Richard Henry Sellers, CBE, commonly known as Peter Sellers (8 September 1925 – 24 July 1980) was an Academy Award-nominated British comedian and actor best known for his roles in Dr. Strangelove, as Chief Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther film series, as Clare Quilty in the original 1962 screen version of Lolita, in comedy films such as The Millionairess and The Party, and as the guileless man-child Chance in his penultimate film, Being There.

Sellers rose to fame on the BBC Home Service radio series The Goon Show. His ability to speak in different accents (e.g., French, Indian, American, British, German), along with his talent to portray a range of characters to comedic effect, contributed to his success as a radio personality and screen actor and earned him national and international nominations and awards. Many of his characters became ingrained in public perception of his work. Sellers's private life was characterized by turmoil and crises, and included emotional problems and substance abuse. Sellers was married four times—his second wife was the Swedish actress Britt Ekland—with three children from two of his marriages.

Sellers was born in Southsea, Hampshire to a family of entertainers. His parents nicknamed him Peter at an early age, after his elder stillborn brother. He attended the North London Roman Catholic school, St. Aloysius College, although his father, Yorkshire-born Bill Sellers (1900 - 1962), was Protestant and his mother, Agnes Doreen 'Peg' née Marks (1892 - 1967), was Jewish. His maternal grandmother, Benvenida Welcome Mendoza (1855 - 1932), was of Portuguese-Jewish descent; her grandfather, Mordecai Mendoza (1774 - 1851), was a first cousin of English prizefighter Daniel Mendoza (1764 - 1836). Sellers was also a cousin of Talksport radio presenter Mike Mendoza.