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SiriusXM remembers award-winning actress Cicely Tyson, dead at 96

Cicely Tyson died at age 96, her longtime manager Larry Thompson confirmed on January 28.

by:
Jackie Kolgraf
January 29, 2021

Cicely Tyson has died at age 96, her longtime manager Larry Thompson confirmed on January 28.

Tyson began her seven-decade-spanning career as a fashion model before moving into television, film, and on-stage acting. A pioneer for Black women in the arts, Tyson refused to play any role that could be considered demeaning and became the first Black actor to hold a recurring role in a television show in 1963’s East Side/West Side. Tyson was married to jazz legend Miles Davis for seven years from 1981 to 1988.

She won her first two of three Emmy Awards in 1974 for her title role in The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman. Most recently, she was the Academy Honorary Award winner in 2018 and a five-time Emmy Award nominee for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series for How To Get Away With Murder from 2015 to 2020. Last year saw Tyson honored with a Career Achievement Peabody Award and an induction into the Television Hall of Fame.

Just days before her death, Tyson joined Radio Andy’s Bevy Smith for a Town Hall event to discuss her new memoir Just As I Am, her life, legacy, and storied seven-decade career. The special will air on January 29 at 5pm ET on Radio Andy (Ch. 102) and throughout the weekend.

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