Cicely Tyson Biography And Net Worth

Who is Cicely Tyson?

Cecily Louise  Tyson was an American actress known for her portrayal of strong African-American women. Tyson received various awards including three Emmy Awards, a Screen Actors Guild Award, a Tony Award, an Honorary Academy Award, and a Peabody Award.

Cicely Tyson garnered widespread attention and critical acclaim for her performance as Rebecca Morgan in Sounder (1972), for which she was nominated for both the Academy Award for Best Actress and Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama. Tyson’s portrayal of the title role in the 1974 television film The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman won her two Emmy Awards and a nomination for a BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role. She received another Emmy Award nomination for her role as Binta in the acclaimed series Roots (1977).

Bio Data

Biography

Cicely Tyson was born on December 19, 1924, in the Bronx, New York City, but soon relocated with her family to East Harlem. She was one of three children born to Fredericka (Huggins) Tyson, a domestic worker, and William Augustine Tyson, who worked as a carpenter and painter. Her parents were immigrants from 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.

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.

Career

Cicely Tyson was discovered by a photographer for Ebony magazine and became a successful fashion model. Her first acting role was a bit part in the 1956 film Carib Gold and she first appeared onstage in Vinnette Carroll’s production of Dark of the Moon at the Harlem YMCA in 1958. 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? 1n 1961, she made her television debut in the NBC series Frontiers of Faith.

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. 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. 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.

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

In 1989, Tyson appeared in the television miniseries The Women of Brewster Place. In 1991, Tyson appeared in Fried Green Tomatoes as Sipsey. In the 1994–95 television series Sweet Justice, Tyson portrayed a civil rights activist and attorney named Carrie Grace Battle, a character she modelled after Dovey Johnson Roundtree. 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). In 2005, Tyson co-starred in Because of Winn-Dixie. In 2010, Tyson appeared in Why Did I Get Married Too? 

In 2013, Tyson played a supporting role in the horror film The Haunting in Connecticut 2: Ghosts of Georgia. Beginning in 2014, Tyson guest-starred in 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.

Net Worth

Cicely Tyson’s net worth stood at $10 million at the time of her passing. Tyler Perry Allegedly paid her $1 Million dollars for a day’s work in the 2007 film “Why Did I Get Married?”

Personal Life

At the age of 18, Cicely Tyson married Kenneth Franklin on December 27, 1942. They had a daughter two months later, in February 1943. According to her divorce decree, her husband abandoned her on June 18, 1944. The marriage was formally dissolved in 1956.

Tyson began dating jazz trumpeter Miles Davis in the 1960s when he was in the process of divorcing dancer Frances Davis. 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, but instead, he married singer Betty Mabry that September.

Tyson and Davis rekindled their relationship in 1978. They were married on November 26, 1981. Their marriage was tumultuous due to Davis’ volatile temper and infidelity. Davis credited Tyson with saving his life and helping him overcome his cocaine addiction. They resided in Malibu, California, and New York City, until she filed for divorce in 1988. Their divorce was finalized in 1989, two years before Davis died in 1991.

Tyson was an honorary member of Delta Sigma Theta sorority. She was a member of the Abyssinian Baptist Church of New York. She was a vegetarian.

Death

Tyson died on January 28, 2021, at the age of 96. Her funeral was held on February 16 at the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem and was attended by Tyler Perry, her godson Lenny Kravitz, and Bill and Hillary Clinton. Tyson was interred in Woodlawn Cemetery (Bronx, New York) with former husband Miles Davis.

FAQs

How old was Cicely Tyson before she died?

Cicely Tyson died at the age of 96.

Who gave Cicely Tyson 1 million dollars?

Tyler Perry gave Cicely Tyson $1 million dollars for a day job. Tyler Perry said he wants Cicely Tyson to know that people including himself appreciate her.

Who was the love of Cicely Tyson’s life?

Cicely Tyson referred to Miles Davies as the love of her life.

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