Sidney PoitierĀ ~born February 20, 1927Ā in Miami, Florida
š Bahamian-American actor, film director, activist, and diplomat.
He joined theĀ American Negro Theatre, gaining his breakthrough film role as a high school student in the filmĀ Blackboard JungleĀ (1955). Poitier gained fame for his leading roles in films such asĀ The Defiant OnesĀ (1958), for which he won theĀ Silver Bear for Best ActorĀ and became the first African American to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor.
In 1964, he won the Academy Award and theĀ Golden Globe for Best Actor forĀ Lilies of the FieldĀ (1963). He was theĀ first black actorĀ and first Bahamian to win theĀ Academy Award for Best Actor.
Poitier broke ground playing strong leading African American male roles in films such asĀ Porgy and BessĀ (1959),Ā A Raisin in the SunĀ (1961), andĀ A Patch of BlueĀ (1965). He acted in three films in 1967, films which addressed race andĀ race relations:Ā To Sir, with Love;Ā Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, andĀ In the Heat of the Night, the latter of which earned him Golden Globe and BAFTA Award nominations. In a poll the next year he was voted the US's top box-office star.
AmongĀ his other accoladesĀ are two competitiveĀ Golden Globe Awards, aĀ BAFTA AwardĀ and aĀ Grammy Award, in addition to nominations for twoĀ Emmy AwardsĀ and aĀ Tony Award. In 1999, he was ranked number 22 among the "American Film Institute's 100 Stars". Ā Poitier was one of the last surviving stars from theĀ Golden Age of Hollywood. (d. 2022)