Cicely Tyson

Born in New York City on Dec. 19, 1933, to working-class émigrés from the West Indies, Cicely Tyson began her career as a fashion model in the 1950s. After transitioning to acting, Tyson's résumé grew to include stage and screen credits, both on television and in films.

In 1973, Tyson earned an Oscar nod for her portrayal of a Depression-era sharecropper's wife in Sounder and won an Emmy the next year playing the title role in the telefilm The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman. She received an Emmy nod in 1977 for her impressive turn as Kunta Kinte's mother in the landmark miniseries "Roots" and chalked up a second Emmy in 1994 for her performance in the TV movie Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All.

Tyson also played Coretta Scott King in the miniseries "King" and abolitionist Harriet Tubman in the TV movie A Woman Called Moses. Tyson was briefly wed to jazz legend Miles Davis.

Filmography