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Sir Ben Kingsley (born Krishna Pandit Bhanji on December 31, 1943) is an English actor of Indian (Gujarati) and Russian-Jewish descent.
Ben Kingsley was born in Scarborough, Yorkshire. His father, Rahimtulla Pandit Bhanji, was a Kenya-born doctor of Indian descent, and his mother, Anna Lyna Mary Bhanji, a fashion model and actress. Kingsley began his acting career on the stage, but moved to movies early. His first film, Fear is the Key in 1972, was not a success, but he later found fame in the starring role of Mahatma Gandhi in the Academy Award winning Gandhi in 1982, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor. His father's ancestors had come from the Indian states of Punjab and Gujarat, the same as Gandhi himself. Although born Hindu, his father later converted to Sikhism.
Kingsley has been able to avoid stereotyping by being cast in a variety of roles in such films as Turtle Diary, Maurice, Pascali's Island, Without a Clue (as Dr. Watson opposite Michael Caine's Sherlock Holmes), Bugsy (Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor), Sneakers, Dave, Searching for Bobby Fischer, Schindler's List, Death and the Maiden, , Sexy Beast (another Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor), and House of Sand and Fog (Oscar nomination for Best Actor).
He has also appeared frequently on television, his first role having been a bit part in Coronation Street.
He is married to Alexandra Christmann from Berlin and lives in Spelsbury, England.
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