Iron Eyes Cody (born Espera Oscar de Corti April 3, 1904 - January 4, 1999) was an American actor born in Louisiana. Going by the name of Iron Eyes Cody, he portrayed Native Americans in Hollywood films. In 1996, his 100 percent Italian ancestry was confirmed by his half-sister.

Cody was born Espera Oscar de Corti on April 3, 1904, in Kaplan in Vermilion Parish, in southwestern Louisiana, a second son of Antonio de Corti and his wife, Francesca Salpietra, immigrants from Sicily. He had two brothers, Joseph William and Frank Henry, and a sister Victoria. His parents had a local grocery store in Gueydan, Louisiana, where he grew up. His father left the family and moved to Texas, where he anglicized his name as Tony Corti. His mother married Alton Abshire and had five more children with him.

Cody began acting in the early 1930s, and continued to work in film and television until his death. He claimed to be Native American, saying that he had Cherokee-Cree ancestry. He frequently changed his place of birth when providing documentation. He lived as if he were of indigenous Native American descent, on and off the screen. He was said to have supported Native American causes.

At a time when numerous Westerns were featured in film and television, Cody appeared in roles as the "noble Indian in more than 100 films," including The Big Trail (1930), with John Wayne; The Scarlet Letter (1934), with Colleen Moore; Sitting Bull (1954), as Crazy Horse; The Light in the Forest (1958) as Cuyloga; The Great Sioux Massacre (1965), with Joseph Cotten; Nevada Smith (1966), with Steve McQueen; A Man Called Horse (1970), with Richard Harris; and Ernest Goes to Camp (1987), as Chief St. Cloud. He had roles in another 100 films as other characters.