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Performer Timeline |
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1951 |
Angelou moved to New York City with her son and her husband Tosh Angelos so that she could study African dance with Pearl Primus. She later studied dance with Martha Graham |
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1954 |
Performing as singer and dancer at San Francisco's Purple Onion, Angelou decided to use the name "Maya Angelou" |
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1957 |
Performed in film Calypso Heat Wave |
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1959 |
Landed role in George Gershwin’s folk opera "Porgy and Bess" and toured 22 countries in Europe and Africa. |
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1972 |
wrote the screenplay for the film, Georgia, Georgia—the first script by a black woman to be made into a Hollywood movie. She also composed the film’s score. She was the first African American woman in the director’s guild. |
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1973 |
Nominated for a Tony Award for her Broadway role in the play Look Away. |
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1977 |
Nominated for an Emmy for her acting in Roots. |
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1979 |
“I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings” was adapted into a TV movie that aired on CBS |
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1993 |
Acted in Poetic Justice. Received Grammy for Best Spoken Word Album for poem “On the Pulse of Morning.” |
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1995 |
Appeared on Sesame Street and How to Make an American Quilt (Screen Actors Guild best actress nomination). Received Grammy for Best Spoken Word Album for poem “Phenomenal Woman.” |
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1999 |
Receives Christopher Award for her directorial debut on Down in the Delta. |
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2006 |
Acted in Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Family Reunion |
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2014 |
Collaborated on hip hop album Caged Bird Songs |
Maya Angelou and Performing |
Maya Angelou, born Marguerite Johnson, attended an arts high school and was classically trained as a dancer. She worked with famed choreographer Martha Graham and Pearl Primus. In the late 1950s, she gained renown as a singer, working in nightclubs, releasing several albums and starring in the film Calypso Heat Wave. Despite her success, Angelou never considered herself a singer. She said, “I can sing somewhat but I used to really be a dancer. And the only two things I ever loved was dancing and writing. But alas before I was 25, my knees turned out to be not the best so I had to stop dancing for a living. And I could sing somewhat. I'm not being coy - I have no coyness or modesty. So I was never a good singer because I never loved it.”
Angelou believed success came from hard work. She said, “Whatever you want to do, if you want to be great at it, you have to love it and be able to make sacrifices for it. And I wasn't prepared to make sacrifices for singing. But I will make sacrifices to write.”
Later in life, she was drawn to acting and film. Never one to shy away from new experiences, she made her directing debut at the age of 70. She starred in feature films and television and held directing, producing and screenwriting credits. Her final acting job was in the comedy genre as May in “Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Family Reunion” in 2006. Angelou’s last musical production was lending her voice to a hip hop album called “Caged Bird Songs,” produced by Shawn Rivera. The album was based on her first autobiography I know Why The Caged Birds Sing.