On Wednesday, May 28, renowned poet and essayist Maya Angelou died at the age of 86 in her hometown of Winston-Salem in North Carolina.

The mayor of Winston-Salem, Allen Joines, told WFMY News 2 that Angelou was found unconscious by her caregiver in her home Wednesday morning.

Although Angelou became widely known for one of her most revered books, "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" (1970), her illustrious career spanned for over four decades in which she became an accredited actress, playwright, film director, college professor, singer and dancer.

Along with three Grammy awards, the famous novelist was nominated for a Tony Award and a Pulitzer Prize. In 2011, she was awarded with the Medal of Freedom, the country's highest civilian honor, by President Barack Obama. She also received the National Medal of Arts in 2000 by then-President Bill Clinton.

Angelou was born as Marguerite Johnson on April 4, 1928 in St. Louis. She grew up in the Jim Crow South between St. Louis and Stamps, Arkansas. The poet was introduced to writing and poetry after suffering from a tragic childhood experience when she was raped by her mother's boyfriend at the age of 7. Her mother's boyfriend was then beaten to death by her family members after she testified against him. Because Angelou blamed herself for the death of her rapist, she became mute for almost six years and developed a liking for literary art.

"My 7-and-a-half-year-old logic deduced that my voice had killed him, so I stopped speaking for almost six years," she said, according to CNN.

Angelou studied dance and drama in San Francisco before she dropped out of high school at age 14, and instead became the city's first African-American female cable car conductor. She later returned to high school to finish her diploma and gave birth to her only child a few weeks after graduation.

As a 17-year-old single mother, she waited tables to support her son, before pursuing her passion for music and dance and touring Europe in the mid-1950s in the opera production "Porgy and Bess." In 1957, she recorded her first album titled "Calypso Lady," which was re-released in 1996.

She went on to become a professor of American Studies at Wake Forest University and was awarded more than 30 honorary degrees from colleges. She was also affectionately referenced as "Dr. Angelou."

"I have created myself," she told USA TODAY in 2007, "I have taught myself so much."

Angelou lived in many different countries during her lifetime and spoke at least six languages. At one time, she also worked as a newspaper editor in Egypt and Ghana.