Former United States (US) President, Barrack Obama and his wife, Michelle have paid tribute to late Hollywood icon, Cicely Tyson.
Eelive.ng had reported that the American actress, whose vivid portrayals of strong Black-American women shattered racial stereotypes in the dramatic arts of the 1970s, died on Thursday, January 28, 2021.
Paying tribute to Tyson, Obama described her as a legendary actress who explored an extraordinary career.
According to the former US president, Tyson left a mark in the world that only a few will ever match.
“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.
“She had a heart unlike any other—and for 96 years, she left a mark on the world that few will ever match,” Obama wrote.
On her part, Michelle expressed her thoughts about the late actress, saying she would miss her.
Michelle’s statement read: “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.
“Just by walking into a room, she had this way of elevating everyone around her. She 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.
“I’ll miss her dearly, but I smile knowing how many people she inspired, just like me, to walk a little taller, speak a little more freely, and live a little bit more as God intended.”
The former fashion model had a career that spanned seven decades.
Tyson won two Emmys for her performance in the 1974 civil rights-era film The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman.
She also became the first black woman to take on the main role in the TV drama East Side/West Side in the 1960s.
In a remarkable career of seven decades, Tyson broke ground for serious Black actors by refusing to take parts that demeaned Black people.
She urged Black colleagues to do the same and often went without work. She was critical of films and television programmes that cast Black characters as criminal, servile or immoral, and insisted that African-Americans, even if poor or downtrodden, should be portrayed with dignity.
At 93, she won an honourary Oscar, and was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 2018 and into the Television Hall of Fame in 2020. She also won a career achievement Peabody Award in 2020.