- Born
- 20 February 1927, Miami, Florida, United States
- First work
- 1950: No Way Out
- Peak
- 1958 to 1967 (estimated)
- Last work
- 1997: The Jackal
- Died
- 6 January 2022, Los Angeles, United States; aged 94; natural
Sidney Poitier
Film: actor, director, producer, United States
Sir Sidney Poitier was a pioneering actor and director whose commanding dignity and moral gravity transformed American cinema during the civil rights movement. In 1964, he became the first African American performer to win the Academy Award for Best Actor for Lilies of the Field. He reached the pinnacle of his box-office popularity in 1967, anchoring three landmark films that confronted race relations in modern society. Later expanding into directing with box-office hits like Stir Crazy, Poitier remained a revered cultural ambassador and diplomat throughout his life. He passed away at his home in Los Angeles in 2022 at the age of 94.
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Signature works
- The Defiant Ones 1958
- A Raisin in the Sun 1961
- Lilies of the Field 1963
- A Patch of Blue 1965
- To Sir, with Love 1967
- In the Heat of the Night 1967
- Guess Who's Coming to Dinner 1967
- Stir Crazy 1980
Honours
- Academy Award for Best Actor, 1963
- Academy Honorary Award, 2001
- Kennedy Center Honors, 1995