Joanna Shimkus

Joanna Shimkus Poitier (born October 30, 1943) is a Canadian retired actress. She is the wife of Bahamian-American actor and diplomat Sidney Poitier, and mother of actress Sydney Tamiia Poitier.[1][2]

Joanna Shimkus
Born (1943-10-30) 30 October 1943
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Nationality
OccupationActress
Spouse(s)Sidney Poitier (1976–present)
Children2, including Sydney Tamiia Poitier

Early life

Shimkus was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, to a Lithuanian-Jewish father[3] and a Catholic mother of Irish descent.[4] Her father worked for the Royal Canadian Navy.[5] She attended a convent school[6] and was brought up in Montreal. She went to Paris at age nineteen, where she worked as a fashion model and soon attracted the attention of movie people on the lookout for new talent.

Career

She made her debut in 1964, in Jean Aurel's film De l'amour. She was then noticed by film director Robert Enrico, who selected her to appear in three of his films; Les aventuriers (1967), opposite Alain Delon and Lino Ventura, Tante Zita (1968) and Ho! (1968).

She appeared in Joseph Losey's film Boom! (1968), opposite Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, and The Lost Man (1969), opposite Sidney Poitier. Her film career continued until the early 1970s, including roles in L'Invitée (1969), The Virgin and the Gypsy (1970), The Marriage of a Young Stockbroker (1971) and A Time for Loving (1972).

Personal life

She married Sidney Poitier in 1976, and they have two daughters: Anika and Sydney Tamiia, who is also an actress. Shimkus has three grandchildren; two from Anika and one from Sydney Tamiia.

Further reading
  • The Illustrated Who's Who of the Cinema, Lloyd Fuller Desser, Portland House, New York, 1987. ISBN 0-517-64419-3

References
  1. "Joanna Shimkus". The New York Times.
  2. Guy Flatley, Philadelphia (10 November 1968). "Sidney Poitier as Black Militant". The New York Times. p. D15.
  3. https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=888&dat=19710720&id=3aNhAAAAIBAJ&sjid=zHUDAAAAIBAJ&pg=7033,3915039
  4. "She's From Halifax". The Calgary Herald. 4 September 1970.
  5. Joyce Haber (6 July 1969). "Joanna Shimkus Happy To Get By On Personality". Toledo Blade.
  6. Joyce Haber (18 May 1969). "Joanna Shimkus: Filmdom's Beautiful Ugly Duckling". The Los Angeles Times.
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