Sidney Poitier
Biography
Sidney Poitier KBE was a Bahamian and American actor, film director, and diplomat born on February 20, 1927, in Miami, Florida, USA. He passed away on January 6, 2022, at the age of 94. In 1964, he became the first black actor and first Bahamian to win the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in Lilies of the Field. His additional accolades include two competitive Golden Globe Awards, a competitive British Academy of Film and Television Arts award, and a Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album. Major films starring Poitier include Blackboard Jungle, The Defiant Ones, To Sir, with Love, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, In the Heat of the Night, Sneakers, and The Jackal.
Career overview
Sidney Poitier was a Bahamian and American actor, film director, and diplomat born on February 20, 1927, in Miami, Florida, USA. Throughout a career that included 108 known credits on the Movie Database, he became a celebrated figure in cinema. In 1964, he achieved a historic milestone by becoming the first black actor and first Bahamian to win the Academy Award for Best Actor, receiving the honor for his work in Lilies of the Field. His extensive list of accolades also includes two competitive Golden Globe Awards, a competitive British Academy of Film and Television Arts award, and a Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album.
Major films featuring Poitier in a starring role span several decades and include Blackboard Jungle in 1955, The Defiant Ones in 1958, To Sir, with Love in 1967, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner in 1967, and In the Heat of the Night in 1967. Additional major film appearances later in his career include Sneakers in 1992 and The Jackal in 1997. His notable filmography also encompasses projects such as Omnibus, A Patch of Blue, A Raisin in the Sun, and the detective drama featuring his role as police officer Virgil Tibbs. Poitier passed away on January 6, 2022, at the age of 94.
Ask the Vault
Ask anything about Sidney Poitier.
Frequent co-stars
Career timeline
Full filmography
- The Resurrection of Christ (2026)
- Hollywood Black (2024) as Self (archive footage)
- Remembering Gene Wilder (2024) as Self (archive photos)
- Paul Newman: The Restless (2023) as Self
- Reinventing Elvis: The 68' Comeback (2023) as Self (archive footage)
- Sidney Poitier - The Man Who Changed Hollywood (2023) as Self (archive footage)
- Sidney (2022) as Self
- A Star Without a Star: The Untold Juanita Moore Story (2022) as Self
- Mr. SOUL! (2018) as Self (archive footage)
- Poitier's Walter Lee (2018) as Self (archive footage)
- The Madding Crowd (2017) as Self (archive footage)
- Lorraine Hansberry: Sighted Eyes / Feeling Heart (2017) as Self
- Whoopi Goldberg Presents Moms Mabley (2013) as Self
- Martin Luther King and the March on Washington (2013) as Self
- Sing Your Song (2012) as Self
- Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project (2007) as Self
- Hollywood Legenden (2004) as Self
- The Making of ‘Sneakers’ (2003) as Self
- The Last Brickmaker in America (2001) as Henry Cobb
- Quincy Jones: In the Pocket (2001) as Self
- Sidney Poitier: One Bright Light (2000)
- Richard Widmark: Strength of Characters (2000) as Self
- Free of Eden (1999) as Will Cleamons
- The Simple Life of Noah Dearborn (1999) as Noah Dearborn
- David and Lisa (1998) as Dr. Jack Miller
- Scandalize My Name: Stories from the Blacklist (1998) as Reverend Msimangu (archive footage)
- The Jackal (1997) as Carter Preston
- Mandela and de Klerk (1997) as Nelson Mandela
- Afro Promo (1997) as Self (archive footage)
- To Sir, with Love II (1996) as Mark Thackeray
- Children of the Dust (1995) as Gypsy Smith
- Wild Bill: Hollywood Maverick (1995) as Self
- Sneakers (1992) as Crease
- Separate but Equal (1991) as Thurgood Marshall
- Separate but Equal (1991) as Thurgood Marshall
- Ghost Dad (1990) Director
- Shoot to Kill (1988) as Warren Stantin
- Little Nikita (1988) as Roy Parmenter
- Roy Orbison and Friends: A Black and White Night (1988) as Self - Audience Member
- The Spencer Tracy Legacy: A Tribute by Katharine Hepburn (1986) as Self
- Night of 100 Stars II (1985) as Self
- Fast Forward (1985) Director
- I Love Quincy (1984) as Self
- Hanky Panky (1982) Director
- Stir Crazy (1980) Director
- Paul Robeson: Tribute to an Artist (1979) as Narrator (voice)
- The Kennedy Center Honors (1978) as Self
- A Piece of the Action (1977) as Manny Durrell
- A Piece of the Action (1977) Director
- The Wilby Conspiracy (1975) as Shack Twala
- Let's Do It Again (1975) as Clyde Williams
- Let's Do It Again (1975) Director
- Uptown Saturday Night (1974) as Steve Jackson
- Uptown Saturday Night (1974) Director
- The American Film Institute Salute to ... (1973) as Self
- A Warm December (1973) as Dr. Matt Younger
- A Warm December (1973) Director
- Nationtime: Gary (1972) as Self - Narrator
- Buck and the Preacher (1972) as Buck
- Buck and the Preacher (1972) Producer
- Buck and the Preacher (1972) Director
- Film '72 (1971) as Self
- The Organization (1971) as Virgil Tibbs
- Brother John (1971) as John Kane
- They Call Me Mister Tibbs! (1970) as Virgil Tibbs
- King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis (1970) as Self (archive footage)
- Three Young Americans in Search of Survival (1969) as Himself
- The Lost Man (1969) as Jason Higgs
- The Dick Cavett Show (1968) as Self - Guest
- For Love of Ivy (1968) as Jack Parks
- For Love of Ivy (1968) Original Story
- Omnibus (1967)
- In the Heat of the Night (1967) as Virgil Tibbs
- Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967) as John Prentice
- To Sir, with Love (1967) as Mark Thackeray
- ABC Stage 67 (1966) as Self - Host
- Duel at Diablo (1966) as Toller
- The Strolling '20s (1966) as Self
- The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965) as Simon of Cyrene
- A Patch of Blue (1965) as Gordon Ralfe
- The Bedford Incident (1965) as Ben Munceford
- The Slender Thread (1965) as Alan Newell
- A Cinderella Named Elizabeth (1965) as Self
- The Long Ships (1964) as Aly Mansuh
- Lilies of the Field (1963) as Homer Smith
- The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962) as Self
- The Merv Griffin Show (1962) as Self
- Pressure Point (1962) as Doctor
- The Mike Douglas Show (1961) as Self
- The Mike Douglas Show (1961) as Self - Taped Tribute
- Paris Blues (1961) as Eddie Cook
- A Raisin in the Sun (1961) as Walter Lee Younger
- All the Young Men (1960) as Sgt. Eddie Towler
- Virgin Island (1959) as Marcus
- Porgy and Bess (1959) as Porgy
- The Defiant Ones (1958) as Noah Cullen
- Tonight Starring Jack Paar (1957) as Self
- Band of Angels (1957) as Rau-Ru
- Something of Value (1957) as Kimani Wa Karanja
- Edge of the City (1957) as Tommy Tyler
- The Mark of the Hawk (1957) as Obam
- Tony Awards (1956) as Self - Presenter
- Cinépanorama (1956) as Self
- Good-bye, My Lady (1956) as Gates Watson
- Blackboard Jungle (1955) as Gregory W. Miller
- A Man Is Ten Feet Tall (1955) as Tommy Tyler
- Go Man Go (1954) as Inman Jackson
- The Oscars (1953) as Self
- Kraft Television Theatre (1953)
- Omnibus (1952)
- The Red Ball Express (1952) as Robertson
- Cry, the Beloved Country (1951) as Reverend Msimangu
- No Way Out (1950) as Luther Brooks
- The Philco Television Playhouse (1948)
- The Philco Television Playhouse (1948) as Tommy Tyler
- Sepia Cinderella (1947) as Nightclub Extra (uncredited)
- Golden Globe Awards (1944) as Self - Nominee
- Golden Globe Awards (1944) as Self - Presenter