Cicely Tyson was born December 19, 1933 and raised in Harlem, New York by devoutly religious parents from the Caribbean island of Nevis. She was discovered by a fashion editor at Ebony magazine and, with her stunning looks, she quickly rose to the top of the modeling industry. In 1957, she began acting in Off-Broadway productions. She had small roles in feature films before she was cast as Portia in The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter (1968). Four years later, Cicely was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for her sensational performance in the critically acclaimed film Sounder (1972). She is one of eight African-American actresses to be nominated for the Best Actress Oscar. In 1974, she went on to portray a 110-year-old former slave in The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman (1974), which earned her two Emmys. She was the first African American Actress to win an Emmy award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Television Movie. Tyson was married to jazz great Miles Davis in 1981 and divorced later in 1988. Her most recent on screen roles have been in Diary of a Mad Black Woman (2005), Madea's Family Reunion (2006), Idlewild (2006), and Why Did I Get Married Too? (2010). While Cicely has not appeared steadily onscreen because of her loyalty to only portray strong, positive images of Black women, she is without a doubt one of the most talented, beautiful actresses to have ever graced the stage and screen. She is now residing in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.