The Woman King star took to Instagram to upload a snap of herself with the groundbreaking actress from the set of How to Get Away With Murder, where Tyson played Ophelia Harkness, Davis’ lead character Annalise Keating’s mother, on the show. “Happy Heavenly Birthday Ms. Tyson! I will love you forever ❤🕊🙏🏿” she captioned the Dec. 20 social media post. The A Fall From Grace actress passed away early last year on January 28, 2021, in her hometown of NYC at the seasoned age of 96. In the recently-uploaded photo, the two award-winning artists held one another in an endearing embrace as they were captured smiling together. Several fans of the actresses and their work dropped comments commemorating the late legend’s special day. “Two of the most BEAUTIFUL WOMEN in the world. Thank you for sharing your talents, gifts, smiles & pure souls with us. Happy Heavenly Birthday to someone, who was an Angel, long before she left this world ❤️” one user wrote, while another added, “The VIP! What an incredible woman she was ❤️❤️❤️” A third person dropped a note of gratitude that Tyson shared her life in book form, exclaiming, “An amazing angel! So grateful she penned her journey, it blessed me!” Others took the opportunity to express their feelings on the duo’s more-recent show, as one Instagrammer expressed: “Happy heavenly birthday 🎂 What an actress she was! You guys made How 2 Get Away with Murder so real!” Another agreed: “I love you so much Viola, and a I miss HTGAWM, that are a best series of the world. Annalise helped me in my worse moments. Thanks 💜♥️” Davis has always shown love to Tyson on the ‘gram for her birthday in year’s past, previously referring to the icon as her “inspiration” in the caption of a 2015 post. Tyson—who has long been noted for her vivid portrayals of strong African American women—lived a long life, lending her talent to numerous memorable projects, including roles in Roots, The Help, Sounder, Because of Winn-Dixie, The Rosa Parks Story, and The Marva Collins Story alongside Morgan Freeman, and collected countless awards over the course of her remarkable career spanning seven decades.
