Hollywood screen goddess, Cicely Tyson dies at 96

NEWS DIGEST – Hollywood screen goddess, Cicely Tyson on Wednesday died at the age of 96. This comes a few years after the woman known for portraying iconic black characters retired from the movie industry.

In her career, she was the recipient of three Primetime Emmy Awards, four Black Reel Awards, one Screen Actors Guild Award, one Tony Award, an honorary Academy Award, and a Peabody Award.

She is also the first African-American woman to win an honorary Academy Award.

“I have managed Miss Tyson’s career for over 40 years, and each year was a privilege and blessing,” says Larry Thompson, her manager who announced her death on Thursday. “Cicely thought of her new memoir as a Christmas tree decorated with all the ornaments of her personal and professional life. Today she placed the last ornament, a Star, on top of the tree.”

In 2020, she was also for the Peabody Career Achievement Award for her work on the stage, in film and on television.

The fashion model garnered critical acclaim for her performance as Rebecca Morgan in 1972 movie, Sounder. She was nominated for both the Academy Award and Golden Globe Award for Best Actress for the film.

In 2011, she played Constantine Jefferson in the award-winning film The Help and Ophelia Harkness in How To Get Away With Murder.

At this time, the cause of her death is unknown.