Biography of Dr. Maya Angelou

Dr. Maya Angelou, a well-known civil right activist, an actress and an award- winning poet and writer, died Wednesday morning inside her Winston Salem, N.C., home.

The 86-year-old who was born Marguerite Annie Johnson, suffered from heart problems according to her literary agent, Helen Brann, told the New York Times. Less than a week ago, Angelou said she would not attend the 2014 MLB Beacon Awards Luncheon, indicating it was because of “health reasons.”

Angelou was born in St. Louis, Missouri. However, she was sent off along with her brother to live with their grandmother in Stamps, Arkansas, after the divorced of their parents. Angelou did not have an easy upbringing, for she undergone racial discrimination in Stamps. At the age of seven, she was sexually molested by her mother’s boyfriend while visiting her in Chicago. Angelou was overwhelmed with guilt when she found out an uncle had killed her attacker. She went mute for five years.

She began speaking again at the age of 13, rejoining her mother in San Francisco. She later attended Mission High School and won a scholarship to study dance and drama at San Francisco’s Labor school. Although it was short-lived, Angelou had drop out of school. During her senior year, she became pregnant but was still able to graduate before giving birth to her son, Guy Johnson. A single mother, who left home in her late teens, supported her son by working as a waitress and a cook but not once did she disregard her passion for dance, music, performance and poetry.

In 1952, Angelou married Greek sailor, Anastasios Angelopulos. When she started her career as a nightclub singer, she named herself Maya Angelou, “Maya” was the name her brother Bailey gave her after reading a book about the...

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...993, she read her poem, “On the Pulse of the Morning,” during former President Bill Clinton’s first inauguration which was broadcast live and globally.

Angelou faced many obstacles but still was able to accomplish many things. Did she ever think she was going to get this far, leaving an impact on many people lives, such as Oprah Winfrey, President Obama, former president Bill Clinton and overall the general public? Perhaps, she did know. In her 20’s the public icon, met Billie Holiday, who told her, “You’re going to be famous. But it won’t be for singing.” Angelou is a three time Grammy winner who was also nominated for a Tony, a Pulitzer, and an Emmy for her role in the 1977 miniseries “roots.”

The 86 year-old Renaissance woman, had one son, Guy Johnson, and lived in North Carolina in an 18-room house and taught American studies at Wake Forest University.