Sidney Poitier, the first black male movie star to win a best actor Oscar, has died aged 94.
The office of the Bahamas’ Secretary of State, Fred Mitchell, confirmed the death of the Hollywood star to the BBC.
Born in Miami in 1927, Poitier grew up in a tomato field in the Bahamas and moved to New York at the age of 16.
Poitier, who served in the military for a short time, also worked in many different jobs while taking acting lessons on his way to becoming a famous stage and screen star.
Poitier was a groundbreaking actor, respected diplomat and humanitarian.
His performance in The Defiant Ones in 1958 earned him his first Oscar nomination.
In 1963, he won the Academy Award for best actor (Oscar) for his performance in Lilies of the Field.
The actor appeared regularly on the big screen at a time of racial discrimination in the USA.
In 1965, he played a black man with a white fiancee in A Patch of Blue, a year later in In the Heat of the Night, and then Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner.
In the Heat of the Night, he played Virgil Tibbs, a black police officer who confronts racism during a murder investigation.
Poitier also directed some films. A play about his life and career on Broadway was also announced last month.