Sidney Poitier (/ ˈpwɑːtjeɪ / PWAH-tyay; [1] February 20, 1927 – January 6, 2022) was a Bahamian-American actor, film director, activist, and diplomat. In 1964, he was the first black actor and first …

One of these films, The Defiant Ones (1958), earned Poitier his first Academy Award nomination as Best Actor. Five years later, he won the Oscar for Lilies of the Field (1963), the first African American to …

Jan 2, 2026 · Sidney Poitier was a Bahamian American actor, director, and producer who broke the color barrier in the U.S. motion-picture industry by becoming the first African American actor to win …

Apr 3, 2014 · Hollywood icon Sidney Poitier was the first African American to win an Academy Award for Best Actor, receiving the honor in 1964 for his performance in 'Lilies of the Field.'

Jan 31, 2025 · Sidney Poitier was a pioneering Bahamian-American actor, director, and author, celebrated for breaking racial barriers in Hollywood and opening doors for future generations of actors.

Actor Sidney Poitier's presence in film during the 1950s and 1960s opened up the possibility for bigger and better roles for African American performers. Born on February 20, 1924, in Miami, Florida, but …

For 20 years, beginning in the early '50s, he was the top and virtually sole African-American film star--the first black actor to become a hero to both black and white audiences.

Sidney Poitier, the first male black actor to win the Academy Award for Best Actor, was a great actor whose groundbreaking achievements influenced the way society viewed people of color

“I’m probably the only Negro actor who makes a living in the motion picture industry, which employes 13,000 performers,” Poitier told the congressional committee. In 1964, Sidney Poitier became the …

Sidney Poitier KBE (February 20, 1927 – January 6, 2022) was a Bahamian and American actor, movie director, and diplomat. He became a star in American movies and plays which went against racial …