Sir Cindy Poitier, an award-winning film actor, has died at the age of 94.
Cindy Poitier had won an Oscar for her 1963 film "Under the Look of God".
She was the first African-American actress to receive the award, 24 years after Hattie McDaniel won the 1939 Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role.
Poitier was also a director, writer and diplomat. The actor's success continued into the 60s and in 1967 he had three successful films at the American Box-Office: History of a Crime (In the Heat of the Night), Guess who will come tonight (Guess Who's Coming to Dinner) and To Our Lord with Love (To Sir, with Love), which dealt with the issue of racism.
He was also known for his involvement in the films: The Blackboard Jungle (1955), I broke my shackles (Edge of the City, 1957), When we broke the chains (The Defiant Ones, 1958), A Raisin in the Sun (A Raisin in the Sun, 1960) and Blind Angel (A Patch of Blue). In 1972 he made his directorial debut with the film The Two Accomplices (Buck and the Preacher). The American Film Institute has ranked him 22nd on the list of the 25 greatest stars of all time. 
In 2002 the actor was awarded an Honorary Oscar by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, for his achievements as an artist, but also as a person and in 2009 he was honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom by the President of the USA Barack Obama.
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