Sidney Poitier, the first black man to win best actor Oscar and star of 'Guess Who's Coming to Dinner', dies aged 94
Legendary Hollywood actor Sidney Poitier - the first black man to win a best actor Oscar - has died at 94.
His passing was confirmed by the Bahamas's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Fred Mitchell, on Friday morning.
His cause of death is not yet known.
Bahamian-American Poitier's trailblazing acting career saw win an Oscar in 1964 for his role in Lilies of the Field him and earn two further Academy Award nominations, ten Golden Globes nominations, two Primetime Emmy Awards nominations, six BAFTA nominations, eight Laurel nominations, and one Screen Actors Guild Awards nomination.
Twice-married, he had four daughters with his first wife Juanita Hardy and two with his second wife Joanna Shimkus.
RIP: Oscar-winning Hollywood star Sir Sidney Poitier has died at 94
During his first marriage, he began a nine-year affair with actress Diahann Carroll who he met when they worked together on the 1959 movie Porgy and Bess.
In 2016, Poitier was awarded a BAFTA fellowship, but did not attend the event due to ill health.
Actor Jeffrey Wright lead tributes on Friday, tweeting: 'Sidney Poitier. What a landmark actor. One of a kind. What a beautiful, gracious, warm, genuinely regal man. RIP, Sir. With love.'
Poitier received the Kennedy Center Honor in 1995 and an received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Barack Obama in 2009.
He was also awarded an Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II in 1974.
Legendary career: Poitier with Pearl Bailey in 1959's Porgy and Bess
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