Spencer Bonaventure Tracy (April 5, 1900 – June 10, 1967) was an American actor, known for his natural performing style and versatility. Being one of the major stars of Hollywood's Golden Age, Tracy was the first actor to win two consecutive Academy Awards for Best Actor from nine nominations. During his career, he appeared in 75 films and was highly respected given his reputation as one of the screen's greatest actors. The American Film Institute ranked Tracy as the 9th greatest male star of Classic Hollywood Cinema. Tracy's breakthrough came in 1930 during his tenure with Fox Film Corporation but he remained largely unknown to movie audiences after 25 films. However, his career flourished after joining Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) in 1935 where he won consecutive Oscars for Captains Courageous and Boys Town.

Despite his professional successes, Tracy's personal life was troubled with a lifelong struggle against alcoholism and guilt over his son's deafness. He was married to Louise Treadwell with whom he had two children but the couple became estranged in the 1930s. Tracy also had a 25-year relationship with Katharine Hepburn which remained an open secret in Hollywood. During the final years of his life, Tracy worked almost exclusively for director Stanley Kramer and his last film, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967), was completed just 17 days before his death.