Writer and Civil Rights Icon Dr. Maya Angelou has passed away at the age of 86 in her home, Wednesday. According to her publicist Helen Brann, the prolific novelist and poet who has authored plays, movie scripts, and television shows in a career spanning 50 years died in her home in Winston-Salem, North Carolina; her body was reportedly discovered by a caretaker. Winston-Salem police are still investigating the nature behind Angelou's death.

On Wednesday, a police car and an ambulance were seen at Angelou's home in Winston-Salem, NC.

Despite not having had finished college, Maya Angelou was often lovingly referred to as Dr. Angelou by fans and friends. Angelou has received around 30 honorary degrees due to her involvement in the Civil Rights Movement where she worked alongside Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as coordinator for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

At the age of 14, Angelou became San Francisco's first black female cable car conductor. By the time she was 17, Angelou gave birth to her first son, Guy, and shortly thereafter, joined an opera production called "Porgy and Bess" which toured key cities in Europe in the 1950's. Her work with the group later paved the opportunity for her to record her first album, "Calypso Lady."

By 1958, Angelou joined the Harlem Writers Guild in New York and later dabbled into stage acting. Her first stage role was in the play, "The Blacks", written by Frenchman Jean Genet.

At the end of her life, Angelou had been teaching American studies at Wake Forest University. She began her teaching career in 1982 and received the Presidential Medal of Arts in 2000 and the Lincoln Medal sometime in 2008. Due to her contributions to education, Angelou was granted the "Reynolds Professorship of American Studies" medal by Wake Forest University.

Angelou was born in St. Louis, Missouri, on April 4, 1928 to father Bailey Johnson, and mother Vivian Baxter. Her adventure as a writer began at the age of 7 years and has released seven autobiographies, three essay books, and books on poetry.