Photos: Maya Angelou | 1928 - 2014

Maya Angelou answers questions at her portrait unveiling in April at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Portrait Gallery in Washington. (Paul Morigi / Associated Press)

May 28, 2014 8:07 AM PT

Maya Angelou, a renowned poet, memoirist and actress, has died at age 86.

Joining Maya Angelou, seated, for a photo at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington are, from left, Kim Sajet, Richard Kurin, Cicely Tyson, Oprah Winfrey, Johnnetta Cole, Ross Rossin, Julianne Malveaux and Andrew Young. (Paul Morigi / Associated Press)

President Obama kisses Maya Angelou after awarding her the 2010 Medal of Freedom during a 2011 ceremony in the White House. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais / Associated Press)

Maya Angelou celebrates her 82nd birthday in 2010 with friends and family at her home in Winston-Salem, N.C. (Steve Exum / Getty Images)

Maya Angelou at an event in Washington in 2008. (Gerald Herbert / Associated Press)

Maya Angelou attends a memorial in 2009 for performer and activist Odetta at Riverside Church in New York. (Astrid Stawiarz / Getty Images)

Maya Angelou is shown in 2008 while reading a poem during a ceremony honoring South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu at the State Department in Washington. (Tim Sloan / AFP/Getty Images)