- published: 30 Sep 2015
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Sir Ben Kingsley (born Krishna Bhanji; 31 December 1943) is an English actor. In a career spanning over 40 years, he has won an Oscar, Grammy, BAFTA, two Golden Globes and Screen Actors Guild awards. He is known for his starring role as Mohandas Gandhi in the 1982 film Gandhi, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor. He is also known for his performances in the films Schindler's List (1993), Sexy Beast (2000), Lucky Number Slevin (2006), Shutter Island (2010), Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010), Hugo (2011), and Iron Man 3 (2013). Kingsley was made a Knight Bachelor in 2002. In 2010, he was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 2013 he received the BAFTA Los Angeles Britannia Award for Worldwide Contribution to Filmed Entertainment.
Kingsley was born Krishna Bhanji in Snainton, North Riding of Yorkshire. He is the son of Anna Lyna Mary (born Goodman; 1914–2010), an actress and model who appeared in films in the 1920s and 1930s, and Rahimtulla Harji Bhanji (1914–1968), a medical doctor.