1956–1969: Rise to prominence Tyson was discovered by a photographer for
Ebony magazine and became a successful fashion model. Her first acting role was a bit part in the 1956 film
Carib Gold and she first appeared onstage in
Vinnette Carroll's production of
Dark of the Moon at the
Harlem YMCA in 1958. Tyson had small roles in the 1959 films
Odds Against Tomorrow and
The Last Angry Man, as well as the 1960 comedy,
Who Was That Lady? In 1961, she made her television debut in the
NBC series
Frontiers of Faith. In 1962, she became the first African American woman to wear an Afro on television in the United States. In the early 1960s, Tyson appeared in the original cast of French playwright
Jean Genet's
The Blacks. She played the role of Stephanie Virtue Secret-Rose Diop; other cast members included
Maya Angelou,
James Earl Jones,
Godfrey Cambridge,
Louis Gossett Jr., and
Charles Gordone. The show was the longest running off-Broadway non-musical of the decade, running for 1,408 performances. She won the 1961–1962 Vernon Rice Award (later known as the
Drama Desk Award) for her performance in another off-Broadway production,
Moon on a Rainbow Shawl. In 1963, Tyson appeared on the game show
To Tell The Truth as an "imposter" for Australian singer
Shirley Abicair, receiving two of the four possible votes. Tyson, who once worked for a social services agency, was spotted by producer
David Susskind in
The Blacks and in
Tiger, Tiger Burning Bright, and was cast for a role in the CBS TV series
East Side/West Side (1963–1964), playing the secretary of a social worker played by
George C. Scott. The show was noted for its treatment of social issues, and one of its episodes, on an African-American couple in
Harlem (played by
James Earl Jones and
Diana Sands), was
blacked out in
Atlanta and
Shreveport, Louisiana. She appeared with
Sammy Davis Jr. in the film
A Man Called Adam (1966) and had a small role in the film version of
The Comedians (1967) based on the
Graham Greene novel. In 1968 Tyson had a featured role in
The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter.
1970–1989: Stardom and acclaim at the Governor's Ball in 1994 In 1972, Tyson played the role of Rebecca Morgan in the film
Sounder. She was nominated for both the
Academy Award and
Golden Globe Award for Best Actress for her work in
Sounder, and also won the
NSFC Best Actress and
NBR Best Actress Awards. Critic
Roger Ebert wrote of her performance, "The mother is played by Cicely Tyson, and it is a wonder to see the subtleties in her performance. We have seen her with her family, and we know her strength and intelligence. Then we see her dealing with the white power structure, and her behavior toward it is in a style born of cynicism and necessity. She will say what they want to hear in order to get what she wants to get." In 1974, Tyson played the title role in the
CBS television film
The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman. Tyson's portrayal of a centenarian black woman's life from slavery until her death before the
Civil rights movement won her
Emmy Awards Outstanding Lead Actress – Miniseries or a Movie and
Actress of the Year – Special. Tyson was also nominated for a
BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her work in this television film. Nikki Giovanni of
The New York Times wrote of her performance, "If Cicely Tyson isn't one of the best actresses on screen, then "grits ain't groceries, eggs ain't poultry, and Mona Lisa was a man," adding, "Miss Tyson never stepped out of character. Miss Tyson's performance was the reason awards were first invented." Tyson's television roles included: Binta in the 1977 miniseries
Roots, for which she was nominated for a
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress – Miniseries or a Movie;
Coretta Scott King in the 1978 miniseries
King, for which she was nominated for a
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress – Miniseries or a Movie;
Marva Collins in the 1981 television film
The Marva Collins Story, for which she received an
NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special and was nominated for a
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress – Miniseries or a Movie; Tyson was the first black woman to host
Saturday Night Live. Her episode featured the musical guest
Talking Heads and aired on February 10, 1979. In 1989, Tyson appeared in the television miniseries
The Women of Brewster Place. 1990–2021: Established star In 1991, Tyson appeared in
Fried Green Tomatoes as Sipsey. In the 1994–95 television series
Sweet Justice, Tyson portrayed a civil rights activist and attorney named Carrie Grace Battle, a character she modeled after
Dovey Johnson Roundtree. Her other film roles include the dramas
Hoodlum (1997) and
Diary of a Mad Black Woman (2005), and the television films
Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All (1994) (for which she received her third Emmy Award) and
A Lesson Before Dying (1999). In 2005, Tyson co-starred in
Because of Winn-Dixie. In 2010, Tyson appeared in
Why Did I Get Married Too? and narrated the
Paul Robeson Award-winning documentary
Up from the Bottoms: The Search for the American Dream. In 2011, Tyson appeared in her first music video in
Willow Smith's
21st Century Girl. That same year, she played Constantine Jefferson, a maid in
Jackson, Mississippi, in the critically acclaimed period drama
The Help. Set in the backdrop of the
Civil Rights Movement, the film won the
Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Acting Ensemble and the
Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. At the
67th Tony Awards, on June 9, 2013, Tyson won the
Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her performance as Miss Carrie Watts in the
Broadway revival of the
Horton Foote play
The Trip to Bountiful. Upon winning, the 88-year-old actress became the oldest recipient of the Best Actress Tony Award. She also won the
Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play and the
Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play for the role. In 2013, Tyson played a supporting role in the horror film
The Haunting in Connecticut 2: Ghosts of Georgia. Beginning in 2014, Tyson guest-starred on
How to Get Away with Murder as Ophelia Harkness, the mother of main character
Annalise Keating (
Viola Davis); for this role, she was nominated for a
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series in 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020. In 2020, she starred in the popular movie
A Fall From Grace which was featured on
Netflix. ==Personal life==