Trivia

She was married to Miles Davis by Andrew Young in the home of Bill Cosby. Bill Cosby was the best man, and gave away the bride.

Was the first-African American actress to win an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Television Movie for her performance in The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman (1974).

She was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7080 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on August 21, 1997.

When Ms. Tyson won a Tony Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play for "The Trip to Bountiful" in 2013, she became the oldest person ever to win an acting Tony.

Was one of 11 African-American actresses to be nominated for the Best Actress Oscar. The others in chronological order are: Dorothy Dandridge, Diana Ross, Diahann Carroll, Whoopi Goldberg, Angela Bassett, Halle Berry, Gabourey Sidibe, Viola Davis, Quvenzhané Wallis and Cynthia Erivo.

In 1972, she and singer-actress Diana Ross were both nominated for "Best Actress in a Leading Role" Oscars for their performances in Sounder (1972) and Lady Sings the Blues (1972), respectively. This was only the second time in the history of the Academy Awards that African-American actresses were nominated in the "Best Actress" Oscar category. The first was Dorothy Dandridge's nomination for Carmen Jones (1954).

The Cicely L. Tyson Community School of Performing & Fine Arts was named in her honor is located in East Orange, New Jersey. She visited the school frequently and, on occasion, taught a master class in acting.

Pictured on a $3.25 postage stamp issued by her parents' native island of Nevis on 1 January, 2014.

Tyson won a judgment entitling her to full payment ($750,000) for her appearance in the short-lived 1983 Broadway play "The Corn Is Green". An Appeals Court upheld an earlier ruling handed down in 1996 in favor of Tyson. She was under contract to producer Elizabeth Taylor to act in stage and screen versions of the classic play. After critics panned the play, Tyson was fired for taking a night off to attend a tribute to her then-husband, the late jazz musician Miles Davis. The play closed after less than two weeks. Tyson maintained she should be paid as negotiated in her contract, even though the show closed early and a planned TV video of the production was never made.

Although she played Maya Angelou's daughter in Roots (1977), she was more than three years older than her in real life.

Co-founded the Dance Theatre of Harlem with Arthur Mitchell.

Would only portray strong images of women.

Worked as a secretary and model while establishing herself as an actress.

On November 23rd 2016, she was awarded the prestigious Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama for her contribution to the arts and American culture,.

Inducted into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame in 1977.

(September 6, 2018) Was announced as one of the recipients of this year's honorary Oscars by the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. She made history at the Governors Awards as the first black woman to receive an Oscar in the Honorary Award category.

Was offered the title role in Claudine (1974) but she turned it down as she didn't feel morally that she could play an unmarried mother of six falsely claiming welfare. Diahann Carroll, who received a Best Actress Oscar nomination for her performance, was cast instead.

Was misreported as being a decade younger than she actually was until The New York Times found out her real age in 2013. The newspaper claimed Tyson was born in 1924 and that she did not dispute it when they checked with her before printing the date.

Was considered for the role of Mags in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013), which went to Lynn Cohen.

Was an honorary member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

She was the Thursday night host for CBS Radio's "Sears Mystery Theater" (1979). She was still Thursday's host when it became "The Mutual Radio Theater" on Mutual Radio (1980).

George Cukor found her very difficult to work with on The Blue Bird (1976), subsequently describing her, diplomatically, as "greatly gifted, but not a comedienne".

She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian award, by President Barack Obama, in a live televised ceremony held in the East Room of the White House, on November 22, 2016, along with twenty other recipients, the the largest, and final Medal of Freedom ceremony of Obama's presidency. At this ceremony, the twenty-one recipients, in alphabetical order, included: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Elouise Cobell (posthumous award given to her son), Ellen DeGeneres, Robert De Niro, Richard Garwin, Bill Gates, Melinda Gates, Frank Gehry, Margaret Hamilton (as Margaret E. Hamilton), Tom Hanks, Rear Admiral Grace Hopper (posthumous award given to her niece), Michael Jordan, Maya Lin, Lorne Michaels, Newton Minow, Eduardo Padron (as Eduardo Padrón), Robert Redford, Diana Ross, Vin Scully, Bruce Springsteen, and Cicely Tyson.

Shrouded her age until late in life. For much of her career, she convincingly presented herself as 10-15 years younger than she was.

Aunt of Cathy Tyson.

Her memoir, Just As I Am, was published only two days before her death.

Godmother of Lenny Kravitz.

Cicely Tyson was the longtime friend of Rosa Parks, and attended her funeral on November 2, 2005. Just before her death, Angela Bassett portrayed Parks in the television movie Ride to Freedom: The Rosa Parks Story (2002), in which Tyson played Bassett's TV mother.

Had a daughter in February 1943. This was kept secret until Tyson's memoir was published in January 2021. Choosing to keep her daughter's real name private, she refers to her in the book as "Joan".

Attributed her longevity to a vegetarian diet.

Separated from her first husband on June 18, 1944 after eighteen months of marriage. They didn't officially divorce for more than a dozen years.

Cicely was indeed asked about her daughter in the Feb 1981 issue of Ebony magazine. She was reluctant to discuss their relationship or her existence. As Cicely always made out that she was 15 years younger than she really was, revealing a 38-year-old daughter and possible grandkids in 1981 would have been too much for her career prospects back then to handle.

Was 23 years older than O.J. Simpson, who played her husband in The Last Ten Yards (1969); 15 years older than Paul Winfield, who played her husband in Sounder (1972), A Hero Ain't Nothin' But a Sandwich (1977) and King (1978); and 13 years older than Morgan Freeman, who played her husband in The Marva Collins Story (1981). She was also 13 years older than Bill Cosby despite playing his love interest in Blind Date (1970).

Was only six years younger than Percy Rodrigues, who played her father in The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter (1968).

Was already 42 when her acting career took off.

She was of West Indian descent, of both of her parents, William Augustine Tyson and Fredericka Theodoshia (née Huggins) Tyson, who were both from Nevis.

She is interred at Woodlawn Cemetery in The Bronx, the same cemetery where her siblings are buried.

In order for Cicely Tyson to take classes and get mentorship from Lloyd Richards, she had to go through Mann's acting workshop. At an initial meeting with Mann, Tyson recounted that he "rose from his desk and walked over to shut his door. I stood, as did every hair on my neck.".

Her birthday is reported variously as December 18th or 19th, a discrepancy of one day. William Augustine Tyson's naturalization petition listed it as the 18th, but it's argued that he was mistaken.

Inducted into the Television Hall of Fame. (February 25, 2020)

Cousin of Louis Farrakhan.

Sister of Emily Tyson, and Melrose Tyson, Aunt of Maxine Grandison.

The second of three children.

Graduated from Charles Evans Hughes High School in Manhattan.

Was only 23 years younger than Louis Armstrong, who played her grandfather in A Man Called Adam (1966).