Sir Sean Connery was a Scottish actor, who shot to fame as the first performer to portray fictional British secret agent James Bond on film.
Sean Connery's early life
Thomas Sean Connery was born on August 25, 1930, into a working class family. His father, Joseph Connery, worked as a factory worker and lorry driver, while his mother, Euphemia McBain "Effie" McLean, was a cleaner.
Sean began working life very young and left school at the age of 14 to work as a milkman. He went on to enlist in the Royal Navy at the age of 16 but was later discharged on medical grounds.
He began bodybuilding aged 18 and also worked as a model.
Sean Connery's acting career
In 1953, the aspiring actor was placed third when he represented Scotland in the Mr Universe bodybuilding contest, and the latter half of the decade brought a number of firsts: his first BBC TV production, Requiem For A Heavyweight, his big screen debut in No Road Back, his first leading role (opposite Lana Turner in Another Time, Another Place) and his first part Stateside, Walt Disney's Darby O'Gill And The Little People in 1959.
In 1962, Sean cemented his status as a film star when he landed the role of James Bond in the first film of the franchise, Dr No. Sean carried the 007 torch through five other Cubby Broccoli-produced 007 films and gained international fame before choosing to step down from the role.
Just four years after his final reprisal of the part (in 1983's "unofficial" 007 flick, Never Say Never Again), he proved his versatility in Brian DePalma's Al Capone gangster film The Untouchables, which reaped him an Oscar.
The actor also saw success in everything from adventure-thriller The Hunt For Red October to the critically acclaimed drama Finding Forrester, and John Boorman’s sci-fi fantasy Zardoz.
Sean showed he had fans in high places when he was awarded a knighthood by the Queen in 2000.
The actor announced his retirement from acting after receiving the American Film Institute's Lifetime Achievement Award on 8 June 2006. He did, however, complete one more film, voicing the title role in the computer-animated adventure film, Sir Billi.
Sean Connery's personal life
Sean wed French painter Micheline Roquebrune in 1975, one year after divorcing his wife of more than a decade, actress Diane Cilento. He had one son with Diane, actor Jason Connery.
Throughout his career, Sean was very vocal about his support for Scottish independence and became a high-profile member of the Scottish National Party. His political views reportedly led to the Scottish Secretary Donald Dewar blocking plans for Sean’s knighthood in 1997.
Sean died in his sleep on 31 October 2020, aged 90, at his home in the Bahamas.
