Who Was Maya Angelou?
Maya Angelou was an American author, actress, screenwriter, dancer, poet and civil rights activist best known for her 1969 memoir, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, which made literary history as the first nonfiction bestseller by an African American woman. Angelou received several honors throughout her career, including two NAACP Image Awards in the outstanding literary work (nonfiction) category, in 2005 and 2009.
QUICK FACTS
NAME
Maya Angelou
BIRTH DATE
April 4, 1928
DEATH DATE
May 28, 2014
DID YOU KNOW?
Maya Angelou became the first Black female streetcar conductor in San Francisco, California, in the 1940s.
DID YOU KNOW?
Maya Angelou's 1969 autobiography, I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, is the first nonfiction bestseller by an African American woman.
DID YOU KNOW?
Maya Angelou recited one of her poems at President Bill Clinton's 1993 inaugural ceremony — marking the first inaugural recitation since 1961.
DID YOU KNOW?
Maya Angelou was lauded in 1995 for her record-setting, two-year run on The New York Times' paperback nonfiction bestseller list.
DID YOU KNOW?
Maya Angelou is the first African American woman to have her screenplay produced, for the 1972 film Georgia, Georgia.
DID YOU KNOW?
MLK Jr. was assassinated on friend Maya Angelou's birthday (April 4) in 1968. Angelou stopped celebrating her birthday for years afterward.
DID YOU KNOW?
In 1952, Maya Angelou married a Greek sailor named Anastasios Angelopulos, from whom she took her professional name.
EDUCATION
California Labor School, George Washington High School
PLACE OF BIRTH
St. Louis, Missouri
