News

Black Hollywood Pioneer Cicely Tyson Passed Away At Age 96 

Cicely Tyson attends the 2019 Creative Arts Emmy Awards on September 15
Photo by JC Olivera/GettyImages

Sad day for the culture!

Multiple news sources report Cicely Tyson passed away at the age of 96. It’s not clear what her cause of death is at the moment. 

Cicely was a black Hollywood pioneer and icon. She made her acting debut in the 1950s. Cicely refused to play blaxploitation roles, even though it became popular in the late 1960s. 

In the 1970’s she received multiple Oscar nominations. She won an honorary Oscar in 2018. She also won three Emmys throughout her career. Also, she won a Tony for her starring role in a revival of The Trip to Bountiful.

Cicely played roles in major films like Roots, King: The Martin Luther King Story, A Woman Called Moses, and many more. Within the last 10 years, she had roles in hit movies like Madea’s Family Reunion, Why Did I Get Married Too, and more.

She was in the original 1961 Off-Broadway production of Jean Genet’s “The Blacks.” On Television she had a reoccurring role in the drama series East Side/West Side, and had other roles in The Rosa Parks Story, Playing With Fire, Acceptable Risks, and more. Cicely was a guest actress on the show How to Get Away With Murder. She also appeared on an episode of Law and Order: SVU.

Variety reports Cicely was also one of the founding members of the Dance Theater of Harlem in 1969.

She was a true icon and will be missed. Fans have been showing her love on social media, take a look:

Via