Legendary award-winning actress Cicely Tyson, known for her onscreen portrayals of strong black women, has died at the age of 96.
Tyson’s family announced her death on Thursday in a statement via her manager Larry Thompson.
“With heavy heart, the family of Miss Cicely Tyson announces her peaceful transition this afternoon. At this time, please allow the family their privacy,” Thompson said. No cause of death was given.
Days before her passing, she released her new memoir, Just As I Am, which she promoted in an appearance on CBS This Morning with Gayle King earlier this week.
King tweeted a video of the interview after Tyson’s death was announced, writing: ‘Thank you Cicely Tyson… for everything…’
Her manager Larry Thompson said she “thought of her new memoir as a Christmas tree decorated with all the ornaments of her personal and professional life.”
“Today she placed the last ornament, a Star, on top of the tree,” he said in a statement Thursday.
In her touching interview with King, Tyson was asked “When the time comes, what do you want us to remember about you?”.
The actress simply replied: “I done my best. That’s all.”
Tyson, who had just turned 96 in December, was a acting icon, who pioneered roles for black stars over a career which spanned more than six decades.
Her most-lauded performances came in historical works such as the 1972 movie Sounder in which she played a Louisiana sharecropper’s wife. That film earned her only Academy Award nomination.
She received an honorary Oscar in November 2018, with the Academy saying her “unforgettable performances and personal integrity have inspired generations of filmmakers, actors and audiences”.
Besides her Oscar nomination, Tyson had won two Emmys for playing the 110-year-old former slave in the 1974 television drama “The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman.”
Tributes poured in from celebrities after her death was announced.
President Obama – who awarded her the Medal of Freedom in 2016 – wrote: “In her extraordinary career, Cicely Tyson was one of the rare award-winning actors whose work on the screen was surpassed only by what she was able to accomplish off of it. She had a heart unlike any other—and for 96 years, she left a mark on the world that few will ever match.”
Oprah Winfrey posted a picture of herself with Tyson on Instagram, writing: ‘Cicely decided early on that her work as an actor would be more than a job. She used her career to illuminate the humanity of Black people. The roles she played reflected her values; she never compromised. Her life so fully lived is a testimony to Greatness.’
Actor and director Tyler Perry also posted an emotional tribute, telling how Oprah broke the news to him while he was watching one of Tyson’s movies.
He wrote online: ‘I was sitting at the table working when I got this overwhelming feeling to watch Miss Jane Pittman. I hadn’t seen the movie in years. I didn’t even understand the feeling to turn it on, but I did anyway. Not 12 minutes into the movie my phone rang. It was Oprah calling to tell me that Cicely had died.
‘This one brought me to my knees! She was the grandmother I never had and the wisdom tree that I could always sit under to fill my cup.’
He added: ‘My heart breaks in one beat, while celebrating her life in the next. To think that she lived for 96 years and I got to be a part of the last 16 brings me great joy.
‘She called me son. Well, today your son grieves your loss and will miss our long talks, your laughter from your belly, and your very presence. Always so regal, always so classy, always a lady, always a queen. Every time we would talk I would ask, “How are you?” and you would say, “I’m still here. He must have something he wants me to do.” Well, I think it’s safe to say you have done all you were put here to do, and we are all better for it.’
Tyson recently starred in Tyler Perry’s 2020 Netflix thriller, A Fall from Grace, her final film role before her death.
(Dailymail)
