Sidney Poitier
20 February 1927 – 6 January 2022
Sidney Poitier was a Bahamian-American actor, film director, and diplomat who was the first Black actor to win the Academy Award for Best Actor. A trailblazer for Black performers in Hollywood, he starred in influential films such as The Defiant Ones, Lilies of the Field, In the Heat of the Night, and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner. He later served as the Bahamian ambassador to Japan.
Lived at the same time
Well-documented people whose lives overlapped with Sidney Poitier.
- Chen-Ning Yang (1922–2025) Overlapped 95 years →
- David Attenborough (1926–present) Overlapped 95 years →
- James Lovelock (1919–2022) Overlapped 95 years →
- Jimmy Carter (1924–2024) Overlapped 95 years →
- Mahathir Mohamad (1925–present) Overlapped 95 years →
- Henry Kissinger (1923–2023) Overlapped 95 years →
Life events
Sidney Poitier was born prematurely in Miami, Florida, while his Bahamian parents were visiting, and grew up in the Bahamas.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgPoitier trained and performed with the American Negro Theatre early in his career.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgPoitier appeared in his first major film role in No Way Out.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgPoitier earned an Academy Award nomination for The Defiant Ones, a milestone for Black actors.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgPoitier became the first Black actor to win the Best Actor Oscar for Lilies of the Field.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgPoitier played Detective Virgil Tibbs in the acclaimed film In the Heat of the Night.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgPoitier expanded into directing with films such as Uptown Saturday Night.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgPoitier served as the ambassador of the Bahamas to Japan.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgPoitier received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgPoitier died in Los Angeles at the age of 94.
Source: en.wikipedia.org