Top 39 Quotes & Sayings by Cicely Tyson

Explore popular quotes and sayings by an American actress Cicely Tyson.

Last updated on December 21, 2024.

Cicely Louise Tyson was an American actress. In a career which spanned more than seven decades in film, television and theatre, she became known for her portrayal of strong African-American women. Tyson received various awards including three Emmy Awards, a Screen Actors Guild Award, a Tony Award, an Honorary Academy Award, and a Peabody Award.

American - Actress | Born: December 19, 1933

Source: Wikipedia

Now, I am perfectly willing to just enjoy my career by choosing roles simply because I consider them to be a challenge and doing the best possible job I can.

Cicely Tyson

When I attack a role, be it TV, film or stage, the first thing I say is, I don't want to know anything. If it's good I don't want to hear it; if it's bad I don't want to hear it. The only thing either thing can do is distract me. I like to stay focused.

Cicely Tyson

I was in California when this journalist made a blanket statement about the fact that she did not think that black men and women had the kind of love relationship that Rebecca and Nathan had in Sounder.

Cicely Tyson

Unless a piece really said something, I had no interest in it. I have got to know that I have served some purpose here.

Cicely Tyson

I have learned not to allow rejection to move me.

Cicely Tyson

You never know what motivates you.

Cicely Tyson

The choices of roles I made had to do with educating and entertaining. And as a result I found myself working only every two or three years.

Cicely Tyson

Ali... we should have gone to see that movie. Malcolm X was another one.

Cicely Tyson

The gratification comes, for me, in the doing of it. And once I've done it, I can't do anything about it if it's good or if it's bad.

Cicely Tyson

I don't condemn anyone for making their choices. If someone chooses those roles, fine. But not for me. When someone stops me and says, You're the reason I became an actress, that lets me know I made the right decision.

Cicely Tyson

I feel so guilty about the state of young people today. And I say that because our generation fought for everything. We fought to sit down at a counter, to sit on a bus. They were left with nothing to fight for.

Cicely Tyson

My mother was an introvert and quite religious. And we were brought up in the church. And when she learned that I wanted to act, she simply said: 'You cannot live here and do that.'

Cicely Tyson

One of the things I have always said about the man-woman relationship is that I don't want anybody to walk ahead of me, and I don't want anybody to walk behind me. I want a man who will walk along beside me. And that's how I feel about equal rights.

Cicely Tyson

One lady told me that before she saw 'Sounder' she didn't believe black people could love each other, have deep relationships in the same way as white people.

Cicely Tyson

We have to support our own films. If we don't, how can we expect others to support them?

Cicely Tyson

How do you project a character if you don't have a sense of where she is from? I've always just gotten on a plane to go to the area to get a sense of what it is like, to smell it, feel the earth, hear people talk, go to the marketplaces.

Cicely Tyson

When I told my mother that I wanted to be an actress, she said, you can't live here and do that, and so I moved out. I was determined to prove her wrong because she was so sure that I was going to go astray. And that's the juice that kept me going.

Cicely Tyson

As far as 'Jane Pittman,' I don't know that I could verbalize, to this day, what I felt once I got into that role. I did a tremendous amount of research. I need to feel as though I am in the person's skin.

Cicely Tyson

Age is just a number. Life and aging are the greatest gifts that we could possibly ever have.

Cicely Tyson

Challenges make you discover things about yourself that you never really knew.

Cicely Tyson

I don't think you can measure wealth in dollars and cents. I really don't believe that at all because there are some things that money cannot buy. One of them is health. And the other is security in your relationships and friends.

Cicely Tyson

I think when you begin to think of yourself as having achieved something, then there's nothing left for you to work towards. I want to believe that there is a mountain so high that I will spend my entire life striving to reach the top of it.

Cicely Tyson

My gratification in working comes from the preparation and the building of the character.

Cicely Tyson

In my early years, there were a number of experiences that made me decide I could not afford the luxury of just being an actress. There were a number of issues I wanted to address. And I wanted to use my career as a platform.

Cicely Tyson

I didn't want to be an actress; I never thought of being an actress because, as children, there were three of us - I was the middle child - and we spent our time in church from Sunday morning to Saturday night.

Cicely Tyson

All I have to do is find someone who has something to say that will enrich my life and they can't get rid of me.

Cicely Tyson

I saw that I could not afford the luxury of just being an actress. So I made a choice to use my career as a platform to address the issues of the race I was born into.

Cicely Tyson

I am not a quitter. I will fight until I drop. It is just a matter of having some faith in the fact that as long as you are able to draw breath in the universe, you have a chance.

Cicely Tyson

Ali... we should have gone to see that movie. Malcolm X was another one

Cicely Tyson

Children should have a balanced start in life: a mother and a father. I think that's the only reason to get married.

Cicely Tyson

Whatever good I have accomplished as an actress I believe came in direct proportion to my efforts to portray black women who have made positive contributions to my heritage.

Cicely Tyson

I will lead my people out of bondage, Lord.

Cicely Tyson

The moment anyone tries to demean or degrade you in any way, you have to know how great you are. Nobody would bother to beat you down if you were not a threat.

Cicely Tyson

If each person in this world will simply take a small piece of this huge thing, this amazing quilt, and work it regardless of the color of the yarn, we will have harmony on this planet.

Cicely Tyson

Challenges make you discover things about yourself that you never really knew. They're what make the instrument stretch - what make you go beyond the norm.

Cicely Tyson

One of the things I have always said about the man-woman relationship is that I don't want anybody to walk ahead of me and I don't want anybody to walk behind me. I want a man who will walk along beside me. And that's how I feel about equal rights.

Cicely Tyson

Top 39 Quotes & Sayings by Cicely Tyson

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