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

Its an honor that is long overdue; Cicely Tyson is finally getting an Oscar.The 93-year-old will receive a honorary Oscars at the 10th annual Governors Awards on Nov. 18. She will be the first  black woman to receive an Oscar in the honorary award category. Over the span of her 60-plus year career, Tyson has only been nominated once for an Oscar, for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her role in 1972’s Sounder. She is also a multiple Tony and Image award winner.

Her career began in the late 1950’s when she was discovered by a fashion editor at Ebony Magazine . Her stunning, melanin beauty quickly rose her to the top of the modeling industry.  From there she started acting in off-Broadway productions as a teenager and appearing in small films. In 1968,  she got her first big break in The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter, starring actor Alan Arkin. Her other signature roles include, The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, Roots, Bustin’ Loose starring the  late Richard Pryor, 2011’s The Help and Tyler Perry’s Diary of a Mad Black Woman and Madea’s Family Reunion. 

In 2016, she was awarded the prestigious Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama for her contribution to the arts and American culture.

Tyson will be receiving honorary Oscar statuettes with  composer Lalo Schifrin and publicist Martin Levy.