Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM (pronounced /ˈlɒrəns ɵˈlɪvieɪ/; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor, director, and producer. He is one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century, along with his contemporaries John Gielgud, Peggy Ashcroft and Ralph Richardson..

He was born in Dorking, son of the Rev Gerard Kerr Olivier and his wife Agnes Louis (Crookenden), educated at St Edward's School, Oxford, and studied with Elsie Fogerty. He married Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh and Joan Plowright. He made his first stage appearance at the Shakespeare Festival Theatre, Stratford upon Avon in April 1922 when he played Katherine in The Taming of the Shrew for a special boys' performance.

Olivier played a wide variety of roles on stage and screen from Greek tragedy, Shakespeare and Restoration comedy to modern American and British drama. He was the first artistic director of the National Theatre of Great Britain and its main stage is named in his honour. He is generally regarded to be the greatest actor of the 20th century, in the same category as David Garrick, Richard Burbage, Edmund Kean and Henry Irving in their own centuries. Olivier's AMPAS acknowledgments are considerable — fourteen Oscar nominations, with two wins for Best Actor and Best Picture for the 1948 film Hamlet, and two honorary awards including a statuette and certificate. He was also awarded five Emmy awards from the nine nominations he received. Additionally, he was a three-time Golden Globe and BAFTA winner.