Sidney Poitier

<p>Sidney Poitier was the first black actor to win the Academy Award for best actor for his outstanding performance in <em>Lilies of the Field</em> in 1963. His landmark films include <em>The Defiant Ones</em>, <em>A Patch of Blue</em>, <em>Guess Who's Coming to Dinner</em>, and <em>To Sir, With Love</em>. He has starred in over forty films, directed nine, and written four. He is the author of two autobiographies: <em>This Life</em> and the "Oprah's Book Club" pick and <em>New York Times</em> bestseller <em>The Measure of a Man</em>. Among many other accolades, Poitier has been awarded the Screen Actors Guild's highest honor, the Life Achievement Award, for an outstanding career and humanitarian accomplishment. He is married, has six daughters, four grandchildren, and one great-granddaughter.</p>