Pioneering Black movie star Sidney Poitier dies at 94

The celebrated thespian became the first Black star nominated for an Academy Award with 1958's "The Defiant Ones" and, six years later, was the first to win the best actor Oscar for his performance in "Lilies of the Field."

Sidney Poitier, Hollywood's first major Black movie star who won mainstream popularity with a series of groundbreaking roles in the 1950s and 1960s, has died aged 94.

Poitier, who held dual US and Bahamian nationality, was "an icon, a hero, a mentor, a fighter, a national treasure," Deputy Prime Minister Chester Cooper said on his official Facebook page.