Tyson played the titlular role in the 1974 television film The Autobiography Of Miss Jane Pittman, which was based on a novel of the same name by Ernest J. Gaines. Tyson portrayed a 110-year-old Black woman who looks back on her life from slavery until the start of the Civil Rights Movement in the 60s. In the powerful final scene of the film, Jane goes to drink from a water fountain to desegregate it.

This is perhaps Tyson’s most beloved role, winning her a Primetime Emmy and an Emmy for best actress. She became the first Black female actor to win any Primetime Emmy.

Reflecting on what the role really meant to people, Tyson recently told Interview: “Ernest [J. Gaines] picked me up and he took me to his home, and in his home were all these ladies, friends of his mother’s and grandmother’s, and so on and so forth. That’s when he explained to me that as a child they were always at his home and that Jane was a compilation of all of these ladies in his life.”

Cicely Tyson’s best films and TV shows, including The Autobiography Of Miss Jane Pittman