Cecily Louise "Cicely" Tyson (December 19, 1924 – January 28, 2021) was an American actress. In a career spanning seven decades, she portrayed complex and strong-willed African American women. She received several awards including three Emmy Awards, a Peabody Award and a Tony Award, as well as nominations for a BAFTA Award and a Golden Globe Award. She was awarded the Kennedy Center Honors in 2015, the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016, and the Honorary Academy Award in 2018.
Tyson garnered widespread attention and critical acclaim for her performance as a Black mother facing adversity in the dramatic film Sounder (1972), for which she was nominated for both the Academy Award for Best Actress and Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama. She also acted in films such as A Man Called Adam (1966), The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter (1968), The River Niger (1976), Fried Green Tomatoes (1991), Diary of a Mad Black Woman (2005), Because of Winn-Dixie (2005), The Help (2011) and Last Flag Flying (2017).
On television, she broke barriers by taking a regular role on the CBS drama series East Side West Side (1963–1964).