The pioneering Hollywood actress Cicely Tyson – a former fashion model who was known for portraying strong African-American characters – had a career that spanned seven decades.
She won two Emmys for her performance in the 1974 civil rights-era film The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman an also became the first Black woman to take on a main role in the TV drama East Side/West Side in the 1960s. She was also noted for her significant contributions to the cause of African-American actresses.
Born in New York, after her parents moved there from Nevis in the Caribbean, she turned down stereotypical roles for Black women, agreeing only to play characters that were strong, positive and realistic. She was also lauded for her role, in the award-winning 1977 origiinal mini-movie TV series Roots, as Binta, the mother of Kunta Kinte who was sold into the slave trade after being abducted from his African village and moved to America.
In 2016, former US President Barack Obama presented her with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He said that apart from her achievements as an actress, she also inspired many people - including me - to walk a little taller, speak a little more freely, and live a little bit more like God intended."
US broadcaster and actress Oprah Winfrey said: "She used her career to illuminate the humanity of Black people. The roles she played reflected her values; she never compromised." Singer Rihanna called Tyson "a true legend"
She was nominated for a best actress Oscar and Golden Globe in 1973 for Sounder, about a family of poor Black sharecroppers during the Great Depression in 1933 Louisiana.
"I had no idea I would touch anybody," she said in a recent interview.
Some of her star roles were in films including: Sounder, The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All, Diary of a Mad Black Woman, The Help and How to Get Away with Murder.
She died aged 96 - No cause of death was given.
