He is the first black actor and first person from the Bahamas to get the honor of winning Golden Globe Award and an Academy Award. He also directed many well-known films.

Biography

Sidney Poitier was born on 20th February, 1927 in Miami, Florida. He was the youngest among the seven children of his parents. They were actually from Cat Island, Bahamas. His father was Reginald James Poitier, a farmer who had a tomato farm. He used to go to Miami to sell his farm products. Their financial condition was not so good. His mother was Evelyn Poitier. During a visit in Miami, Sidney Poitier was born there two months before the due date. It was a miracle that he survived at that time. As he was born in the USA, he got the American citizenship.

He spent his childhood in the Bahamas. At the age of 10, they family shifted to Nassau. At 15, he was sent to Miami and slowly he started to earn by doing small jobs in hotels in New York.

Acting career

He started his acting career from the ‘American Negro Theatre’. He was first rejected by the audiences. He practiced for the following six months to improve his acting skills. Finally, he got the leading role in Lysistrata produced by Broadway. In 1950 his first film No Way Out was released. His role was a doctor.

Later he got more offers and worked in many remarkable roles. In 1967, he gave three commercial success films. ‘Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project’, a documentary was his last work as an actor in 2008. He also worked in television as well.