Who Is Maya Angelou

Maya Angelou was a beloved American poet, singer, actress, and civil rights activist. She was also a best-selling author and a Grammy award winner.

Born Marguerite Ann Johnson on April 4, 1928, in St. Louis, Missouri, Maya Angelou rose to literary fame with a series of autobiographical works that detailed her childhood experience with racism and poverty. A precocious child, Angelou dropped out of high school and worked various odd jobs before traveling to Europe to explore acting and dancing.

In the 1950s and 60s, Angelou made a name as a singer and was even an extra in the 1957 movie, Porgy and Bess. Movers and shakers in the civil rights movement started to take notice of her and she soon became a big figure in the fight for equality. Notable figures like Martin Luther King Jr. respected Angelou and counted her among their colleagues.

Angelou’s career expanded to include memoirs, magazine essays, and over 50 other books. Her most critically acclaimed work, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969), became an instant classic and provided a blueprint for other black female authors of the time.

In 1993, Angelou read her poem, "On the Pulse of Morning," for President Clinton’s first inauguration, becoming the first African American and the first woman to write and recite a poem for a presidential inauguration. In 2011, President Obama awarded her a National Medal of Arts, and in 2014 she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor.

Maya Angelou passed away on May 28, 2014, at the age of 86, but her legacy lives on today — in the hearts of millions of people who have been inspired by her courage, intelligence and resilience. She will be remembered, above all, for her humanity and her constant reminder that there are no limits to what one can achieve.