Did Cicely Tyson have any children? A closer look at her failed marriages with Kenneth Franklin and Miles Davis
Oscar-nominated actor, Cicely Tyson, died on Thursday, January 28 at the age of 96. Tyson's death was announced by her family, via her manager Larry Thompson, who did not immediately provide additional details surrounding her demise. Now, the Internet wants to know who was she married to and what her family life was like.
Even though not many details about her personal life have been revealed yet, in an interview, she mentioned that she had two siblings. She shared, “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 the church from Sunday morning to Saturday night. Any movies we saw were shown in our church on Thursday night when they put up a bed sheet and got a projector." She added that she was a shy child; still, she and her brother and her sister performed in the church often.
In an interview with Elle, Tyson was asked, if she had a mentor she looked up to. Tyson responded, “My mother, although she rejected that I was interested in acting. As a matter of fact, she asked me to move out of her house—I could not stay there and do that. I found a girlfriend who had a nine-to-five job: She worked at the telephone company, she wore the same size dress I wore, and she was willing to take me in. And that was it. My mom didn’t speak to me for about two years or so.” Asked, as a follow-up, if her mother was ever proud of her, Tyson said, “Oh yeah, when she came to the opening of Sounder. And when I did Jane Pittman I was in California—she was still in New York—and I called her and said to her, ‘Well? You’ve got to give me something!’ She said, ‘I am so proud of you,’ and Viola, I have to tell you if she had not been able to participate in the recognition and the acclaim that I have gotten over the years, I don’t think it would mean anything to me at all. She’s my source of energy, and I used that to prove her wrong.”
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In 1977, Tyson became a member of the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame, and approximately three decades later, she received the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People's Spingarn Medal. In 2013, while speaking to the New York Times, the actress said, “After witnessing certain things, after experiencing certain things in my career, I realized that I could not afford the luxury of just being an actress. There were certain issues I needed to address and I chose my career as my platform.”
She also talked about her marriage to jazz musician and trumpeter Miles Davis, which lasted over two decades. According to USA Today, the two connected in 1965 after meeting in Riverside Park. In the words of the outlet, however, “Davis’ struggles with addiction and infidelity ultimately drove them apart.” But Davis and Tyson reunited years later in their 50s, marrying at Bill Cosby's home on Thanksgiving Day in 1981.
During the early days of their marriage, Tyson nursed Davis back to health after years of drug use had negatively affected his vital organs. But once Davis' health got better, he "resumed the cycle" of drugs and adultery that first split them up. An ongoing tryst between Davis and a woman in their New York apartment building – which led to a physical altercation between Tyson and the other woman – proved too much for the relationship, and Tyson filed for divorce. Of their relationship, Tyson insists: "I loved Miles and he loved me." Tyson writes in her memoir 'Just As I Am', which got published on January 26, 2021. In her memoir, Davis discusses her years of marriage to Davis, and how, shortly after they wed, he fell into a hole of drugs and adultery that ultimately led to divorce. Davis passed away in 1991 at 65 years of age. His death was attributed to the combined effects of a stroke, pneumonia, and respiratory failure. Tyson has been very active and, at the moment, she is part of “How to Get Away with Murder,” where she portrays Ophelia Harkness.
It was reported by US Magazine that Tyson tied the knot with Kenneth Franklin in 1942, but their marriage ended in 1956, after which she married Davis.
According to Who's Dated Who, Tyson has also dated, Jimmy Kind for a few months and Billy Dee Williams for 9 years from 1957 to 1966.
Little is known about Tyson’s children, and while some outlets report that she had no children, Tyson talks about a daughter, whom she addresses as 'Joan', in her memoir. In the book, she delves into details about her daughter’s birth and childhood. “Tyson said she and her daughter ‘continue to work on our relationship, as fragile as it is precious,’ and she dedicates the book to her: ‘the one who has paid the greatest price for this gift to all.'”