Maya Angelou was born on 4 April, 1928. Her real name is Marguerite Annie Johnson.
Maya Angelou was an African-American poet, autobiographist, civil rights activist, and also Hollywood's first black female director.
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."
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.
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."
After this incidents she again moved to her grandmother home. where she developed an interest in poetry and essay writing.
She completed her high school education at George Washington High School and started learning dance and drama at the California Labor School.
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.
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.
In 1969, Maya published her autobiography, "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings." in which she wrote about the bad memories of her childhood.
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.
During her 50-year career, she published seven autobiographies, three memoirs, and several poetry collections.
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.
Maya Angelou was also the first African-American black woman to appear on a US coin. She died at the age of 86.