Cicely Tyson Biography

Cicely L. Tyson (born December 19, 1933)is an American actress. Tyson was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress, and the Golden Globe Award for her performance as Rebecca Morgan in Sounder (1972). For this role she also won the NSFC Best Actress and NBR Best Actress Awards. She starred in The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman (1974), for which she won two Emmy Awards and was nominated for a BAFTA Award.

Throughout her career she has been nominated for nine Primetime Emmy Awards, winning three. In 2011 she appeared in The Help, for which she received awards for her ensemble work as Constantine from the BFCA and SAG Awards and she has an additional three SAG Award nominations. She starred on Broadway in The Trip to Bountiful as Carrie Watts, for which she won the Tony Award, Outer Critics Award, and Drama Desk Award for Best Actress in a Play. She previously received a Drama Desk Award in 1962 for her Off-Broadway performance in Moon on a Rainbow Shawl.

Early life

Tyson was born and raised in the Manhattan neighborhood of Harlem, the daughter of Theodosia, a domestic, and William Tyson, who worked as a carpenter, a painter, or any other jobs he could find. Her parents were immigrants from the island of Nevis of the Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis in the West Indies; Her father arrived in New York City at age 21 and was processed at Ellis Island on August 4, 1919.

Career

Tyson was discovered or found by a photographer for Ebony magazine and became a popular fashion model. Her first credited film role was in Carib Gold in 1956, but she went on to do television such as the celebrated series East Side/West Side and the soap opera The Guiding Light.

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. The original cast also featured James Earl Jones, Roscoe Lee Browne, Louis Gossett, Jr., Godfrey Cambridge, Maya Angelou and Charles Gordone. 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 the film Roots.

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 The Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All, for which she received her third Emmy Award.

In 1982, she was awarded the Women in Film [[Women in Film Crystal + Lucy Awards#THE CRYSTAL AWARD|Crystal Award]] for outstanding women who, through their endurance and the excellence of their work, have helped to expand the role of women within the entertainment industry. In 1991 she appeared in the film Fried Green Tomatoes as Sipsey.

In her 1994"95 television series Sweet Justice, Tyson portrayed a civil rights activist Southern attorney named Carrie Grace Battle, a character she shaped by consulting with and shadowing the legendary Washington, D.C. civil rights and criminal defense lawyer Dovey Johnson Roundtree. In 2005, Tyson co-starred in the movies Because of Winn-Dixie and Diary of a Mad Black Woman. The same year she was honored at Oprah Winfrey's Legends Ball.

The Cicely Tyson School of Performing and Fine Arts, a magnet school in East Orange, New Jersey, was renamed in her honor. She plays an active part in supporting the school, which serves one of New Jersey's most underprivileged African-American communities. In 2010, Tyson narrated the "Paul Robeson Award"-winning documentary, Up from the Bottoms: The Search for the American Dream. In 2010 she appeared in Tyler Perry's film, Why Did I Get Married Too? In 2011, Tyson appeared in her first music video in Willow Smith's 21st Century Girl. That same year she played Constantine Jefferson in The Help.

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. 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.

Personal life

Tyson married legendary jazz trumpeter Miles Davis on November 26, 1981. The ceremony was conducted by Atlanta mayor Andrew Young at the home of actor Bill Cosby. Tyson and Davis divorced in 1988. She is a member of Delta Sigma Theta sorority. On May 17, 2009, Tyson received an honorary degree from Morehouse College, an all-male college. In 2010, she was awarded the Spingarn Medal from the NAACP.

Other

Tyson is on the Board of Selectors of Jefferson Awards for Public Service.

Credits

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1958	Odds Against Tomorrow	Jazz Club bartender
1959	'	Girl Left on Porch	(uncredited)
1966	'	Claudia Ferguson
1967	'	Marie Therese
1968	'	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	'	Tylette, The Cat
1976	'	Mattie Williams
1978	'	Sweets	1978 King Coretta King
1979	'	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	'	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	'	Constantine Bates	Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Cast in a Motion Picture Nominated " NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture
2012	Alex Cross	Nana Mama
2013	The Haunting in Georgia	TBA	post-production

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1962	'	Betty Ann Warner	Episode: "Frieda"
1963	Naked City		Episode: "Howard Running Bear Is a Turtle"
1963"64	East Side/West Side		(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	'	Julie Harmon Lainey Harber	Episode: "The Enemies" Episode: "Silent Partners"
1969	Medical Center	Susan Wiley	Episode: "The Last 10 Yards"
1969	'	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	'	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	'	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	'	Harriet Ross Tubman
1981	'	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	'	Mrs. Browne
1990	'	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
1991	Fried Green Tomatoes	Sipsey
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	'	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	'	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	Abby	Episode: "Living the Rest of My Life"
2000	'	Justice Gretchen Parkhurst	Episode: "Final Appeal"
2001	Jewel	Cathedral
2002	'	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 and Order: SVU	Ondine Burdett	Episode "Hell"

Theatre

Year	Title	Role	Theatre
1957	Dark of the Moon		Little Theatre
1959	Jolly's Progress	Jolly (understudy)	Longacre Theatre
1960	'	Girl	Eugene O'Neill Theatre
1961	'	Stephanie Virtue Diop	St. Mark's Playhouse
1962	Moon on a Rainbow Shawl		East 11th Street Theater
1962	Tiger, Tiger Burning Bright	Celeste Chipley Adelaide Smith (understudy)	Booth Theatre
1963	'	Joan	Masque Theatre
1963	Trumpets of the Lord	Rev. Marion Alexander	Astor Place Theatre
1966	'	Performer	Longacre Theatre
1968	Carry Me Back to Morningside Heights	Myrna Jessup	John Golden Theatre
1969	To Be Young, Gifted and Black	Various	Cherry Lane Theatre
1969	Trumpets of the Lord	Rev. Marion Alexander	Brooks Atkinson Theatre
1983	'	Miss Moffat	Lunt-Fontanne Theatre
2013	'	Miss Carrie Watts	Stephen Sondheim Theatre