It’s with great sadness to report that Cecily Tyson passed away.
Her manager made the announcement but didn’t immediately provide any additional details.
“I have managed Miss Tyson’s career for over 40 years, and each year was a privilege and blessing,” her manager, Larry Thompson, said in a statement. “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.”
He continued, “With heavy heart, the family of Miss Cicely Tyson announces her peaceful transition this afternoon. At this time, please allow the family their privacy.”
Even after winning an Academy Award, the groundbreaking actress would be unemployed for months to years at a time because she deliberately accepted roles of powerful Black women.
“I wait for roles — first, to be written for a woman, then, to be written for a black woman,” she told the Entertainment News Service in 1997. “And then I have the audacity to be selective about the kinds of roles I play. I’ve really got three strikes against me. So, aren’t you amazed I’m still here?”
Cecily Tyson was 96 years old and didn’t have any children.
