 Born:18-Dec-1924
Birthplace:Harlem, NY
Died:28-Jan-2021
Cause of death: unspecified
Gender: Female
Race or Ethnicity: Black
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Actor Nationality: United States
Executive summary:Sounder Cicely Tyson owes her career to a good haircut. In a beauty salon, her hairdresser asked Tyson to model at a hairstyle show. At the hair show, she was spotted by a photographer fromEbony magazine, and began her successful career as a model. Within a few years, she was among the most successful black models in America. Tyson made her stage debut in a mid-1950s YMCA production ofDark of the Moon, and her first film was an uncredited role inCarib Gold withEthel Waters in 1957. In 1963 she playedGeorge C. Scott's secretary in a gritty drama about social workers in Harlem,East Side/West Side. The show had abysmal ratings, and was canceled midway through its first and only season, but Tyson's was the first black female character in an American TV series who wasn't written as a nanny, maid, or menial worker. In 1966, she joinedThe Guiding Light, becoming one of the first black actresses to win a regular role on a soap opera. In 1972, she starred withPaul Winfield inSounder, and was nominated for an Oscar. She won Emmys forThe Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman andOldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All. She has also playedCoretta Scott King andHarriet Tubman. In the camp classicThe Concorde: Airport '79 withRobert Wagner,George Kennedy, andCharo, Tyson played a mother rushing a heart to her ailing son. In 1983, Tyson appeared on Broadway in a production ofThe Corn Is Green which was poorly reviewed and closed after only two weeks. She was fired when she took a night off to attend a tribute to her then-husband, jazz musicianMiles Davis. Tyson sued the producers, maintaining that she was entitled to payment in full as stipulated in her contract, about $750,000. The case and appeals took 15 years, but Tyson won. Father: William Augustine Tyson
Mother: Theodosia Huggins ("Fredericka")
Husband: Kenneth Franklin (m. 27-Dec-1942, div. 1956)
Husband:Miles Davis (jazz musician, m. 26-Nov-1981, div. 1988)
High School: Charles Evans Hughes High School
Conservatory:The Actors Studio
American Film Institute board of directors
Hillary Rodham Clinton for US Senate Committee
Jefferson Awards Board of Selectors
NAACP
UNICEF
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority
Emmy 1974 forThe Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman
Emmy 1994 forOldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All
Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame 1977
Hollywood Walk of Fame 21-Aug-1997 at 7080 Hollywood Blvd.
Spingarn Medal 2010
Presidential Medal of Freedom 2016
Oscar (honorary) 2018
Risk Factors:Vegetarian
Sweet Justice Carrie Battle (1994-95)
East Side/West Side Jane Foster (1963-64)
Last Flag Flying (28-Sep-2017)
The Haunting in Connecticut 2: Ghosts of Georgia (1-Feb-2013)
Alex Cross (15-Oct-2012)
The Help (10-Aug-2011) · Constantine Jefferson
Why Did I Get Married Too? (2-Apr-2010) · Ola
Idlewild (25-Aug-2006)
Fat Rose and Squeaky (11-Aug-2006)
Madea's Family Reunion (24-Feb-2006)
Diary of a Mad Black Woman (25-Feb-2005)
Because of Winn-Dixie (26-Jan-2005)
The Rosa Parks Story (10-Feb-2002)
Jewel (7-Feb-2001)
Aftershock: Earthquake in New York (14-Nov-1999) · Emily Lincoln
A Lesson Before Dying (22-May-1999)
Always Outnumbered (21-Mar-1998)
Hoodlum (27-Aug-1997) · Stephanie St. Clair
Riot (27-Apr-1997) · Maggie
Bridge of Time (15-Mar-1997)
Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All (1-May-1994)
When No One Would Listen (15-Nov-1992)
Fried Green Tomatoes (27-Dec-1991) · Sipsey
Heat Wave (13-Aug-1990)
The Women of Brewster Place (19-Mar-1989)
Acceptable Risks (2-Mar-1986)
The Marva Collins Story (1-Dec-1981)
Bustin' Loose (27-May-1981) · Vivian Perry
The Concorde: Airport '79 (17-Aug-1979) · Elaine
A Woman Called Moses (11-Dec-1978)
King (12-Feb-1978)
A Hero Ain't Nothin' But a Sandwich (3-Feb-1978)
Wilma (19-Dec-1977)
Roots (23-Jan-1977)
The River Niger (14-Apr-1976)
The Blue Bird (5-Apr-1976)
The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman (31-Jan-1974) · Jane Pittman
Sounder (24-Sep-1972) · Rebecca
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter (31-Jul-1968) · Portia
The Comedians (31-Oct-1967) · Marie Therèse
A Man Called Adam (3-Aug-1966) · Claudia Ferguson
The Last Angry Man (22-Oct-1959)
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