Legendary actor Sidney Poitier has died, Bahamian news outlets were first to report on Friday. He was 94.   

Breaking barriers in Hollywood in the 1950s and 60s with roles in Paris Blues and Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, the Bahamian American became the first Black man to win Best Actor at the Academy Awards for his role in Lilies of the Field. 

The press secretary to the Bahamian prime minister and the Bahamian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Office confirmed Poitier’s death to CNN and Fox News.  

Born in Miami on Feb. 20, 1927, while his Bahamian parents were on vacation, Poitier was the youngest of seven children.  

Poitier often took roles that were uncommon for Black male actors in Hollywood at the time, according to HuffPost. In Paris Blues he was the first Black man to be a romantic lead in a major film and in Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner he played one half of an interracial couple.  

RELATED: ‘Golden Girls’ Star Betty White Dies on New Year’s Eve

The Oscar winner faced criticism from Black people, who accused him of taking on roles that were palatable to white audiences.  

In 2008, Poitier told Larry King, “I had a sense of responsibility not only to myself and to my time, but certainly to the people I represented. So I was charged with a responsibility to represent them in ways that they would see and say, ‘OK, I like that.’” 

In addition to being an actor, Poitier was an activist. He attended 1964’s March on Washington, where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his iconic “I Have A Dream” speech.  

RELATED: IN MEMORIAM: Chadwick Boseman

Poitier received an honorary Academy Award in 2002, for “remarkable accomplishments as an artist and as a human being,” according to Cinemontage. 

Tributes for Poitier poured in on Friday from many who admired his work.  

“If you wanted the sky I would write across the sky in letters that would soar a thousand feet high. To Sir… with Love Sir Sidney Poitier R.I.P. He showed us how to reach for the stars,” tweeted Oscar winner and The View host Whoopi Goldberg.  

If you wanted the sky i would write across the sky in letters that would soar a thousand feet high..
To Sir… with Love
Sir Sidney Poitier R.I.P.
He showed us how to reach for the stars

— Whoopi Goldberg (@WhoopiGoldberg) January 7, 2022

“[Sidney Poitier] your last sunset with us is the dawn of many generations rising in the path of light you blazed. We will always hold you in our hearts and forever speak your name,” Debbie Allen wrote.  

#SidneyPoitier, your last sunset with us is the dawn of many generations rising in the path of light you blazed. We will always hold you in our hearts and forever speak your name. 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼❤️❤️❤️ pic.twitter.com/hIKYCqM245

— Debbie Allen (@msdebbieallen) January 7, 2022

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

Sidney Poitier. What a landmark actor. One of a kind. What a beautiful, gracious, warm, genuinely regal man. RIP, Sir. With love.

(📷Sam Falk/NYT) pic.twitter.com/5ZaKxxPdxw

— Jeffrey Wright (@jfreewright) January 7, 2022

“For me, the greatest of the “Great Trees” has fallen: Sidney Poitier. My honor to have loved him as a mentor. Friend. Brother. Confidant. Wisdom teacher,” Oprah Winfrey wrote on Instagram with a picture of her embracing the legendary actor. I treasured him. I adored him. He had an enormous soul I will forever cherish. Blessings to Joanna and his world of beautiful daughters.”  

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Oprah (@oprah)

This is a developing story.