Cicely Tyson, the pioneering Black actress who was nominated for an Oscar for her role as the sharecropper’s wife in “Sounder,” earned two Emmys, a Tony Award at 88, and the hearts of thousands for her work on stage and screen, has died at 96. As tributes pour in, we take a look across her career in photos.
Cicely Tyson poses with her Emmy statuettes at the annual Emmy Awards presentation in Los Angeles, Ca., May 28, 1974. Tyson won for her role in “The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman” for actress of the year, special, and best lead actress in a television drama for a special program. (AP Photo)Actress Cicely Tyson reacts upon seeing a life-size bronze sculpture of Rosa Parks in the Rosa Parks Library and Museum on Dec. 1, 2000, in Montgomery, Ala., following a dedication ceremony. (AP Photo/Kevin Glackmeyer, File)After President Bush, not shown, signed the National Museum of African-American History and Culture Act, members of the commission talk to Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., left, outside the White House, Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2003. From left to right is Sen. Brownback, Rep. Gail Norton, D-DC, Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga, and actress Ciely Tyson. (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds)Ray Charles, second from left, shares a laugh with actors Cicely Tyson, third from left, and Clint Eastwood, left, while City Council President Alex Padilla and Councilman Martin Ludlow, right, unveil a plaque proclaiming Ray Charles Studio as a historical monument, Friday, April 30, 2004, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Stefano Paltera)Cicely Tyson models a B. Michael design in The Heart Truth Red Dress collection during Fashion Week in New York, Feb. 13, 2009. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews, File)Cicely Tyson arrives at the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards on Sept. 20, 2009, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles, File)Cicely Tyson, front center, and from left, Harry Belafonte, Laurence Fishburne and Sidney Poitier pose in the audience at the 43rd NAACP Image Awards on Friday, Feb. 17, 2012, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)President Barack Obama presents the Presidential Medal of Freedom to actress Cicely Tyson during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House, Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2016, in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)Cicely Tyson waves her hands after placing them in cement at her Hand and Footprint Ceremony at the TCL Chinese Theatre on Friday, April 27, 2018, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP)Actress Cicely Tyson makes a tribute to actor Denzel Washington during the 47th AFI Life Achievement Award ceremony honoring Washington at the Dolby Theatre, Thursday, June 6, 2019, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)Ambassador Andrew Young, from left, talks to actress Cicely Tyson and Rev. Martin Luther King, Sr. on the set of “Martin Luther King, Jr.” being filmed in Macon in 1977. (AP Photo, File)
American born actress Cicely Tyson presides, Monday, Sept. 19, 1983 at the dedication of Alexander Hamilton House on the island of Nevis in the West Indies. Ms. Tyson’s parents were born on the island as was Hamilton, a founding American federalist. Dedication of the rebuilt house on the birthplace of Hamilton was part of independence celebrations for Nevis and St. Kitts, who depart from the United Kingdom. (AP Photo/Joe Skipper)Actress Cicely Tyson, center, poses with Elizabeth Taylor and producer Zev Buffman following the opening of her new show “The Corn is Green” in New York, Monday, August 22, 1983. (AP Photo/Ron Frehm)Cicely Tyson with her husband, jazz trumpeter Myles Davis, backstage at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre in New York, August 22, 1983, after the opening of her new show “The Corn is Green”. (AP Photo/Ron Frehm)Peering through a monocle at the Dorchester Hotel in London, Feb. 19, 1973, is actress Cicely Tyson, who has been tipped to win this year’s “best actress” American Academy Award for her part in “Sounder” as Kevin Hook’s mother. (AP Photo)The nation’s First Lady, Mrs. Betty Ford, chats with Emmy-award winning television actress Cicely Tyson, right, as the two were among many honored guests at a dinner held at the Birmingham Museum of Art in Alabama on September 7. Mrs. Ford and nine other prominent women, including Cicely Tyson, will be recognized Saturday when the will be presented awards for their charity and philanthropic leadership. (AP Photo)Lenny Kravitz and Cicely Tyson attend the premiere of “Lee Daniels’ The Butler” on Monday, August 5, 2013 in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)Secretary of State John Kerry, left, talks with 2015 Kennedy Center Honorees Cicely Tyson, center, and Teresa Heinz-Kerry, right, following the State Department Dinner for the Kennedy Center Honors on Saturday, Dec. 5, 2015, in Washington. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)Cicely Tyson rides a float in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on Thursday, Nov. 27, 2014 in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)
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