Cicely Tyson

Cicely Tyson (December 19, 1924 – January 28, 2021) was an American actress and fashion model. In a career spanning more than seven decades, she became known for her portrayal of strong African-American women.[1][2] Tyson received three Primetime Emmy Awards, four Black Reel Awards, one Screen Actors Guild Award, one Tony Award, an honorary Academy Award, and a Peabody Award.

Cicely Tyson
Tyson in 1997
Born	December 19, 1924 Harlem, New York City, U.S.
Died	January 28, 2021 (aged 96) Harlem, New York City, U.S.
Occupation	Actress, model
Years active	1948–2021
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. 1942; div. 1956)​ Miles Davis ​ ​ (m. 1981; div. 1989)​
Children	1

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 for Best Actress and Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama for her work in the film. Tyson's portrayal of the title role in the 1974 television film The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, based on the book by Ernest J. Gaines, 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 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 also played the recurring role of Ophelia Harkness in the legal drama TV series 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 appeared in various theater productions. She received a Vernon Rice 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

She was born in East Harlem on December 19, 1924, the daughter of Fredericka (Huggins) Tyson, a domestic worker, and William Augustine Tyson, who worked as a carpenter and painter.[3] She was one of three children.[4] Her parents were immigrants from Nevis in the West Indies.[5][6] Her father arrived in New York City at age 21 and was processed at Ellis Island on August 4, 1919.[7]

Tyson grew up in a religious atmosphere. She sang in the choir and attended prayer meetings at an Episcopal church in East Harlem. Tyson's mother was opposed to her becoming an actress and would not speak to her for a time. She changed her mind when she saw Cicely appear on stage.[8]

Career

Early work

Tyson in 1973

Tyson was discovered by a photographer for Ebony magazine and became a successful fashion model. Her first acting role was on the NBC television series Frontiers of Faith in 1951.[9] Tyson played her first film role in Carib Gold in 1956.[10] She had small roles in the 1959 films Odds Against Tomorrow and The Last Angry Man, Her first stage appearance was in Vinnette Carroll's production of Dark of the Moon at the Harlem YMCA in 1958.[8]

In the early 1960s, Tyson appeared in the original cast of French playwright Jean Genet's The Blacks. She played the role of Stephanie Virtue Secret-Rose Diop; other notable cast members included; Maya Angelou, James Earl Jones, Godfrey Cambridge, Louis Gossett Jr., and Charles Gordone.[11] The show was the longest running off-Broadway non-musical of the decade, running for 1,408 performances.[12] 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.[8][13]

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 (1963–1964), playing the secretary of a social worker played by George C. Scott.[8] She was at the time the only African American regular member of a TV cast,[14][15] The show was noted for its treatment of social issues, and one of its episodes, on an African-American couple in Harlem, was blacked out in Atlanta and Shreveport, Louisiana.[15]

In the mid-1960s she had a recurring role in the soap opera The Guiding Light.[16] She appeared with Sammy Davis Jr. in the film A Man Called Adam (1966)[17][18] and starred in the film version of The Comedians (1967) based on the Graham Greene novel.[19] In 1968 Tyson had a featured role in The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter.[20]

Stardom

In 1972, Tyson played the role of Rebecca Morgan in the film Sounder. She was nominated for both the Academy Award and Golden Globe Award for Best Actress for her work in Sounder,[21] and also won the NSFC Best Actress and NBR Best Actress Awards.[22][23]

In 1974, Tyson played the title role in the television 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 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.[24]

Tyson's television roles included; 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,[21] 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.[25]

Later career

In 1989, Tyson appeared in the television miniseries, The Women of Brewster Place.[26] In 1991, Tyson appeared in Fried Green Tomatoes as Sipsey.[27] 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 Washington, D.C. civil rights and criminal defense lawyer Dovey Johnson Roundtree.[28] Her 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).[29] In 2005, Tyson co-starred in Because of Winn-Dixie.[30]

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.[31] 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.[32][33]

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. Upon winning, the 88-year-old actress became the oldest recipient of the Best Actress Tony Award. [34][35] 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.[36][37]

In 2013, Tyson played a supporting role in the horror film The Haunting in Connecticut 2: Ghosts of Georgia.[38] 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 was in the popular movie A Fall From Grace featured on Netflix.[39]

Honors

Tyson in 2009

In addition to her Screen Actor Guild Award, her Tony Award, her Emmy Awards, and her Black Reel Awards, Tyson received several other honors. In 1977, Tyson was inducted into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame. In 1980, she received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement.[40] 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.[41] In 1988, Tyson received a Candace Award for Distinguished Service from the National Coalition of 100 Black Women.[42] In 1997, she received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.[43]

In 2005, Tyson was honored at Oprah Winfrey's Legends Ball. She was also honored by the Congress of Racial Equality, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and the National Council of Negro Women.[44][45] 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.[46][47][48] Tyson was a recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors in 2015.[49] She was awarded the United States' highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, by President Barack Obama in November 2016.[50] In September 2018, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that Tyson would receive an Academy Honorary Award.[51] On November 18, 2018, Tyson became the first African-American woman to receive an honorary Oscar.[52] In 2018, Tyson was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame.[53] One of 12 soundstages was named after Tyson in her honor at Tyler Perry Studios. She was chosen to be inducted into the Television Academy's Hall of Fame in 2020.[54]

Tyson received honorary degrees from Clark Atlanta University,[55] Columbia University;[56] Howard University;[57] and Morehouse College, an all-male historically black college.[58] The Cicely Tyson School of Performing and Fine Arts, a magnet school in East Orange, New Jersey, was named after her in 2009.[59]

Personal life

Davis and Tyson in 1982

Tyson had a daughter when she was 17 years old.[60] At age 18, Tyson married Kenneth Franklin on December 27, 1942.[61] According to her divorce decree, her husband abandoned her after less than eighteen months of marriage. The marriage was formally dissolved in 1956.[62][63]

Tyson began dating jazz trumpeter Miles Davis in the 1960s when he was in the process of divorcing dancer Frances Davis.[64] 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,[65] but he married singer Betty Davis that September.[66]

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.[67] Davis credited Tyson with saving his life and helping him overcome his cocaine addiction.[67] They resided in Malibu, California, and New York City, until she filed for divorce in 1988.[68] Their divorce was finalized in 1989, two years before Davis died in 1991.[67]

Tyson was godmother to the singer Lenny Kravitz, having been friends with his mother, actress Roxie Roker, as well as to Denzel Washington's daughter Katia; and Tyler Perry's son Aman.[69]

Tyson was an honorary member of the Delta Sigma Theta sorority.[70] She was a vegetarian.[71]

Tyson's memoir, Just As I Am, was published January 26, 2021,[72] and she was promoting the book during her final weeks. In an interview with Gayle King, asked how she wanted to be remembered, Tyson said, "I’ve done my best. That’s all."[73]

Tyson died on January 28, 2021, at the age of 96.[72]

Filmography

Sources:[74][75][76]

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1956	Carib Gold	Dottie	(uncredited)[74]
1958	Odds Against Tomorrow	Jazz Club bartender	(uncredited)[74]
1959	The Last Angry Man	Girl Left on Porch	(uncredited)[77][74]
1966	A Man Called Adam	Claudia Ferguson	[74]
1967	The Comedian	Marie Therese	[74]
1968	The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter	Portia	[74]
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	[74]
	The River Niger	Mattie Williams	[74]
1978	A Hero Ain't Nothin' but a Sandwich	Sweets	[74]
1979	The Concorde ... Airport	Elaine	[74]
1981	Bustin' Loose	Vivian Perry	[74]
1991	Fried Green Tomatoes	Sipsey	[74]
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)[74]
2005	Because of Winn-Dixie	Gloria Dump	[74]
	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	[74]
	Fat Rose and Squeaky	Celine	[74]
	Idlewild	Mother Hopkins	[74]
2007	Rwanda Rising	Voice of Jeanette Nyirabagarwa	(documentary)[74]
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
1961	Frontiers of Faith		"The Bitter Cup"[74]
1962	The Nurses	Betty Ann Warner	Episode: "Frieda"[74]
1963	To Tell the Truth	Decoy contestant	Episode: March 25, 1963 (decoy for Shirley Abicair)[78]
	Naked City		Episode: "Howard Running Bear Is a Turtle"[74]
1963–1964	East Side/West Side	Jane Foster	26 episodes
1965	Slattery's People	Sarah Brookman	Episode: "Question: Who You Taking to the Main Event, Eddie?"[74]
1965–1966	I Spy	Princess Amara Vickie Harmon	Episode: "So Long, Patrick Henry" Episode: "Trial by Treehouse"[74]
1966	Guiding Light	Martha Frazier	[74]
1967	Cowboy in Africa	Julie Anderson	Episode: "Tomorrow on the Wind"[74]
	Judd for the Defense	Lucille Evans	Episode: "Commitment"[74]
1968–1969	The F.B.I.	Julie Harmon Lainey Harber	Episode: "The Enemies" Episode: "Silent Partners"[74]
1969	Medical Center	Susan Wiley	Episode: "The Last 10 Yards"[74]
	The Courtship of Eddie's Father	Betty Kelly	Episode: "Guess Who's Coming for Lunch"[74]
1970	Gunsmoke	Rachel Biggs	Episode: "The Scavengers"[74]
	Mission: Impossible	Alma Ross	Episode: "Death Squad"[74]
	The Bill Cosby Show	Mildred Hermosa	Episode: "Blind Date"[74]
	Here Come the Brides	Princess Lucenda	Episode: "A Bride for Obie Brown"[74]
1971	Marriage: Year One	Emma Teasley	[74]
	Neighbors		[74]
1972	Emergency!	Mrs. Johnson	Episode: "Crash"[74]
	Soul Train		[74]
	Wednesday Night Out		[74]
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[74] Nominated — BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role
	Free to Be… You and Me	Herself	[74]
1976	Just an Old Sweet Song	Priscilla Simmons	[74]
1977	Roots	Binta	Miniseries[74] Nominated — Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress – Miniseries or a Movie
	Wilma	Blanche Rudolph	[74]
1978	King	Coretta Scott King	Miniseries[74] Nominated — Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress – Miniseries or a Movie
	A Woman Called Moses	Harriet Ross Tubman	[74]
1979	Saturday Night Live	Herself (host)	Episode: "Cicely Tyson/Talking Heads"[74]
1981	The Body Human: Becoming a Woman	Host	[74]
	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	[74]
1985	Playing with Fire	Carol Phillips	[74]
1986	Intimate Encounters	Dr. Claire Dalton	[74]
	Acceptable Risks	Janet Framm	[74]
	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	[74]
1990	The Kid Who Loved Christmas	Etta	[74]
	B.L. Stryker	Ruth Hastings	Episode: "Winner Takes All"[74]
	Heat Wave	Ruthana Richardson	CableACE Award for Actress in a Movie or Miniseries
1991	Clippers	Donna	Short[74]
1992	Duplicates	Dr. Randolph	[74]
	When No One Would Listen	Sarah	[74]
1993	House of Secrets	Evangeline	[74]
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
1994–1995	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[79] Nominated — CableACE Award for Actress in a Movie or Miniseries[80] Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie
1997	Bridge of Time	Guardian	[74]
	Riot	Maggie	Segment: "Homecoming Day" Nominated — CableACE Award for Supporting Actress in a Movie or Miniseries[81]
	Ms. Scrooge	Ms. Ebenita Scrooge	[74]
	The Price of Heaven (Blessed Assurance)	Vesta Lotte Battle	[74]
1998	Always Outnumbered	Luvia	[74]
	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
	Aftershock: Earthquake in New York	Emily Lincoln	[74]
2000	Touched by an Angel	Abigail Peabody-Jackson	Episode: "Living the Rest of My Life"[74]
	The Outer Limits	Justice Gretchen Parkhurst	Episode: "Final Appeal"[74]
2001	Jewel	Cathedral	[74]
	The Proud Family	Mrs. Maureen Parker (voice)	Episode: "Behind Family Lines"[82]
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"[74]
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
	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Ondine Burdett	Episode: "Hell"[83]
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, 2017–2020) Nominated — NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series (2016–2017)
2016	House of Cards	Doris Jones	3 episodes[84]
2019	Madam Secretary	Flo Avery	Episode: "Leaving the Station"[85]
2020	Cherish the Day	Miss Luma Lee Langston	Series regular[86]

Theatre

Year	Title	Role	Theatre	Ref.
1957	Dark of the Moon		Little Theatre	[87]
1959	Jolly's Progress	Jolly (understudy)	Longacre Theatre	[88]
1960	The Cool World	Girl	Eugene O'Neill Theatre	[89]
1961	The Blacks: A Clown Show	Stephanie Virtue Diop	St. Mark's Playhouse	[87][90]
1962	Moon on a Rainbow Shawl		East 11th Street Theater	[87]
	Tiger, Tiger Burning Bright	Celeste Chipley Adelaide Smith (understudy)	Booth Theatre	[91]
1963	The Blue Boy in Black	Joan	Masque Theatre	[87][92]
	Trumpets of the Lord	Rev. Marion Alexander	Astor Place Theatre	[87][93]
1966	A Hand Is on the Gate	Performer	Longacre Theatre	[94]
1968	Carry Me Back to Morningside Heights	Myrna Jessup	John Golden Theatre	[87][95]
1969	To Be Young, Gifted and Black	Various	Cherry Lane Theatre	[87][96]
	Trumpets of the Lord	Rev. Marion Alexander	Brooks Atkinson Theatre	[97]
1983	The Corn Is Green	Miss Moffat	Lunt-Fontanne Theatre	[98][99]
2013	TheTrip to Bountiful The Trip to Bountiful	Miss Carrie Watts	Stephen Sondheim Theatre	[100]
2015	The Gin Game	Fonsia Dorsey	John Golden Theater	[101]

Radio

Year	Title	Role	Ref.
1979	Sears Radio Theater	Host, Thursdays; "Love and Hate Night"	[102]

Awards and nominations

Academy Awards

Note: The year given is the year of the ceremony

Year	Award	Performance	Result
1973	Best Actress[103]	Sounder	Nominated
2018	Academy Honorary Award[104]	–	Won

Golden Globe Awards

Note: The year given is the year of the ceremony

Year	Award	Performance	Result
1973	Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama[105]	Sounder	Nominated

Emmy Award

Sources.[106]

Year	Award	Performance	Result
Daytime Emmy Award
1982	Outstanding Individual Achievement in Children's Programming – Performers	The Human Body: Becoming a Woman	Nominated
Primetime Emmy Award
1974	Best Lead Actress in a Drama	The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman	Won
	Actress of the Year – Special		Won
1977	Outstanding Single Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Comedy or Drama Series	Roots	Nominated
1978	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series	King	Nominated
1982	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or a Special	Hallmark Hall of Fame	Nominated
1994	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Special	Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All	Won
1995	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series	Sweet Justice	Nominated
1999	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie	A Lesson Before Dying	Nominated
2009	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Movie	Relative Stranger	Nominated
2014	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie	The Trip to Bountiful	Nominated
	Outstanding Television Movie		Nominated
2015	Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series	How to Get Away with Murder	Nominated
2017			Nominated
2018			Nominated
2019			Nominated
2020			Nominated

Tony Awards

Note: The year given is the year of the ceremony

Year	Award	Performance	Result
2013	Best Actress in a Play[107]	The Trip to Bountiful	Won

Peabody Awards

Note: The year given is the year of the ceremony

Year	Award	Performance	Result
2020	Career Achievement Peabody[108]	–	Won

Television Hall of Fame

Note: The year given is the year of the ceremony

Year	Award	Performance	Result
2020	Television Hall of Fame[109]	–	Won

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External links

• Cicely Tyson at the Internet Broadway Database
• Cicely Tyson at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
• Cicely Tyson at IMDb
• Cicely Tyson at the TCM Movie Database
• Appearances on C-SPAN
• Cicely Tyson discography at Discogs
• Interview titled Ms. Cicely Tyson's Fact-Finding Tour of Central Africa, 1985-11-05, In Black America, KUT Radio, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (WGBH and the Library of Congress)
• Cicely Tyson at Find a Grave