Actress Cicely Tyson has died at age 96

LOS ANGELES - Actress Cicely Tyson, who specialized in portraying strong black women caught in struggles during a 60-year career that earned her Emmy and Tony awards, died on Thursday at age 96, Hollywood publication Variety reported.

No cause of death was given. Tyson had recently completed a memoir, "Just As I Am," which was released just this week.

“I have managed Miss Tyson’s career for over 40 years, and each year was a privilege and blessing,” her manager, Larry Thompson, was quoted as saying in a statement.

“Cicely thought of her new memoir as a Christmas tree decorated with all the ornaments of her personal and professional life. Today she placed the last ornament, a Star, on top of the tree," he added.

Tyson was born and raised in Harlem, New York.

Her greatest roles include Rebecca Morgan in the 1972 film "Sounder,” for which she was  nominated for Best Actress at the Academy Awards the following year.

Tyson has won two Emmies for her work in the films “The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman" (1974) and "The Trip to Bountiful" (1985).

She also received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, awarded by President Barack Obama in 2016. —with REUTERS