Sidney Poitier, legendary actor and civil-rights advocate, dead at 94

• Sidney Poitier, the first Black actor to win the Best Actor Oscar, has died.
• His landmark career included his support of the civil-rights movement in the 1960s.
• Later in his life, Poitier dedicated his time to humanitarian work.

Legendary actor Sidney Poitier, the first Black actor to win the Academy Award for Best Actor, has died, the Bahamian Minister of Foreign Affairs confirmed to Insider.

He was 94.

Poitier was a trailblazing Bahamian American actor who — along with a career filled with landmark acting, directing, and producing roles — was also a voice for civil rights in the 1960s and an ambassador for his beloved home country of the Bahamas.

Poitier broke through in Hollywood, getting acclaim that Black actors rarely received before

Poitier's work in Hollywood may have led to groundbreaking and iconic performances, but it didn't start out easy for him.

At 16, he moved to New York City and mostly found work as a dishwasher. In November 1943, he lied about his age and enlisted in the Army to fight in World War II. After leaving the Army a year later, he landed a spot at the American Negro Theatre. There he would meet a lifelong friend, fellow upcoming actor Harry Belafonte.

Struggling to connect with audiences because of his Bahamian accent, Poitier dedicated himself to the acting craft. For six months he refined his skills, which led to roles on Broadway.

Hollywood soon came calling, and he landed the role of a doctor treating a bigot in the 1950 movie "No Way Out." In 1955, Poitier gave a breakout performance as one of the unruly kids in "Blackboard Jungle."

Three years later, he starred opposite Tony Curtis in "The Defiant Ones." The pair played escaped prisoners who are chained together. The movie was a commercial and critical success, showcasing Poitier's raw talent. The movie earned both Poitier and Curtis Oscar nominations and a Best Picture nod for the movie.

Poitier's nomination marked the first time that a Black man was nominated in the Best Actor category.

He made even more history when he became the first Black actor to win in the category for his performance in 1963's "Lilies of the Field." He played a handyman who encounters a group of nuns who believe he was sent to them by God to build them a new chapel.

He and Harry Belafonte were major fixtures during the civil-rights movement

As the most prominent Black actor in Hollywood at the time, Poitier used his fame to fight for change.

He became a voice for the civil-rights movement alongside Belafonte.

In the early 1960s, Belafonte persuaded Poitier to drive to the South with $70,000 to give to the Freedom Summer volunteers. The experience changed Poitier's life as the two actors were chased by Klansmen who fired guns at them, The New York Times reported.

The two also helped organize the landmark March on Washington in 1963, which featured Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech.

A year before King's assassination, the civil-rights icon said of Poitier: "He is a man of great depth, a man of great social concern, a man who is dedicated to human rights and freedom. Here is a man who, in the words we so often hear now, is a soul brother."

Poitier became a huge star in the 1970s and an accomplished director

Poitier's stardom grew in the late 1960s.

In 1967, "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" found him playing a Black man who meets his white girlfriend's parents (played by Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn). He also starred in the crime thriller "In the Heat of the Night," in which he played Virgil Tibbs, a Philadelphia detective who investigates a murder in a Southern town.

Poitier went on to play Tibbs in two sequels: "They Call Me MISTER Tibbs!" (1970) and "The Organization" (1971).

Into the 1970s, Poitier turned to directing, producing hits such as "Uptown Saturday Night" (1974) and "A Piece of the Action" (1977), both starring Bill Cosby. In 1980, he directed "Stir Crazy," starring Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder.

Poitier turned to humanitarian work later in his life

Later in his life, Poitier turned to humanitarian efforts, specifically in the Bahamas, where he grew up before moving to Miami at 15.

He was the Bahamian ambassador to Japan from 1997 to 2007. And from 2002 to 2007, he was the ambassador of the Bahamas to UNESCO.

President Barack Obama presented Poitier with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009, the US's highest civilian honor.

Poitier was married twice. In 1950 he married Juanita Hardy; they divorced in 1965. He married Joanna Shimkus in 1976.

He is survived by six children, including actress Sydney Tamiia Poitier.

Tributes have poured in for the acting legend

Celebrities and public figures mourned the iconic actor in the wake of his passing.

"I will always treasure watching @BarackObama give one of my heroes, #SydneyPoitier, the Medal of Freedom in 2009," tweeted Valerie Jarrett, a senior advisor to Barack Obama.

Comedian Sarah Cooper called Poitier "a brilliant actor, director, and activist."

"What a landmark actor. One of a kind. What a beautiful, gracious, warm, genuinely regal man. RIP, Sir. With love," actor Jeffrey Wright tweeted.

Vincent D'Onofrio recalled seeing Poitier in "A Raisin in the Sun" when he was a child.

"I sat and watched it then stayed & watched it a second time that day. It was one of the most enlightening experiences a young man who had dreams of be'n an actor could have," he said.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt called Poitier an "absolute legend" and "one of the greats."

Ben Mankiewicz, the host of Turner Classic Movies and grandson of Hollywood screenwriter Herman Mankiewicz, said Poitier "bore a responsibility no other actor of his era had to carry."

Mankiewicz tweeted: "He didn't choose to represent all Black men, but as the sole Black leading man in a business uncomfortable with more than one, such was his lot. Still, he delivered nuance, charm, & honesty to each role."

Singer Dionne Warwick shared a fond memory of the late actor from when she was a child.

She said he caught her following him one time. He asked her what she wanted and she asked for his autograph.

Warwick said, "From that day he always called me little girl and asked if I wanted his autograph. It was something we laughed about. He was my hero & great friend. May he RIP."