Sean Connery

Connery was married to actress Diane Cilento from 1962 until their divorce in 1973. They had one son, Jason Connery, who became an actor and director. Connery married French-Moroccan artist Micheline Roquebrune in 1975, and they remained married until his death.

Connery died in his sleep in Nassau, Bahamas, where he had lived for many years. His family held a private ceremony, with a larger memorial planned later.

Connery grew up in a working-class neighborhood of Fountainbridge, Edinburgh. He left school at 13 and worked at a dairy before joining the Royal Navy at 16. After three years of service, a stomach ulcer ended his naval career. He then held a succession of jobs, including laborer, bricklayer, lifeguard, coffin polisher and artist's model.

Bodybuilding led Connery to the 1953 Mr. Universe contest, where he placed third in the tall men's division. A casting director who saw him at the competition invited him to join the chorus of the London production of South Pacific. Connery continued with stage and television work, including a much-praised performance in the BBC production Requiem for a Heavyweight in 1957.

In 1962, Connery became the first actor to play James Bond on the big screen in Dr. No, an adaptation of Ian Fleming's spy novel. He returned as Agent 007 in From Russia with Love (1963), Goldfinger (1964), Thunderball (1965), You Only Live Twice (1967), Diamonds Are Forever (1971) and Never Say Never Again (1983). The first films made the Bond series a worldwide phenomenon and turned Connery into an international star.

Connery's Bond combined confidence, physical toughness and sardonic wit. Although he worried about typecasting and left the role after You Only Live Twice, he returned for Diamonds Are Forever and later for Never Say Never Again, a non-EON production. His portrayal shaped the public image of 007 and remained his defining screen role.

Connery sought roles that differed from Bond, including the title character's antagonist in Alfred Hitchcock's psychological thriller Marnie (1964), the prison drama The Hill (1965) and the science-fiction film Zardoz (1974). His major 1970s films included Murder on the Orient Express, The Man Who Would Be King, The Wind and the Lion, Robin and Marian and The First Great Train Robbery. He also played King Agamemnon in Terry Gilliam's Time Bandits (1981).

His performances in The Name of the Rose (1986) and The Untouchables (1987) brought major acclaim. He played a monk turned detective in the former and a veteran Chicago police officer pursuing Al Capone in the latter, winning the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Later roles included Indiana Jones's father in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), submarine captain Marko Ramius in The Hunt for Red October (1990), John Patrick Mason in The Rock (1996), and William Forrester in Finding Forrester (2000).

Connery officially retired from acting after The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003), in which he played Allan Quatermain. He later provided the voice of the title character in the animated film Sir Billi (2012).

Connery won a British Academy Film Award for The Name of the Rose and an Academy Award and Golden Globe for The Untouchables. His honors also included the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 1996 and a Kennedy Center Honor for lifetime achievement in 1999. Queen Elizabeth II knighted him in 2000 at Holyrood Palace, and he wore traditional Highland dress for the ceremony.

Connery was a long-time supporter of Scottish independence and strongly backed the Scottish National Party. He attended the opening of the first Scottish Parliament in 1999 and remained closely associated with Scottish cultural and political identity.