries or a Movie; Coretta Scott King in the 1978 miniseries King, for which she was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress – Miniseries or a Movie; Marva Collins in the 1981 television film The Marva Collins Story, for which she received an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special and was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress – Miniseries or a Movie, and Muriel in the 1986 television film Samaritan: The Mitch Snyder Story, for which she received an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special.

Later career

In 1991, Tyson appeared in Fried Green Tomatoes as Sipsey. In the 1994–95 television series Sweet Justice, Tyson portrayed a civil rights activist and attorney named Carrie Grace Battle, a character she shaped by reportedly consulting with noted Washington, D.C. civil rights and criminal defense lawyer Dovey Johnson Roundtree. Other notable film roles include the dramas Hoodlum (1997) and Diary of a Mad Black Woman (2005), and the television films Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All (1994) (for which she received her third Emmy Award) and A Lesson Before Dying (1999). In 2005, Tyson co-starred in Because of Winn-Dixie.

In 2010, Tyson appeared in Why Did I Get Married Too? and narrated the Paul Robeson Award-winning documentary, Up from the Bottoms: The Search for the American Dream. In 2011, Tyson appeared in her first music video in Willow Smith's 21st Century Girl. That same year, she played Constantine Jefferson, a maid in Jackson, Mississippi, in the critically acclaimed period drama The Help.[14] Set in the backdrop of the Civil Rights Movement, the film won the Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Acting Ensemble and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.

At the 67th Tony Awards on June 9, 2013, Tyson won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her performance as Miss Carrie Watts in The Trip to Bountiful.[15] She also 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.[16][17]

In 2013, Tyson played a supporting role in the horror film The Haunting in Connecticut 2: Ghosts of Georgia.[18] Since 2014, Tyson has guest-starred in How to Get Away with Murder as Ophelia Harkness, the mother of main character Annalise Keating (Viola Davis); for this role, she was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series in 2015, 2017 and 2018.In 2020 she was in the popular movie A Fall From Grace featured on Netflix.[19]

Honors

In addition to her Screen Actor Guild Award, her Tony Award, her Emmy Awards, and her Black Reel Awards, Tyson has received several other honors.

Tyson has received honorary degrees from Clark Atlanta University, Columbia University;[20] Howard University;[21] and Morehouse College, an all-male historically black college.[22]

In 1977, Tyson was inducted into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame. In 1982, Tyson was awarded the Women in Film Crystal Award. The award is given to outstanding women who, through their endurance and the excellence of their work, have helped to expand the role of women within the entertainment industry.[23] In 1988, Tyson received a Candace Award for Distinguished Service from the National Coalition of 100 Black Women.[24]

Tyson in 2009

In 2005, Tyson was honored at Oprah Winfrey's Legends Ball. She has also been honored by the Congress of Racial Equality, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and the National Council of Negro Women.

The Cicely Tyson School of Performing and Fine Arts, a magnet school in East Orange, New Jersey, was named after her in 2009.[25]

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.[26][27][28]

Tyson was a recipient of the prestigious Kennedy Center Honors in 2015.[29] She was awarded the United States' highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, by President Barack Obama in November 2016.[30]

In September 2018, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that Tyson would receive an honorary Academy Award.[31] On November 18, 2018, Tyson became the first African-American woman to receive an honorary Oscar.[32]

In 2018, Tyson was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame.[33] She was chosen to be inducted into the Television Academy's Hall of Fame in 2020.[34]

Personal life

Davis and Tyson, 1982

At age 18, Tyson married Kenneth Franklin on December 27, 1942.[35] The marriage was later dissolved. She first dated jazz trumpeter Miles Davis in the 1960s, while he was going through his divorce with dancer Frances Davis.[36] Davis used a photo of Tyson for his 1967 album, Sorcerer. Davis told the press in 1967 that he intended to marry Tyson in March 1968 after his divorce was finalized,[37] but he married singer Betty Davis that September.[38] Tyson and Davis rekindled their relationship in 1978. They were married on November 26, 1981 in a ceremony conducted by Atlanta mayor Andrew Young at the home of actor Bill Cosby. Their marriage was tumultuous due to Davis' volatile temper and infidelity.[39] Davis credited Tyson with saving his life and helping him overcome his cocaine addiction.[39] They resided in Malibu, California and New York City, until she filed for divorce in 1988.[40] Their divorce was finalized in 1989, two years before Davis died in 1991.[39]

Tyson has no children.[41] However, actress RaéVen Larrymore Kelly is her adopted granddaughter. Tyson selected Kelly to be her granddaughter in her NBC TV series, "Sweet Justice" with Melissa Gilbert. Later, Kelly portrayed the younger version of Tyson in "Mrs. Scrooge" a holiday film black female version of the classic, "A Christmas Carol." Tyson requested Kelly attend her ceremony when Tyson received her star on Hollywood Blvd.

She is a member of the Delta Sigma Theta sorority.[42]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1956	Carib Gold	Dottie
1958	Odds Against Tomorrow	Jazz Club bartender
1959	The Last Angry Man	Girl Left on Porch	(uncredited)
1966	A Man Called Adam	Claudia Ferguson
1967	The Comedians	Marie Therese
1968	The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter	Portia
1972	Sounder	Rebecca Morgan	Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress National Board of Review Award for Best Actress National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress Nominated — Academy Award for Best Actress Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama
1976	The Blue Bird	Tylette, The Cat
1976	The River Niger	Mattie Williams
1978	A Hero Ain't Nothin' but a Sandwich	Sweets
1979	The Concorde ... Airport '79	Elaine
1981	Bustin' Loose	Vivian Perry
1991	Fried Green Tomatoes	Sipsey
1997	Hoodlum	Stephanie St. Clair	Nominated — Acapulco Black Film Festival Award for Best Actress Nominated — NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture
2001	The Double Dutch Divas!	Herself	(short subject) (uncredited)
2005	Because of Winn-Dixie	Gloria Dump
2005	Diary of a Mad Black Woman	Myrtle	NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture Nominated — BET Comedy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Theatrical Film Nominated — Black Movie Award for Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
2006	Madea's Family Reunion	Myrtle
2006	Fat Rose and Squeaky	Celine
2006	Idlewild	Mother Hopkins
2007	Rwanda Rising	Voice of Jeanette Nyirabagarwa	(documentary)
2009	Up from the Bottoms: The Search for the American Dream	Narrator	(documentary)
2010	Why Did I Get Married Too?	Ola
2011	The Help	Constantine Jefferson	Black Film Critics Circle Award for Best Ensemble Black Reel Award for Best Ensemble Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Cast Hollywood Film Festival Award for Ensemble of the Year National Board of Review Award for Best Cast Satellite Award for Best Cast – Motion Picture Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Southeastern Film Critics Association Award for Best Ensemble Women Film Critics Circle Award for Best Ensemble Nominated — Central Ohio Film Critics Association for Best Ensemble Nominated — Detroit Film Critics Society Award for Best Ensemble Nominated — San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Performance by an Ensemble Nominated — Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Ensemble
2012	Alex Cross	Regina "Nana Mama" Cross
2013	The Haunting in Connecticut 2: Ghosts of Georgia	Mamma Kay
2016	Showing Roots	Hattie
2017	Last Flag Flying	Mrs. Hightower
2020	A Fall from Grace	Alice

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1962	The Nurses	Betty Ann Warner	Episode: "Frieda"
1963	To Tell the Truth	Decoy contestant	Episode: March 25, 1963 (decoy for Shirley Abicair)
1963	Naked City		Episode: "Howard Running Bear Is a Turtle"
1963–64	East Side/West Side	Jane Foster	26 episodes
1965	Slattery's People	Sarah Brookman	Episode: "Question: Who You Taking to the Main Event, Eddie?"
1965–66	I Spy	Princess Amara Vickie Harmon	Episode: "So Long, Patrick Henry" Episode: "Trial by Treehouse"
1966	Guiding Light	Martha Frazier
1967	Cowboy in Africa	Julie Anderson	Episode: "Tomorrow on the Wind"
1967	Judd for the Defense	Lucille Evans	Episode: "Commitment"
1968–69	The F.B.I.	Julie Harmon Lainey Harber	Episode: "The Enemies" Episode: "Silent Partners"
1969	Medical Center	Susan Wiley	Episode: "The Last 10 Yards"
1969	The Courtship of Eddie's Father	Betty Kelly	Episode: "Guess Who's Coming for Lunch"
1970	Gunsmoke	Rachel Biggs	Episode: "The Scavengers"
1970	Mission: Impossible	Alma Ross	Episode: "Death Squad"
1970	The Bill Cosby Show	Mildred Hermosa	Episode: "Blind Date"
1970	Here Come the Brides	Princess Lucenda	Episode: "A Bride for Obie Brown"
1971	Insight		Episode: "The Bird of the Mast"
1971	Marriage: Year One	Emma Teasley	Unsold pilot
1971	Neighbors
1972	Emergency!	Mrs. Johnson	Episode: "Crash"
1972	Wednesday Night Out
1974	The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman	Jane Pittman	Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress – Miniseries or a Movie Emmy Award for Actress of the Year – Special Nominated — BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role
1974	Free to Be… You and Me	Herself
1976	Just an Old Sweet Song	Priscilla Simmons
1977	Roots	Binta	Miniseries Nominated — Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress – Miniseries or a Movie
1977	Wilma	Blanche Rudolph
1978	King	Coretta Scott King	Miniseries Nominated — Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress – Miniseries or a Movie
1978	A Woman Called Moses	Harriet Ross Tubman
1979	Saturday Night Live	Herself (host)	Episode: "Cicely Tyson/Talking Heads"
1981	The Body Human: Becoming A Woman	Host
1981	The Marva Collins Story	Marva Collins	NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special Nominated — Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress – Miniseries or a Movie
1982	Benny's Place	Odessa
1985	Playing with Fire	Carol Phillips
1986	Intimate Encounters	Dr. Claire Dalton
1986	Acceptable Risks	Janet Framm
1986	Samaritan: The Mitch Snyder Story	Muriel	NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special
1989	The Women of Brewster Place	Mrs. Browne
1990	The Kid Who Loved Christmas	Etta
1990	B.L. Stryker	Ruth Hastings	Episode: "Winner Takes All"
1990	Heat Wave	Ruthana Richardson	CableACE Award for Actress in a Movie or Miniseries
1991	Clippers	Donna	Unsold pilot
1992	Duplicates	Dr. Randolph
1992	When No One Would Listen	Sarah
1993	House of Secrets	Evangeline
1994	Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All	Castralia, Marsden Family House Slave/Maid	Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress – Miniseries or a Movie Nominated — NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie
1994–95	Sweet Justice	Carrie Grace Battle	Nominated — Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress – Drama Series Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series
1996	The Road to Galveston	Jordan Roosevelt	NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special Lone Star Film & Television Award for Best TV Actress Nominated — CableACE Award for Actress in a Movie or Miniseries Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie
1997	Bridge of Time	Guardian
1997	Riot	Maggie	Segment: "Homecoming Day" Nominated — CableACE Award for Supporting Actress in a Movie or Miniseries
1997	Ms. Scrooge	Ms. Ebenita Scrooge
1997	The Price of Heaven (Blessed Assurance)	Vesta Lotte Battle
1998	Always Outnumbered	Luvia
1998	Mama Flora's Family	Mama Flora	NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special
1999	A Lesson Before Dying	Tante Lou	Black Reel Award for Network/Cable – Best Supporting Actress Nominated — Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress – Miniseries or a Movie Nominated — NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special
1999	Aftershock: Earthquake in New York	Emily Lincoln
2000	Touched by an Angel	Abigail Peabody-Jackson	Episode: "Living the Rest of My Life"
2000	The Outer Limits	Justice Gretchen Parkhurst	Episode: "Final Appeal"
2001	Jewel	Cathedral
2001	The Proud Family	Mrs. Maureen Parker (voice)	Episode: Behind Family Lines
2002	The Rosa Parks Story	Leona Edwards McCauley	Black Reel Award for Network/Cable – Best Supporting Actress
2005	Higglytown Heroes	Great Aunt Shirley Hero	Episode: "Wayne's 100 Special Somethings"
2009	Relative Stranger	Pearl	Nominated — NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special Nominated — Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress – Miniseries or a Movie
2009	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Ondine Burdett	Episode: "Hell"
2014	The Trip to Bountiful	Mrs. Carrie Watts	TV movie Black Reel Award for Best Actress: T.V. Movie/Cable NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special Online Film & Television Association Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture or Miniseries Nominated — Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Television Movie (executive producer) Nominated — Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie Nominated — Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Actress in a Movie/Miniseries Nominated — Satellite Award for Best Actress in a Miniseries or TV Film Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie
2015–2020	How to Get Away with Murder	Ophelia Harkness	10 episodes: "Mama's Here Now", "There's My Baby", "Anna Mae", "Go Cry Somewhere Else", "I'm Going Away", "Lahey v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania", "Where Are Your Parents", "Are You The Mole" - [voice only], "The Reckoning", "Stay" Nominated — Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Guest Performer in a Drama Series Nominated — Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series (2015, 2017–19) Nominated – NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series (2016–17)
2016	House of Cards	Doris Jones	3 episodes
2019	Madam Secretary	Flo Avery	Episode: "Leaving the Station"
2020	Cherish the Day	Miss Luma Lee Langston	Series regular

Theatre

Year	Title	Role	Theatre	Ref.
1957	Dark of the Moon		Little Theatre	[43]
1959	Jolly's Progress	Jolly (understudy)	Longacre Theatre	[44]
1960	The Cool World	Girl	Eugene O'Neill Theatre	[45]
1961	The Blacks: A Clown Show	Stephanie Virtue Diop	St. Mark's Playhouse	[43][46]
1962	Moon on a Rainbow Shawl		East 11th Street Theater	[43]
1962	Tiger, Tiger Burning Bright	Celeste Chipley Adelaide Smith (understudy)	Booth Theatre	[47]
1963	The Blue Boy in Black	Joan	Masque Theatre	[43][48]
1963	Trumpets of the Lord	Rev. Marion Alexander	Astor Place Theatre	[43][49]
1966	A Hand Is on the Gate	Performer	Longacre Theatre	[50]
1968	Carry Me Back to Morningside Heights	Myrna Jessup	John Golden Theatre	[43][51]
1969	To Be Young, Gifted and Black	Various	Cherry Lane Theatre	[43][52]
1969	Trumpets of the Lord	Rev. Marion Alexander	Brooks Atkinson Theatre	[53]
1983	The Corn Is Green	Miss Moffat	Lunt-Fontanne Theatre	[54][55]
2013	The Trip to Bountiful	Miss Carrie Watts	Stephen Sondheim Theatre	[56]
2015	The Gin Game	Fonsia Dorsey	John Golden Theater	[57]