Cicely Tyson

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

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

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. ”

My mother was an introvert and quite religious. And we were brought up in the church. And when she learned that I wanted to act, she simply said: 'You cannot live here and do that.' ”

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. ”