Editing Cicely Tyson (section)

==Career==
=== 1956–1969: Rise to prominence ===
[[File:Cicely Tyson 1973b.jpg|thumb|left|Tyson in 1973]]
Tyson was discovered by a photographer for [[Ebony (magazine)|''Ebony'']] magazine and became a successful fashion model. Her first acting role was a bit part in the 1956 film ''[[Carib Gold]]''<ref name="TCC">{{Cite web |url= https://www.charlestonchronicle.net/2019/02/11/at-94-the-legendary-cicely-tyson-remains-an-optimist/|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190211194438/https://www.charlestonchronicle.net/2019/02/11/at-94-the-legendary-cicely-tyson-remains-an-optimist/|url-status= usurped|archive-date= February 11, 2019|title=At 94, The Legendary Cicely Tyson Remains An 'Optimist'| work= The Charleston Chronicle| first=Stacy M. | last= Brown| publisher= |date=February 11, 2019 | access-date= }}</ref> and she first appeared onstage in [[Vinnette Justine Carroll|Vinnette Carroll]]'s production of ''[[Dark of the Moon (play)|Dark of the Moon]]'' at the [[Harlem YMCA]] in 1958.<ref name=":1">{{cite news |last1=Messina |first1=Matt |title=Actress Finds TV Role Strikes Familiar Note |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/68834446/ny-daily-news-profile-of-cicely-tyson/ |access-date=January 29, 2021 |work=Daily News |date=September 8, 1963 |pages=10|via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> Tyson had small roles in the 1959 films ''[[Odds Against Tomorrow]]'' and ''[[The Last Angry Man]]'', as well as the 1960 comedy, ''[[Who Was That Lady?]]''<ref>{{cite news |last1=Cohen |first1=Harold V. |title=At Random: Maelstrom |url=https://www.mediafire.com/view/59j7hr0jw6y3tmg |access-date=August 4, 2021 |work=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette |date=October 14, 1965}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Margold |first1=Jane |title=Movies Mean Growing Up to Actress Cicely Tyson |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96908224/newsday-suffolk-edition/ |access-date=August 4, 2021 |work=Newsday |date=August 4, 1966}}</ref> In 1961, she made her television debut in the [[NBC]] series [[The Eternal Light|''Frontiers of Faith'']].<ref>{{cite news |last1= |first1= |title=Integration Conflict Dramatized |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/?clipping_id=82771888 |access-date=August 4, 2021 |work=The Bradenton Herald |date=February 18, 1961 |pages=6|via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> In 1962, she became the first African American woman to wear an Afro on television in the United States.{{citation needed|date=August 2024}}

In the early 1960s, Tyson appeared in the original cast of French playwright [[Jean Genet]]'s ''[[The Blacks (play)|The Blacks]].'' She played the role of Stephanie Virtue Secret-Rose Diop; other cast members included [[Maya Angelou]], [[James Earl Jones]], [[Godfrey Cambridge]], [[Louis Gossett Jr.]], and [[Charles Gordone]].<ref>{{Cite book |url= http://archive.org/details/blacks00grov|title=The blacks : a clown show|first1=Jean|last1=Genet|first2=Bernard|last2=Frechtman|date=November 24, 1960|place= New York |publisher= Grove Press, Inc. |isbn=9780394172200|via=Internet Archive}}</ref> The show was the longest running off-Broadway non-musical of the decade, running for 1,408 performances.<ref>{{Cite web |url= https://www.nytimes.com/1986/04/16/obituaries/jean-genet-the-playwright-dies-at-75.html| title= Jean Genet, The Playwright, Dies at 75| first= Mel |last= Gussow |date= April 16, 1986 |work= The New York Times |via=NYTimes.com}}</ref> She won the 1961–1962 Vernon Rice Award (later known as the [[Drama Desk Award]]) for her performance in another off-Broadway production, ''[[Moon on a Rainbow Shawl]]''.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{cite news |title=Off-Broadway Awards Presented |work=The New York Times |date=May 15, 1962 |page=49}}</ref> In 1963, Tyson appeared on the game show ''[[To Tell The Truth]]'' as an "imposter" for Australian singer [[Shirley Abicair]], receiving two of the four possible votes.<ref>{{cite web |title=To Tell the Truth |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PF-qRsU6Aoc |website=[[CBS]] | date=July 28, 2016 |access-date=July 17, 2022}}</ref>

Tyson, who once worked for a social services agency, was spotted by producer [[David Susskind]] in ''The Blacks'' and in ''[[Tiger, Tiger Burning Bright]]'', and was cast for a role in the CBS TV series ''[[East Side/West Side (TV series)|East Side/West Side]]'' (1963–1964), playing the secretary of a social worker played by [[George C. Scott]].<ref name=":1" /> She was at the time the only African-American regular member of a TV cast,<ref>{{cite web|title=Cicely Tyson Biography (1924–2021)|url=https://www.biography.com/actor/cicely-tyson| access-date= February 28, 2019 |publisher= [[Biography.com]]|quote=In 1963 Tyson became the first African American star of a TV drama in the series ''East Side/West Side''...}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{cite news|last1=Cosham|first1=Ralph H.|date=November 25, 1963 |title= Negro Comes to Television; Sponsors Happy|pages=29|work=Nashville Banner|agency=United Press International |url= https://www.newspapers.com/clip/68828054/article-on-cicely-tyson-and-east-side/|access-date=January 29, 2021|via=[[Newspapers.com]]|quote= …only one dramatic program features a Negro as a regular member of the cast. She is Cicely Tyson, who portrays a social worker in the new CBS series ''East Side, West Side''.}}</ref> The show was noted for its treatment of social issues, and one of its episodes, on an African-American couple in [[Harlem]] (played by [[James Earl Jones]] and [[Diana Sands]]), was [[Blackout (broadcasting)|blacked out]] in [[Atlanta]] and [[Shreveport, Louisiana]].<ref name=":2" /> In the mid-1960s she had a recurring role in the soap opera ''[[Guiding Light|The Guiding Light]]''.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Kantrowitz|first=Barbara|date=September 3, 2009|title=After 72 Years, Springfield Gets a Stop Sign (Published 2009)|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/06/arts/television/06kant.html}}</ref> She appeared with [[Sammy Davis Jr.]] in the film ''[[A Man Called Adam (film)|A Man Called Adam]]'' (1966)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.indiewire.com/2019/08/cicely-tyson-and-glynn-turman-emmy-how-to-get-away-with-murder-1202167146/|title='How to Get Away with Murder': Cicely Tyson and Glynn Turman on the Honor of Acting|first1=Tambay|last1=Obenson|date=August 27, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2020-06-07/whats-on-tv-monday-the-bachelor-the-greatest-seasons-ever|title=What's on TV Monday: 'The Bachelor: The Greatest Seasons Ever'|date=June 8, 2020|website=Los Angeles Times}}</ref> and had a small role in the film version of ''[[The Comedians (1967 film)|The Comedians]]'' (1967) based on the [[Graham Greene]] novel.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tvguide.com/movies/comedians/review/111205|title=The Comedians &#124; TV Guide|website=TVGuide.com}}</ref> In 1968 Tyson had a featured role in ''[[The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter (film)|The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1968/08/01/archives/screen-the-heart-is-a-lonely-hunteralan-arkin-starred-in-mccullers.html|title=Screen: 'The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter':Alan Arkin Starred in McCullers Story Dean Martin Western Is at Local Houses |first= Renata |last= Adler |date= August 1, 1968 |work= The New York Times |via=NYTimes.com}}</ref>

===1970–1989: Stardom and acclaim ===
[[File:Cicely Tyson (1994).jpg|thumb|right|Tyson with her [[Primetime Emmy Award]] at the Governor's Ball in 1994]]
In 1972, Tyson played the role of Rebecca Morgan in the film ''[[Sounder (film)|Sounder]]''. She was nominated for both the [[Academy Award for Best Actress|Academy Award]] and [[Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture, Drama|Golden Globe Award]] for Best Actress for her work in ''Sounder,''<ref name="HWR">{{Cite news |last=Haylock |first=Zoe |date=January 28, 2021 |title=Cicely Tyson: 10 of Her Most Memorable Performances |work= The Hollywood Reporter |url= https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lists/cicely-tysons-10-most-memorable-performances-1107817 |access-date=January 29, 2021}}</ref> and also won the [[National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress|NSFC Best Actress]] and [[National Board of Review Award for Best Actress|NBR Best Actress]] Awards.<ref>{{Cite web |date=December 19, 2009 |title=Past Awards |url=https://nationalsocietyoffilmcritics.com/about-2/ |access-date=January 30, 2021 |website=National Society of Film Critics }}</ref><ref name="National Board of Review">{{Cite web |title=Best Actress Archives |url=https://nationalboardofreview.org/award-names/best-actress/ |access-date=January 30, 2021 |website=National Board of Review}}</ref> Critic [[Roger Ebert]] wrote of her performance, "The mother is played by Cicely Tyson, and it is a wonder to see the subtleties in her performance. We have seen her with her family, and we know her strength and intelligence. Then we see her dealing with the white power structure, and her behavior toward it is in a style born of cynicism and necessity. She will say what they want to hear in order to get what she wants to get."<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/sounder-1972|title= Sounder movie review|website= [[Roger Ebert]].com|accessdate= November 11, 2024}}</ref>

In 1974, Tyson played the title role in the [[CBS]] television film ''[[The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman (film)|The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman]].'' Tyson's portrayal of a centenarian black woman's life from slavery until her death before the [[Civil rights movement]] won her [[Emmy Awards]] [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie|Outstanding Lead Actress – Miniseries or a Movie]] and [[26th Primetime Emmy Awards|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.<ref>{{Cite news |date=January 29, 2021 |title=Cicely Tyson, award-winning American actress noted for playing strong characters – obituary |work=The Telegraph |url= https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2021/01/29/cicely-tyson-veteran-american-actress-won-bafta-two-emmys-playing/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2021/01/29/cicely-tyson-veteran-american-actress-won-bafta-two-emmys-playing/ |archive-date=January 10, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |access-date=January 29, 2021 |issn=0307-1235}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Nikki Giovanni of ''[[The New York Times]]'' wrote of her performance, "If Cicely Tyson isn't one of the best actresses on screen, then "grits ain't groceries, eggs ain't poultry, and Mona Lisa was a man," adding, "Miss Tyson never stepped out of character. Miss Tyson's performance was the reason awards were first invented."<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.nytimes.com/1974/03/03/archives/-jane-pittman-fulfilled-my-deepest-expectations-television-i-am.html|title= 'Jane Pittman' Fulfilled My Deepest Expectations|website= [[The New York Times]]|date= March 3, 1974|accessdate= November 11, 2024|last1= Giovanni|first1= Nikki}}</ref>

Tyson's television roles included: Binta in the 1977 miniseries ''[[Roots (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 (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]];<ref name="HWR"/> 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]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Cicely Tyson|url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/literature-and-arts/film-and-television-biographies/cicely-tyson|access-date=January 30, 2021|website=Contemporary Theatre, Film and Television}}</ref> Tyson was the first black woman to host ''[[Saturday Night Live]]''. Her episode featured the musical guest [[Talking Heads]] and aired on February 10, 1979.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0694921/ | title=Cicely Tyson/Talking Heads | website=[[IMDb]] }}</ref> In 1989, Tyson appeared in the television miniseries ''The Women of Brewster Place.''<ref>{{Cite web|title=How The Women Of Brewster Place Revolutionized the Depiction of Black Women on TV|url=https://www.thrillist.com/entertainment/nation/the-women-of-brewster-place-miniseries-legacy|first=Jourdain|last=Searles|website=Thrillist|date=February 25, 2019}}</ref>

=== 1990–2021: Established star ===
In 1991, Tyson appeared in ''[[Fried Green Tomatoes (film)|Fried Green Tomatoes]]'' as Sipsey.<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Cicely Tyson| url= https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/cicely_tyson|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071024155805/http://www.rottentomatoes.com:80/celebrity/cicely_tyson/ |archive-date=October 24, 2007 |access-date=January 29, 2021|website=Rotten Tomatoes}}</ref> In the 1994–95 television series ''[[Sweet Justice]],'' Tyson portrayed a civil rights activist and attorney named Carrie Grace Battle, a character she modeled after [[Dovey Johnson Roundtree]].<ref>{{Cite news|last=Fox|first=Margalit|date=May 21, 2018|title=Dovey Johnson Roundtree, Barrier-Breaking Lawyer, Dies at 104|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/21/obituaries/dovey-johnson-roundtree-dead.html|access-date=January 30, 2021|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Her other film roles include the dramas ''[[Hoodlum (film)|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).<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Fries|first1=Laura|date=May 21, 1999|title=A Lesson Before Dying|url=https://variety.com/1999/tv/reviews/a-lesson-before-dying-1117499797/|access-date=January 30, 2021|website=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]}}</ref> In 2005, Tyson co-starred in ''[[Because of Winn-Dixie (film)|Because of Winn-Dixie]].''<ref>{{Cite web |date=February 18, 2005 |title=Because of Winn-Dixie |website=[[IMDb]] |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0317132/?ref_=fn_tt_tt_1 |access-date=January 30, 2021}}</ref>

In 2010, Tyson appeared in ''[[Why Did I Get Married Too?]]'' and narrated the [[Paul Robeson|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 (film)|The Help]].''<ref>{{cite web|title=''The Help''|website = [[IMDb]]|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1454029/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_4|access-date=November 4, 2014}}</ref> 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]].<ref>{{cite web |title=17th Annual Critics' Choice Movie Awards (2012) – Best Picture: The Artist |url=http://www.criticschoice.com/movie-awards/17th-annual-critics-choice-movie-awards-2012/ |publisher=Critics Choice Association |access-date=February 1, 2021 |archive-date=January 8, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130108023529/http://www.criticschoice.com/movie-awards/17th-annual-critics-choice-movie-awards-2012/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Grossman |first1=Emily |title=Inside Every Recent Film Ensemble SAG Award Winner |url=https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/inside-every-recent-film-ensemble-sag-award-winner-2420/ |access-date=February 1, 2021 |work=Backstage |date=December 14, 2018}}</ref>

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 [[Broadway (theatre)|Broadway]] revival of the [[Horton Foote]] play ''[[The Trip to Bountiful (play)|The Trip to Bountiful]].'' Upon winning, the 88-year-old actress became the oldest recipient of the Best Actress Tony Award.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.playbill.com/news/article/178918-Kinky-Boots-Vanya-and-Sonia-Pippin-and-Virginia-Woolf-Are-Big-Winners-at-67th-Annual-Tony-Awards|title=Kinky Boots, Vanya and Sonia, Pippin and Virginia Woolf? Are Big Winners at 67th Annual Tony Awards|access-date=June 10, 2013|date=June 9, 2013|work=[[Playbill]]|author=Purcell, Carey|url-status=dead|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130611034933/http://www.playbill.com/news/article/178918-Kinky-Boots-Vanya-and-Sonia-Pippin-and-Virginia-Woolf-Are-Big-Winners-at-67th-Annual-Tony-Awards |archive-date=June 11, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=McFadden|first=Robert D.|date=January 29, 2021|title=Cicely Tyson, an Actress Who Shattered Stereotypes, Dies at 96| language= en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/28/obituaries/cicely-tyson-dead.html|access-date=January 29, 2021|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web| url= http://www.playbill.com/news/article/178137-Billy-Porter-Andrea-Martin-Pippin-Matilda-Vanya-and-Sonia-Win-Drama-Desk-Awards|title=Billy Porter, Andrea Martin, Pippin, Matilda, Vanya and Sonia Win Drama Desk Awards|access-date=May 20, 2013|date=May 19, 2013|work=Playbill| last= Hetrick| first= Adam|url-status=dead|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130605004524/http://www.playbill.com/news/article/178137-Billy-Porter-Andrea-Martin-Pippin-Matilda-Vanya-and-Sonia-Win-Drama-Desk-Awards|archive-date=June 5, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.playbill.com/news/article/pippin-is-big-winner-of-2012-13-outer-critics-circle-awards-204640|title=Pippin Is Big Winner of 2012–13 Outer Critics Circle Awards|access-date=May 13, 2013|date=May 13, 2013|work=[[Playbill]]|author=Gans, Andrew}}</ref>

In 2013, Tyson played a supporting role in the horror film ''[[The Haunting in Connecticut 2: Ghosts of Georgia]].''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fangoria.com/new/director-tom-elkins-awakening-the-ghosts-of-georgia/|work=[[Fangoria]]|title=Director Tom Elkins: Awakening the "GHOSTS OF GEORGIA"|date=January 3, 2013|access-date=February 28, 2017|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170301093042/http://www.fangoria.com/new/director-tom-elkins-awakening-the-ghosts-of-georgia/|archive-date=March 1, 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> Beginning in 2014, Tyson guest-starred on ''[[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, 2018, 2019, and 2020. In 2020, she starred in the popular movie ''[[A Fall From Grace]]'' which was featured on [[Netflix]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.netflix.com/title/81127902|title=A Fall from Grace {{!}} Netflix Official Site|website=netflix.com|access-date=March 7, 2020}}</ref>