Actress Cicely Tyson has died, according to her manager Larry Thompson.
Tyson was 96 years old at the time of her death, according to ABC News.
She was an extraordinary person. And this is an extraordinary loss. She had so much to teach. And I still have so much to learn. I am grateful for every moment. Her power and grace will be with us forever. #cicelytyson https://t.co/RNYkGiooPD pic.twitter.com/b4wMKK1FVj
— shonda rhimes (@shondarhimes) January 29, 2021
“With heavy heart, the family of Miss Cicely Tyson announces her peaceful transition this afternoon. At this time, please allow the family their privacy,” according to a statement issued through Thompson, the outlet reported. (RELATED: President Obama Says Celebrity Guests Are ‘What Make Us The Greatest Nation’)
Tyson was a model first before becoming an established actress. Tyson earned a Best Actress Oscars nomination for her role in “The Sounder.” She also earned two Emmys for her role as a former slave in the 1974 television drama “The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman.”
Tyson previously said she was “selective” of the movies she chose to play in.
“I’m very selective as I’ve been my whole career about what I do,” Cicely told the Associated Press reported in 2013, according to ABC News. “Unfortunately, I’m not the kind of person who works only for money. It has to have some real substance for me to do it.”
In 2011 she starred in “The Help.”
Tyson received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016.
“Cicely’s convictions and grace have helped for us to see the dignity of every single beautiful memory of the American family,” President Barack Obama said at the ceremony.