40 Cicely Tyson Quotes

Cicely Tyson was an American film, television, and theater actress who was known for also being a pioneer for civil rights.

Tyson was renowned for being the first black woman to wear her hair naturally in movies and TV series. Here is a list of the best motivational Cicely Tyson quotes on how challenges make you discover things and overcome limitations.

The following is a list of the most touching and influential quotes from the American actress 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.”

“The moment anyone tries to demean or degrade you in any way, you have to know how great you are.”

“Even when we humans are busy shaking our heads no, shoving down our fears and shoving off our blessings, the Father has a way of propelling us forward, of moving us toward his way.”

- 'Just As I Am: A Memoir', 2021.

“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.”

“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.”

“It is so very difficult for me to say which of the roles I've done is my favorite. It's like asking me which of three best friends is my favorite. I feel very close to each of these women because each afforded me an experience that allowed me tremendous growth.”

- February 1981, Ebony.

“Healing, as I see it, is not the absence of pain. Rather it is a gradual reduction in the ache. The lessening of that hurt eventually makes room for fond memories to surface.”

Check out the most memorable and impressive quotes from American film, television, and theater actress.

“You don’t have to be touched to be emotionally robbed.”

- 'Just As I Am: A Memoir', 2021.

“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.”

“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.”

- November 2017, ELLE.

“My mother’s falsehoods were not outright fabrications but lies of omission.”

“Turning a blind eye to our history has not saved us from its consequences.”

“My story will never be finished, nor should it be.”

“ Nobody would bother to beat you down if you were not a threat.”

“Our feet tell our stories. They carry us through this life, moving us from one sorrow and season to the next. Our gait can reveal us to be buoyant or bullish, dispirited or steadfast.”

“I have learned not to allow rejection to move me.”

- November 2017, of ELLE.

“I’ve never encouraged anyone to go into this business. But I would never discourage anybody either because no one could discourage me.”

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

“What's for you in this life, you will get. And what is not for you, you will never get. Do you hear me?”

- 'Just As I Am: A Memoir', 2021.

Below is a list of the most amazing and fascinating Cicely Tyson quotes about life, success, and acting.

(Learn more about the most remarkable and extraordinary Cicely Tyson quotes.)

“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.”

“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.”

“We may never realize the extent to which our behaviors impact our children, how they seek validation in our every word and smile, gaze and gesture.”

- 'Just as I Am: A Memoir', 2021.

“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.”

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

“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.”

“You always seek to control others when you are not in full ownership of yourself.”

“I've never really worked for money. It's so important for me to have peace of mind, body, and soul than to have all the riches.”

“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.”

- November 2017, of ELLE.

“I am as inquisitive about life now as I was as a child. My story will never be finished, nor should it be. For as long as God grants me breath, I will be living--and writing--my next chapter.”

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

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

“I'm a firm believer in divine guidance.”

“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.”

“I am the sum total of each one of the women I have played.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“The choices of roles I made had to do with educating and entertaining.”

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