Joanna Shimkus

Joanna Shimkus Poitier born 30 October 1943 is a Canadian film actress She is the widow of actor Sidney Poitier and mother of actress Sydney Tamiia Poitier Shimkus was born in Halifax Nova Scotia to Joseph Shimkus a LithuanianJew and Marie Petrie a Catholic of Irish descent Her father worked for the Royal Canadian Navy She attended a convent school and was brought up in Montreal Quebec 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 She made her debut in 1964 in Jean Aurels film De lamour 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 Loseys 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 LInvitée 1969 The Virgin and the Gypsy 1970 The Marriage of a Young Stockbroker 1971 and A Time for Loving 1972 Shimkus 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 Sidney Poitier died on 6 January 2022 aged 94 Source Article Joanna Shimkus from Wikipedia in English licensed under CCBYSA 30