Celebrating the Life of Dr. Maya Angelou
BET.com honors the life and times of the legendary artist.
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Celebrating Dr. Maya Angelou - Award-winning poet, author, dancer and scholar Maya Angelou died at the age of 86 on May 28, 2014. She was found dead in her Winston-Salem, North Carolina, home. Angelou’s words have impacted generations all over the world. BET.com honors the life and times of Angelou. — Natelege Whaley (@Natelege_) (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)
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Born in St. Louis - Marguerite Ann Johnson was born in St. Louis on April 4, 1928, to Bailey Johnson and Vivian Baxter. In 1931, her parents split up. She was sent with her brother to Stamps, Arkansas, to live with her grandmother, Anne Henderson, in 1935. (Photo: Denver Post/GettyImages)
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Overcoming Discrimination and Sexual Assault - Growing up in Arkansas during the Jim Crow era, Angelou faced prejudice as an African-American. When she was 7 years old, Angelou was sexually assaulted by her mother's boyfriend. Her uncles killed her aggressor. For years, Angelou did not speak, as the experience left her traumatized. This became the basis for her book I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. (Photo: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
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16 and Pregnant - Angelou moved to San Francisco and began studying drama and dance on scholarship at the California Labor School while she was a high school student. She then dropped out to be a cable conducter — the first African-American woman to do so in the city. When she was 16, she became pregnant with her son Guy (pictured above on the left). In 1952, she married Greek sailor Anastasios Angelopulos. Their union ended in 1954. (Photo: Katy Winn/Getty Images)
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Maya Takes the Stage - Angelou began performing at nightclubs in San Francisco, Chicagoand New York and toured in Europe and Africa in the production Porgy and Bess. She also taught dance in Italy and Israel. In 1957, she appeared in the production Calypso Heat Wave and released her first album, Miss Calypso. The above image is a promotional photo taken for the album cover. (Photo: Gene Lester/Getty Images)
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Produces Cabaret for Freedom, Moves to Africa - In 1960, Angelou wrote, produced and performed in Cabaret for Freedom as a benefit for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. She was the northern director for the organization. In 1961, she moved to Egypt and then on to Ghana in 1963. While there, she became an assistant administrator for the School of Music & Drama at the University of Ghana. (Photo: The Plain Dealer /Landov)
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I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings - With the encouragement of friend James Baldwin, she wrote her critically acclaimed autobiography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, published in 1969. The coming-of-age story was the first nonfiction best-seller by an African-American woman. The book made her an international star. (Photo: Ballantine Books)
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1970s: Theatre, Television and Poetry - Angelou delved further in the arts in the 1970s. She became the first African-American woman to have a screenplay turned into a film with Georgia Georgia in 1972. She also earned a Tony nomination for her work in Look Away in 1973 and an Emmy nomination for her acting in the television series Roots in 1977. Her poetry collection Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water 'Fore I Diie (1971) was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. (Photo: Fotos INternational/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
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Maya Speaks at President Bill Clinton's Inauguration - On Jan. 20, 1993, Maya Angelou recited her poem "On the Pulse of Morning" at President Bill Clinton's inauguration. She was only the second poet to ever perform in a president's inauguration. In February 1993, she won her first Grammy for Best Spoken Word or Non-Musical Album for the poem. She also recited "From a Black Woman to a Black Man" at the Million Man March in 1995 in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Consolidated News Pictures/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
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Receives Presidential Medal of Freedom - On Feb. 15, 2011, President Barack Obama awarded Angelou with a Presidential Medal of Freedom. This is one of a long list of awards and accolades Angelou has received, including the National Book Foundation's Literarian Award for lifetime achievement in 2013 and the National Medal of Arts in 2000. She also has more than 30 honorary degrees. (Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)