Sidney Poitier, Hollywood’s first major Black movie star, has died aged 94.
Poitier, who held dual US and Bahamian nationality, became the first Black star nominated for an Academy Award with 1958’s The Defiant Ones and, six years later, was the first to win the best actor Oscar for his performance in Lilies of the Field.
Poitier achieved mainstream popularity with a series of groundbreaking roles at a time of great racial tension in America in the 1950s and 1960s.
He balanced success with a sense of duty to choose projects that tackled bigotry and stereotypes, including his 1967 classics Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner and In the Heat of the Night.
Following the news of his death, which was announced by the Bahamian Minister of Foreign Affairs Fred Mitchell, fans and fellow stars have begun paying tribute to Poitier on social media.
