Raisin in the Sun, A (play and film), 146, 147
Ramsay, Van, 370
Rashad, Condola, 371, 373
Rasulala, Thalmus, 286
Rhimes, Shonda, 366, 385
Richards, Lloyd, 141–48, 155–56
Ritt, Marty, 5, 224, 226, 242
Roker, Roxie, 174–75, 182–83
Roots (TV miniseries), xiv, 278, 281–91, 327
Ross, Diana, 230–31, 232–33
Ryan, Thomas, 209–10
Sands, Diana, 133, 138, 141, 175, 188
Sanford, Isabel, 145, 157
Sargent, Mary Jane (grandmother), 11, 12, 13, 41–42, 97, 256–57, 290, 305
Saturday Night Life (film), 252
Scott, George C., 188
Scott, Lea, 157
Shirley, Donald Walbridge, 43, 195, 247
Shook, Karel, 221
Shuffle Along (Broadway show), 67
Siefert, Charles C., 161
Siem, Susan, 254
Simone, Nina, 206–7
Simpson, O. J., 216, 287
Sinatra, Frank, 274
Smith, Mildred, 126, 128, 129, 132
Smith, Valerian, 247
Snowdon, Lord, 233
Sorcerer (Davis, album), 196, 349
Sounder (film), xiv, 3–9, 20, 65, 223–35, 237, 238, 241–43, 251, 268–69, 291, 327, 345, 362, 383, 386
Spectrum, The (film), 130–34, 138
Stanislavski, Konstantin, 140
Stavropoulos, George Peter, 300
“Strange Fruit” (song), 70, 249
Strasberg, Lee, 140–41, 154
Stubbs, Louise, 157
Swanston, Schubert (cousin), 80
Taylor, Benjamin, 14, 25, 50–51
Taylor, Elizabeth, 271–73, 282, 306, 310–11, 314, 362, 372
Taylor, Frances, 164, 165, 168, 196, 197, 254, 263, 319
Taylor, Susan L., 344, 355
Taylor, Tate, x
Tennon, Julius, 361
Thompson, Larry, xiv, 363, 369, 377, 382
To Kill a Mockingbird (film), 171
Trimmings, Laura, 353–59
Trip to Bountiful, The (play and film), xiv, 369–76
Trumpets of the Lord (stage show), 213–14
Tubman, Harriet, xiv, 224, 291, 370
Turner, Tina, 292
12 Angry Men (film), 170–71
20th Century Fox, 228, 241, 274–75
Tyson, Beatrice (aunt), 22, 39–40
Tyson, Caroline “Carol” (grandmother), 11, 29
Tyson, Cicely, xi, xiii–xvi; acting career, 170–76, 182, 188, 189, 192–94, 205, 213–15, 223–35, 241–53, 271–75, 278–91, 306–11, 361–66, 369–76 (see also specific productions); acting career, start of and training, 128–60; adolescence, 76–87, 149; in Africa, 282–85, 314, 331, 334, 362; anti-racist activism, 3, 8–9, 184–85, 269, 328–31; appearance, 21, 22, 23–24, 52, 81, 86–87, 95, 119–20, 122–23, 133, 171, 186–92, 196, 206, 226, 300–301; awards, 229–35, 251, 289, 368, 374–75, 377–86; birth and infancy, 16–17, 64, 245, 392–93; childhood, ix, 10–11, 17–63; childhood homes, 24–27, 52–53, 77; church and religious upbringing, 33–37, 73–75, 198, 292–93, 348–49, 373; Dance Theatre of Harlem and, 219–22; daughter “Joan,” 100–116, 118, 136, 148–53, 177, 182, 192, 252, 263, 331, 388, 392, 393, 407; Davis, Miles, and, 163–70, 193–207, 210–13, 235–36, 238–40, 254, 275–77, 291–306, 312–27, 333–42, 347–48, 365; diet and lifestyle, 75, 292, 345, 348, 390–92; divine guidance and, 108, 114, 116, 120, 122, 128, 129, 132, 135–37, 143, 148, 160, 213, 215, 226, 282, 320, 341, 347, 355; dog, Stuff, 273–74; earnings, 4, 192, 281, 362; education, 29–30, 77, 87, 94–95, 103–4, 117–18, 133–34; family and heritage, 11–32; fashion designers for, 205, 232–34, 300, 301, 374–75, 385, 388, 393; first marriage, ii, 84–85, 96–100, 104–5, 176; firsts by a Black woman actor, ix, 188, 192; first stage role, 155–60; first time fired, 214; first TV show, 182; godchildren of, 362–63; as hairdresser, 86–87, 109, 117; hair stylists and salons used, 186, 206, 211–12, 225–26, 234, 254, 286, 300–301; homes, NYC and West Coast, 105, 111, 112, 136, 165, 171–72, 179, 200, 212, 216–19, 229, 236, 241, 294, 316, 318, 321, 326, 333–34; maid, Jean, 321–22, 323; message to Black women, 396–99; modeling career, 123–28, 134, 180; music and piano-playing, 75, 77, 85–86; name and nicknames, 18, 89, 172, 379; parents (See Tyson, Fredericka; Tyson, William); predictions about, 10–11, 30, 258, 357; racism and racial wounds, 6–8, 24, 60–63, 139, 207, 208–10, 268–69, 394–95; romances, 176–82, 217–18, 235–37; school named for, 353–59; secretarial jobs, 106, 111–12, 119–21, 127, 136, 172; sexual abuse or assaults, 51–52, 91, 142–44, 148; sixth sense, 10, 37–41, 194–96, 198, 242, 254–56, 258, 263, 334, 393; teenage sex and pregnancy, 90–92, 94–99; voice of, 87, 295, 372; work ethic, 127, 136
Tyson, Charles (uncle), 259
Tyson, Emily (cousin), 354–55
Tyson, Emily (sister), ii, 16, 18–21, 28, 29, 32, 34, 36, 39, 44, 46, 48–52, 56, 73–75, 77, 79–81, 87–88, 95, 97, 150, 158, 179, 256, 261, 302, 386; children of, 152, 172, 378–79; marriage, 109–11
Tyson, Fredericka (mother), ii, 10–60, 72, 97, 138; church-going and religion, 33–35, 42–43, 73–75; cooking, 31–32; CT’s acting career and, 158–60, 189, 193, 231–32, 235; CT’s first husband and, 84–85, 90–92, 96–97; CT’s relationship with, 18, 28–29, 34, 56, 60, 62–63, 72, 76–80, 92–93, 96–97, 102–3, 105, 109–10, 112–15, 134–36, 149, 177, 180, 231, 235, 256–58, 263–65, 301–2, 349, 392–93; death of, 256–58, 261–63, 264, 271–72; dove and marking of, 13, 332; lessons taught by, 26–28, 144, 215, 396; marital conflict and husband’s infidelity, 44–51, 59, 89, 200–201, 304, 340; marital separation, 53–57, 70–74, 92; sixth sense, 38–39, 41, 263; wedding band, 302, 304, 316; work ethic, 25–26, 59–60, 72, 127
Tyson, George (uncle), 14, 22–23, 39, 354–55
Tyson, John Edward (grandfather), 11
Tyson, Melrose (brother), 15, 16, 18–19, 28, 44, 46, 48, 49–52, 56, 72–73, 74, 82, 88, 95, 97, 252, 262, 263, 386; wife, Bernice, 111, 256–57, 262
Tyson, William (father), 11–24, 36, 43–51, 118, 294; CT’s acting career and, 231; CT’s pregnancy and, 98–99, 102; CT’s relationship with, 18, 45, 56, 71–72, 78, 88–89, 93, 102, 105, 118; death of, 258–61, 263–64, 265; marital conflict and infidelity, 44–51, 59, 70–71, 89, 200–201, 316, 326–27, 340; marital separation, 53–57, 70–74; remarriage, 71, 259; work ethic of, 14, 25–26, 127
Tyson, Zora (aunt), 15, 71, 88, 105, 111
Underwood, Blair, 374
Upton, Kate, 190
Ward, Richard, 157
Warren, Barbara, 339–40, 341
Washington, Cheryl, 348
Washington, Denzel, xii, 266, 361, 363
Washington, Kerry, 380, 385
Waters, Ethel, 138
Watson, Barbara Mae, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128
Watson, James S., 124
Watson, Violet Lopez, 124
“We Speak Your Names” (Cleage), 344
“When Great Trees Fall” (Angelou), 388–89
Whitehead, Robert, 208
Whitfield, Lynn, 247, 343, 355
Wilburn, Vince, Jr., 313–14, 341
Williams, Billy Dee, 173
Williams, Clarence, III, 157, 303–4
Williams, Pearl, 245
Williams, Vanessa, 371, 374
Wilma (TV movie), 363
Wilson, Michael, 374
Winans, BeBe, 344, 355, 379
Winfield, Paul, 5, 224, 227, 230, 237–38, 269
Winfrey, Oprah, 342–45, 355, 359, 374, 385; South African school and, 362, 385
Winston, Stan, 248
Wolper, David, 280, 281
Woman Called Moses, A (film), 224, 291, 327
Women of Brewster Place, The (TV miniseries), 343–44, 345
Woodard, Alfre, 268, 281
World War II, 90, 108
Wynn, Tracy Keenan, 243
Wynn, Zelda, 221
Young, Andrew, 299–300, 302–3
Young, Harold, 138
Photo Section
In the romantic comedy Bustin’ Loose (1981), Richard Pryor and I scored a box-office hit with our first on-screen pairing.
MICHAEL OCHS ARCHIVES/STRINGER/GETTY IMAGES
James Earl Jones and me in The Blacks, the longest-running off-Broadway musical of the 1960s—and the beginning of avant-garde theater.
STEVE SCHAPIRO/GETTY IMAGES
Alongside my costars in the 1966 musical drama A Man Called Adam, (clockwise from my right) Ossie Davis, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., and Louis Armstrong.
SILVER SCREEN COLLECTION/GETTY IMAGES
The Trip to Bountiful—a ride across the stage, courtesy of my castmates during the show’s final performance.
WALTER MCBRIDE/GETTY IMAGES
In 2015, James Earl Jones and I costar in Broadway’s The Gin Game—our first onstage reunion since 1966.
JEMAL COUNTESS/GETTY IMAGES
In the 1972 drama Sounder, I played Rebecca, devoted wife to Nathan (Paul Winfield). For my performance, I earned an Oscar nomination.
PARAMOUNT PICTURES/HANDOUT/GETTY IMAGES
I’m with Maya Angelou in the opening scene of Roots, the 1977 television miniseries that revolutionized the culture.
WALT DISNEY TELEVISION VIA GETTY IMAGES
In the 1974 television drama The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, I played the 110-year-old Jane, defying Jim Crow by drinking from a whites-only fountain.
AFRO NEWSPAPER/GADO/GETTY IMAGES
In 2016, President Obama awarded me with the Presidential Medal of Freedom—the nation’s highest civilian honor.
NICHOLAS KAMM/GETTY IMAGES
In 2015, I was chosen as a Kennedy Center honoree, alongside (clockwise from my right) Carole King, Seiji Ozawa, Rita Moreno, and George Lucas.
POOL/GETTY IMAGES
In 2020, I was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame.
JORDAN STRAUSS/INVISION/AP/SHUTTERSTOCK
In 2018, Turner Classic Movies honored me with a hand-and-footprint ceremony at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.
EARL GIBSON III/GETTY IMAGES
In 2010, the NAACP honored me with the Spingarn Medal, its most prestigious award. Here, I’m with fashion designer B Michael and Mark-Anthony Edwards at the event in Kansas City.
COURTESY OF B MICHAEL
Accepting an honorary Oscar in 2018—forty-five years after the Oscar nod for Sounder. I was the first Black actress to receive the award.
KEVIN WINTER/GETTY IMAGES
For my portrayal of Jane Pittman in 1974, I earned two Emmys—for Best Lead Actress in a Drama and an unprecedented Emmy for Actress of the Year.
MICHAEL OCHS ARCHIVES/STRINGER/GETTY IMAGES
In 2013, The Trip to Bountiful culminated with a trio of honors: a Tony, a Drama Desk Award, and the Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Actress.
MIKE COPPOLA/GETTY IMAGES
In 2014 in Manhattan, I joined with revelers in renaming West Seventy-Seventh Street “Miles Davis Way”—a tribute to my late husband, who once lived there.
EARL GIBSON III/GETTY IMAGES
In 2018, my hat turned heads and set Twitter ablaze at the homegoing service of my dear friend Aretha Franklin.
PAUL SANCYA/ASSOCIATED PRESS
A former model, I was working the runway at 2009’s Fashion Week in New York City.
BEBETO MATTHEWS /ASSOCIATED PRESS
Sass on display during my early modeling days, circa 1956—with the sense of style I inherited from my parents.
COURTESY OF CICELY TYSON
Oprah and I are the proud godmothers to Tyler Perry’s son, Aman. Here, in 2015, we celebrate Aman’s christening at Tyler’s home in Beverly Hills.
COURTESY OF TYLER PERRY STUDIOS
In the years since my school opened its doors, I have relished attending every graduation. Here, seniors listen in as I commemorate their accomplishments.
MUSTAFA HOOTEN, D1 MEDIA PRO, LLC
At the 2015 Kennedy Center Honors, I gathered with my family (clockwise, from my right): my great-nephew, Devin Grandison; my niece Maxine Grandison; Maxine’s husband, Louis Grandison; my dear friend Arthur Mitchell; and my great-niece, Rebecca Grandison-Akinyooye.
In celebration of civil rights icon Rosa Parks’s birthday in 1990, I gathered with Coretta Scott King, Everee Ward (Parks’s aunt), and Rosa Parks.
ROBERT SHERBOW/GETTY IMAGES
I’m with writer James Baldwin, dancer Arthur Mitchell, and actor Harry Belafonte at the To Be Young, Gifted, and Black gala at New York’s Cherry Lane Theater, 1969.
RON GALELLA/GETTY IMAGES
In 2012, I reunited with longtime friends Harry Belafonte and Sidney Poitier at the 43rd NAACP Image Awards in Los Angeles.
CHRIS PIZZELLO/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Diahann Carroll, my close friend who introduced me to Miles Davis.
© ANNIE WATT.COM
Arthur Mitchell, the first African-American dancer with the New York City Ballet—and my closest friend. Here, we’re on the red carpet of the Oscars in March 1973, when I was nominated for Sounder.
LOS ANGELES TIMES PHOTOGRAPHIC ARCHIVE, LIBRARY SPECIAL COLLECTIONS, CHARLES E. YOUNG RESEARCH LIBRARY, UCLA
In Tyler Perry’s 2006 film Madea’s Family Reunion, I share a scene with longtime friend Maya Angelou. We first met while playing in The Blacks.
PHOTO 12/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO
I’m with Elizabeth Taylor and producer Zev Buffman at the premiere of the Broadway revival of The Corn Is Green in 1983.
RON FREHM/ASSOCIATED PRESS
In 1974, First Lady Betty Ford chats with me at an event in Birmingham, Alabama.
MARK FOLEY/ASSOCIATED PRESS
At the 25th anniversary Essence Music Festival in New Orleans in 2019, with Forever First Lady Michelle Obama.
COURTESY OF B MICHAEL AMERICA
At the 1995 grand opening of the Cicely L. Tyson Community School of Performing and Fine Arts, I celebrated with former New York City mayor David Dinkins, Angela Bassett, Nick Ashford, Valerie Simpson, George Faison, Tamara Tunie, and other friends.
BRIAN KILLIAN/STRINGER/GETTY IMAGES
I’m flanked by friends Shonda Rhimes and Ava DuVernay at the 2019 Vanity Fair Oscar Party in Los Angeles.
KEVIN MAZUR/VF19/GETTY IMAGES
Escorted on the red carpet by my beloved godson, rocker Lenny Kravitz, at the 2013 premiere of Lee Daniels’ The Butler.
JAMIE MCCARTHY/GETTY IMAGES
My decades-long friend Aretha Franklin.
FRANK MICELOTTA/INVISION/ASSOCIATED PRESS
At the 43rd NAACP Image Awards in 2012, I share a light moment with Viola Davis—my on-screen daughter in ABC’s How to Get Away with Murder.
ALBERTO E. RODRIGUEZ/GETTY IMAGES
I’m with distinguished designer B Michael, my couturier of nearly two decades, at the 2019 Vanity Fair Oscar Party in Los Angeles.
STEVE GRANITZ/GETTY IMAGES
In 2006, I worked with filmmaker and close friend Tyler Perry for the first time, here on the set of Madea’s Family Reunion.
PHOTO 12/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO
Miles and I were married for eight years. Here, we’re sashaying through the Copenhagen airport in 1982—the year after we traded vows.
JAN PERSSON/GETTY IMAGES
Miles and me, at the premiere of The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter in July 1968—a few months after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated.
RON GALELLA/GETTY IMAGES
In a 1983 star-studded tribute to Miles Davis, I joined him onstage at Radio City Music Hall.
GARY GERSHOFF/GETTY IMAGES
Lord Snowdon, husband to Princess Margaret and an avid photographer, captured me in this Bill Whitten masterpiece of a dress—the one I wore to the New York premiere of Sounder in 1972.
© SNOWDON/TRUNK ARCHIVE
My family, circa 1927. Clockwise from left: My
father, William Augustine Tyson, holds my sister, Emily; my mother, Fredericka Theodosia Tyson (née Huggins); me, at age two and a half; and my brother, Melrose, whom our family calls Beau.
COURTESY OF CICELY TYSON.
About the Authors
MS. CICELY TYSON—legendary actress, advocate, and humanitarian—is renowned for her portrayals of strong female characters on stage, screen, and television, from her stunning initial stage appearance as Barbara Allen in Dark of the Moon, to her triumphant 2013 return to Broadway as Mrs. Carrie Watts in Horton Foote’s The Trip to Bountiful. For that portrayal, she received rave reviews and the triple crown of theater awards: the Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle awards for Best Actress in a Play.
Best known for her double Emmy performance (Best Lead Actress in a Drama, and a special, unprecedented Emmy for Actress of the Year) as Jane in The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, Ms. Tyson was also nominated for an Emmy in 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2020, for her recurring guest role as Ophelia, Annalise’s mother (Viola Davis) in ABC’s How to Get Away with Murder. She received her third Emmy for The Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All and was nominated for her performances in Roots, King, Sweet Justice, The Marva Collins Story, and A Lesson Before Dying.
In January 2020, Ms. Tyson was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame. She is among the elite number of entertainers honored with a star on the Hollywood Boulevard Walk of Fame. Ms. Tyson was recognized for her contribution to the performing arts at the 2015 Kennedy Center Honors. In addition, she is the recipient of the NAACP’s highest honor, the prestigious Spingarn Medal. In 2016, she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award of the United States.