
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 Lithuanian-Jew 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 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).
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 CC-BY-SA 3.0.
Known For | Acting |
---|---|
Most Rating | 0.034 |
Birthday | 1943-10-30 |
Place of Birth | Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada |
Also Known As | Joanna Schimkus, Johanna Shimkus, |

1967

The Last Adventure
6.9/116
Two adventurers and best friends, Roland and Manu, are the victims of a practical joke that costs Manu his pilot's license. With seeming contrition, t...
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The Last Adventure

1970

The Virgin and the Gypsy
2.2/6
Film adaptation from the novel by D.H. Lawrence, discovered after the celebrated author's death in 1930, a romantic love story tells of a prim young E...
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The Virgin and the Gypsy

1968

Ho!
6.2/28
Race driver who has lost his membership card becomes the chauffeur of a gangsters pack
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Ho!

1968

Boom!
6.2/31
Explores the confrontation between the woman who has everything, including emptiness, and a penniless poet who has nothing but the ability to fill a w...
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Boom!

1969

The Lost Man
4/3
A gang of black militants plots to rob a factory to finance their "revolutionary struggle."
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The Lost Man

1971

The Marriage of a Young Stockbroker
3.5/2
A stockbroker is stuck in a dreary job and a marriage that's become a dull routine. To cope with the boredom and frustration, he resorts to voyeurism...
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The Marriage of a Young Stockbroker

1968

Zita
5.2/7
Because "Tante Zita" main theme is death: a twenty-year old girl, Annie (Shimkus) lives with her mother and her aunt (both played by first-class actre...
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Zita

1969

The Uninvited
5.9/7
When her husband returns from his work abroad with a guest, a young girl, his wife suspects a liaison. She leaves her home. Her boss takes her to the...
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The Uninvited

1965

Montparnasse et Levallois
0/0
A Canadian woman with two working class boyfriends writes letters to them, breaking off with one of them while professing her love for the other, but...
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Montparnasse et Levallois

2022

Sidney
7.6/31
This revealing documentary honors the legendary Sidney Poitier—iconic actor, filmmaker, and civil rights activist. Featuring interviews with Denzel Wa...
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Sidney

2022

A Summer with Joe, Liz and Richard
0/0
Shot between Sardinia, Rome, London, Paris, Baltimore and Los Angeles, the film tells of the arrival of Hollywood at Capo Caccia in 1967, when the fil...
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A Summer with Joe, Liz and Richard

1972

A Time for Loving
4/2
The story of an apartment in Paris and the various people that occupy it over the years.
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A Time for Loving

1965

Six in Paris
6.5/30
Six vignettes set in different sections of Paris, by six directors. St. Germain des Pres (Douchet), Gare du Nord (Rouch), Rue St. Denis (Pollet), and...
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Six in Paris

1964

All About Loving
4.9/12
Serge follows Hélène in the crowded streets of Paris and manages to seduce her. Werther takes Sophie to her dentist, Raoul, who tries to seduce her to...
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All About Loving

1966

Who Are You, Polly Maggoo?
6.4/34
In this excoriating satire of the fashion industry, Polly Maggoo is a 20-year-old Brooklyn-born fashion model in Paris, on the runway at the big shows...
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Who Are You, Polly Maggoo?

1968

Woman in Chains
7/66
Gallery director Stanislas bolsters the development of modern art with his collection of surprising works. His newest acquisition is a sculpture by Gi...
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Woman in Chains

1965

Idoli controluce
0/0
Having been assigned by his publisher to write a biography of Omar Sivori, the great footballer, Ugo Sanfelice heads for Torino. Given he is not very...
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