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Peter Finch was a British actor. Born Frederick George Peter Ingle-Finch in London, England, he lived as a child in France and India, and finally in Australia, his parent's native country. There he grew up in Sydney. After finishing school, he worked in several badly payed jobs until he tried acting. He began in 1935 playing theater roles, and working also in the radio. In 1938, he appeared in his first movie, Dad and Dave Come to Town. Thereafter he played again on stage, where he was noticed by Laurence Olivier and encouraged to return to London. Finch returned the favor by having an affair with Olivier's wife, Vivien Leigh. Despite his stage experience, Finch suffered from stage fright and turned to films. His first role in a UK film was 1949 in Eureka Stockade.

Finch's Hollywood debut was in The Miniver Story in 1950, but his first major role was 1956 in A Town Like Alice. In 1972, his role of the homosexual Jewish doctor in Sunday Bloody Sunday earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role. It was his over-the-top portrayal of a crazed television anchor man in the 1976 film Network which won him in 1977 his Oscar. Unfortunately, it was presented after his death, and was accepted by his widow. His Oscar was one of the only two which have been given posthumously. Finch will be remembered as a highly talented screen actor. In England he won five Awards of the Bristish Film Academy.

Finch died of a stroke during a promotional tour for his last film Network. He was married three times. His fist wife was Tamara Tchinarova and his second wife Yolande Turner. Both marriages ended in divorce. His third wife was Eletha Finch. He had four chidren from his three marriages.

He is interred in the Hollywood Forever Memorial Park Cemetery in Hollywood, California.