On Thursday 28th January, award-winning actress Cicely Tyson passed away aged 96. She was an influential and successful icon in theatre, film, and television and her loss will be felt by many in the acting community.
Tyson was born in Harlem, New York City, in 1924. At the age of 18, she was discovered by the fashion editor at Ebony Magazine and quickly rose up the ranks of the modelling industry.
By 1957, Tyson was on track to building the acting career that she was drawn to, performing in off-Broadway productions and going on to gain some small roles in feature films before she was cast as Portia in The Heart is A Lonely Hunter (1968).
“Tyson was also the first and only African American woman to receive an Honorary Academy Award in 2018.”
Tyson went on to have a vastly successful and critically acclaimed career. Amongst the many honours, some include the Oscar nomination for Best Actress that she received for her performance in the film Sounder (1972) and two Emmy’s for one of her best-known roles portraying a 110-year old former slave in The Autobiography of Jane Pittman (1974). Tyson was also the first and only African American woman to receive an Honorary Academy Award in 2018.
Cecily Tyson acquired many professional accolades during her time as an actress but her career wasn’t always smooth sailing. Committed to only portraying strong, positive, human, and meaningful roles on screen, Tyson sometimes found it difficult to find work.
She refused to do so-called “Blaxploitation” films, which, while having black leads, would often perpetuate damaging stereotypes through the behaviours of their heroes and heroines. She explained in a 1983 interview; “unless a piece really said something, I had no interest in it. I have got to know that I have served some purpose here.”
Tyson’s commitment to ensuring she represented black women with dignity on-screen set an important precedent for generations of black actors and actresses to come. Tyson expressed her hope in a 1973 interview with the BBC’s Film Programme that the acclaim for her role in Sounder would allow her ‘to be considered for roles just because I’m a good actress rather than because I’m a black actress, which limits my ability to work.’
46 years later, Viola Davis wrote in Vanity Fair about how much Tyson had inspired her own acting career and her confidence to perform with her natural hair on screen. Tyson told Davis how when she wore her own hair naturally, playing Jane Foster on East Side/West Side, she received many negative comments.
“Viola Davis emphasised Tyson’s pioneering commitment to wearing her natural hair on-screen was pivotal to this development.”
By the time Davis was performing with Tyson as a mother and daughter on ABC’s How To Get Away With Murder, the scene where Tyson combed and parted Davis’ hair was greeted with an overwhelmingly positive response. Viola Davis emphasised Tyson’s pioneering commitment to wearing her natural hair on-screen was pivotal to this development. Davis paid a touching tribute to Cicely Tyson on social media on Friday morning.
I’m devastated. My heart is just broken. I loved you so much!! You were everything to me! You made me feel loved and seen and valued in a world where there is still a cloak of invisibility for us dark chocolate girls. You gave me permission to dream… https://t.co/7V7AFZtFLa pic.twitter.com/l2TLfM4weX
— Viola Davis (@violadavis) January 29, 2021
Her pioneering work for black female actors in the industry was also recognised by former President Obama who awarded Tyson the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016. Obama paid tribute to Tyson, saying: “She had a heart unlike any other – and for 96 years, she left a mark on the world that few will match.”
The tragic news of her passing comes just after the release of her highly anticipated memoir, Just As I Am, which came out on Tuesday. The work, which compiles many of the amazing stories and experiences she has in during her Hollywood career and personal life, will enshrine her powerful memory and legacy for years to come.
Sanjana Idnani
Featured image courtesy of David Shankbone via Flickr. Image license found here. No changes were made to this image.
Sanjana Idnani
Sanjana is an English literature student at the University of Bristol and an aspiring journalist. She is particularly interested in writing about the arts, climate change, and inclusivity!