Cast & creator
Maya Angelou
Best known for Great Performances, Touched by an Angel, American Experience
Maya Angelou (April 4, 1928 – May 28, 2014) was an American poet, memoirist, and civil rights activist. She published seven autobiographies, three books of essays, several books of poetry, and is credited with a list of plays, movies, and television shows spanning over 50 years. She received dozens of awards and more than 50 honorary degrees.
58
film credits
20
television credits
63
1951–2025 · acting roles
6.8
average across scored titles
Signature credits
Known for
Across film & television
Filmography (78)
Showing 78 of 78 credits
Great Performances
Self
1971
Touched by an Angel
Clarice Mitchell
1994
American Experience
Self - Author
1988
Intimate Portrait
Self (archive footage)
1993
Moesha
Maya Angelou
1996
American Masters
Self
1986
Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child
Fairy Godmother (voice)
1995
HARDtalk
1997
Roots
Nyo Boto
1977
The Early Show
Self
1999
The Rosie O'Donnell Show
Self
1996
The Nineties
Self (archive footage)
2017
Iconoclasts
Self
2005
Hallmark Hall of Fame
Conjure woman
1951The Gregory Hines Show
Self
1997
The Richard Pryor Show
1977
Madea's Family Reunion
May
2006
How to Make an American Quilt
Anna
1995
Sesame Street's 25th Birthday: A Musical Celebration
Self - Special Guest
1993
Orwell: 2+2=5
Self (archive footage)
2025
Poetic Justice
Aunt June
1993
Get on the Bus
Self (archive footage, uncredited)
1996
Wild & Free
Thanks
2024
America Beyond the Color Line
Self
2004
Sesame Street | All-Star 25th Birthday: Stars and Street Forever!
Self (archive footage)
1994
Porgy and Bess
Dancer
1959
I Hope You Dance: The Power and Spirit of Song
Self
2015
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
Novel
1979I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
Writer
1979
Good Hair
Self
2009
Paul Simon: Under African Skies
Self
2012
Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise
Self (archive footage)
2016
Aimé Césaire: The Mask of Words
Self
1987
On the Shoulders of Giants
2011
One Night in Vegas
Self
2010
Sesame Street: Elmo Saves Christmas
Narrator (voice)
1996
The Richard Pryor Special?
Willie's Wife
1977The Richard Pryor Special?
Additional Writing
1977
Down in the Delta
Director
1998
The Real Malcolm X
1992
A Song for Cesar: Beware a Movement That Sings
Self
2021
Sesame Street: What's the Name of That Song?
Self (archive footage)
2004
Quincy Jones... The First 50 Years
Self
1998
Mr. SOUL!
Self (archive footage)
2018
Joe Louis: America's Hero Betrayed
Self
2008
There Are No Children Here
Lelia Mae
1993
Malcolm X: Make It Plain
Self
1994Dr. Maya Angelou's Blacks, Blues, Black!
Self - Host
1969Dr. Maya Angelou's Blacks, Blues, Black!
Writer
1969
The Unfinished Journey
Self
1999
Sister, Sister
Writer
1982Sister, Sister
Producer
1982Assignment America
America's Dream
Story
1996
The Runaway
Conjure Woman
2000
James Baldwin: The Price of the Ticket
Self
1989
Creativity with Bill Moyers: Portrait of Maya Angelou
1982
The Power of the Heart
Self
2014Becky and the Birds
Self (voice) (archive footage) (uncredited)
2018
Why Is We Americans?
Self
2022
Maya Angelou at the BBC
Self (archive footage)
2024
Calypso Heat Wave
1957
Minha Bateria Está Fraca e Está Ficando Tarde
Self
2020
Perfect Moment
Self
1997
Papa Césaire
Self
2009
Daedalus
Sampled Interview (voice) (uncredited)
2024
Georgia, Georgia
Music
1972Georgia, Georgia
Writer
1972
The Black Candle
Self - Narrator
2009The Black Candle
Poem
2009Sisters in Cinema
Self
2003
The Enchanted Island Madagascar: The Living Edens
Narrator
1998
Angelou on Burns
1996
All Day Long
Director
1975
Integration Report 1
Music
1960
Kindred Spirits: Contemporary African American Artists
Anchor
1992
The Tapestry
Director
1976
Words Are Things
Narrator (voice)
2018