5 African American Actresses That I Admire



We often hear how hard it is for African-American actors/actresses to have long-term, successful careers in Hollywood. It is even harder for them to do so without selling their souls to the “I Will Do Anything” devils of the entertainment business. Many times their talent isn’t appreciated for its full worth and they are overlooked for roles that they would have been wonderful in. But the five talented ladies I have chosen to spotlight today have taken Hollywood and the movie industry by storm and have refused to be type cast and overlooked.

Here are 5 African-American Actresses that I Admire

 

Cicely Tyson

Born 19 December 1933 in New York City, New York, USA. Cicely Tyson was 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) in 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). In 1974, she went on to portray a 110-year-old former slave in The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman (1974) (TV), which earned her two Emmys. 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. (bio from IMDB.com)

My favorite Cicely Tyson role was The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman. This movie is a classic and Cicely Tyson made the role of Jane Pittman so life-like and believable. The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman is the story of a black woman in the South who was born into slavery in the 1850s and lives to become a part of the civil rights movement in the 1960s. I have seen this movie countless times and each and every time I see it, I am still mesmerized by this story. It is no surprise that Cicely Tyson won two Emmys for her role in this movie. One of the main reasons I admire Cicely Tyson is that she is very careful of the roles she chooses to accept. She has stated that she chooses to accept roles that portray strong images of black women. She stands strong on her desire to display the beauty and strength of blackness and for this she should be applauded 

 

Other Cicely Tyson tidbits

• Co-founded the Dance Theatre of Harlem with Arthur Mitchell
• Is 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 
• Honorary Member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.