Her devoutly Christian parents came from the island of Nevis in the West Indies, but Cicely was born and raised in Harlem, New York.

She was discovered by a photographer for Ebony magazine, and became a popular fashion model. Her first film was an uncredited role in Carib Gold in 1957, but she went on to do television - the celebrated series East Side/West Side and the long-running soap opera The Guiding Light.

In 1967, she appeared in The Comedians, and the following year, had a featured role in The Heart is a Lonely Hunter.

In 1972, she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in the critically acclaimed Sounder.

In 1974 she won two Emmy Awards for The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman. Other acclaimed television roles included Roots, King, in which she played Coretta Scott King, The Marva Collins Story, When No One Would Listen, and Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All (for which she won another Emmy).

In 2005, Tyson co-starred in the movies Because of Winn-Dixie and Diary of a Mad Black Woman.

Cicely Tyson co-founded the Dance Theatre of Harlem.

She was married in 1981 and divorced in 1988 from legendary trumpeter Miles Davis. She once mentioned a daughter but there is no evidence of her ever having had any children.