Earlier today, we reported that the legendary Hollywood star Cicely Tyson passed away on Thursday at the age of 96. On Wednesday, just mere hours before her passing the next day, Tyson gave her final interview, and she used it to celebrate life.

Tyson gave an interview on Wednesday that aired on Friday on “Live With Kelly And Ryan.” Before the interview ran, Kelly Ripa spoke out to pay tribute to Tyson.

“To say Cicely Tyson was an American legend would be too great an understatement,” Ripa said as she wore all black. “We were honored to speak with her and devastated to learn of her passing. She was a trailblazer who broke barriers for Black actresses and women everywhere. Cicely was a portrait of courage, dignity and grace. We feel very fortunate to share with you her last interview.”

Tyson had gone on the show to promote her new memoir, “Just As I Am,” which was released on Tuesday. The interview was a happy one, with Tyson recounting various memories from her life, including one in which a stranger predicted her success when she was only a baby.

“This woman stopped [my mother] and started playing with me, and turned to my mother and said: ‘Take care of this child. She has a sixth sense. She’s going to make you very proud one day. She will take care of you in your old age,'” Tyson recalled.

Tyson also talked about her pervasive shyness as a child, which she believes led her to become an observant person who could better absorb characters as an actress. She then talked about her determination from a young age to win an Oscar.

“I never thought that I would be nominated for an Oscar. Never,” Tyson said. “But, I used to view the event every year. One night, I watched it and I said, ‘I am going to sit in that front row one day.’ And I certainly ended up doing that,”

Tyson would be nominated for an Oscar in 1972 for her work in the movie Sounder. She explained in her final interview that the role was initially offered to her friend Gloria Foster, who passed on it because they didn’t offer her enough money.

“In the meantime, however, I started working on the role of Rebecca…. finally my manager, Larry, came to me and said, ‘Well, someone else got the role. She turned it down.’ I said, ‘Because it doesn’t belong to her; it belongs to me,” Tyson said.

Tyson later received an honorary Oscar in 2018 for a lifetime of incredible work onscreen. She will be dearly missed. Check out her final interview below.