Cicely Tyson...Actress Who Shattered Stereotypes Dies at 96

Cicely Tyson, the pioneering ‘Sounder’ Oscar Nominee and ‘Autobiography Of Miss Jane Pittman’ Emmy winner, died on Thursday at age 96.

Tyson’s death was announced by her family, via her manager Larry Thompson, who did not provide further details.

“With heavy heart, the family of Miss Cicely Tyson announces her peaceful transition this afternoon. At this time, please allow the family their privacy,” Thompson said in a statement.

“I have managed Miss Tyson’s career for over 40 years, and each year was a privilege and blessing,” Thompson added in the 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.”

Many celebrities expressed their deep grief for the actress’ death.

“Cicely decided early on that her work as an actor would be more than a job. She used her career to illuminate the humanity in Black people,” Oprah Winfrey said in a written statement. “The roles she played reflected her values; she never compromised. Her life so fully lived is a testimony to Greatness.”

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“In her extraordinary career, Cicely Tyson was one of the rare award-winning actors whose work on the screen was surpassed only by what she was able to accomplish off of it,” Barack Obama said in a post on Twitter, attached to a photo with the legendary actress.

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“She had a heart unlike any other—and for 96 years, she left a mark on the world that few will ever match,” Obama added.

On her part, Michelle Obama affirmed in a tweet that the actress  “was the personification of beauty, grace, wisdom, and strength, carrying forward a flame that not only guided her for 96 pathbreaking years but lit the way for so many of us.”

“What struck me every time I spent time with Cicely Tyson was not necessarily her star power—though that was evident enough—it was her humanity,” Obama stated in another tweet. “ Just by walking into a room, she had this way of elevating everyone around her.”

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“Often times the talent and success of black girls and women are treated as gold in the pan—temporary and fleeting,” inauguration poet Amanda Gorman stated. “Tyson showed the world that the black woman is more than a moment. We are legends, myths in our own right.”

“The King Center joins the world in remembering the life and legacy of Cicely Tyson,” The Martin Luther King, Jr Center said. “Trailblazer is not a sufficient description. What a legendary artist, sage and matriarch. We salute her. Rest in power, Lady Cicely.”

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Rihanna took to Twitter to express her sadness; “A true legend!! Rest in power Cicely Tyson.”

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In 2015, Access asked her; what it was like to still be acting in her 90s, to which she answered, “As long as I have breath in my body, and He allows me to keep a stronghold on the gift that He's given me, I'll be doing it.”

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Tyson’s memoir, “Just As I Am,” was published this week.

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