Maya Angelou was born on 4 April, 1928. Her real name is Marguerite Annie Johnson.

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Maya Angelou was an African-American poet, autobiographist, civil rights activist, and also Hollywood's first black female director.

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When she was three years old, her parents divorced, and her paternal grandmother took care of her. Her brother gave her the nick name "Maya."

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She returned to her mother's care when she was 7 years old. At the age of Eight, Her mother's boyfriend s*xually abused and r*ped her. Later, the accused was murdered by someone.

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As a result of this, she was rendered mute for nearly 5 years, and she believed that her voice was the cause of the man's death. She feels like "I killed him because I told his name."

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After this incidents she again moved to her grandmother home. where she developed an interest in poetry and essay writing.

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She completed her high school education at George Washington High School and started learning dance and drama at the California Labor School.

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At the age of 19, she started working as a street car conductor in San Francisco. She was the first African-American woman to work as a conductor in San Francisco.

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Before becoming a writer and poet, she worked as a street conductor and did many other odd jobs to earn money, Such as a cook, waitress, nightclub performer, etc.

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In 1969, Maya published her autobiography, "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings." in which she wrote about the bad memories of her childhood.

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Her first autobiography was also published in 17 different languages and sold more than 1 million copies worldwide. She was also nominated for the National Book Award.

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During her 50-year career, she published seven autobiographies, three memoirs, and several poetry collections.

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She was awarded the National Medal of Arts in 2000 for her literary contributions. In 2011, she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Barack Obama.

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Maya Angelou was also the first African-American black woman to appear on a US coin. She died at the age of 86.

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