
Joanna Shimkus
Acting
Biography
Joanna Marie Shimkus (born 30 October 1943) is a Canadian film actress. She is the widow of actor Sidney Poitier and mother of actress Sydney Tamiia Poitier. Joanna Marie Shimkus was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, to Joseph Shimkus, a Jewish father of Lithuanian descent, and Marie Petrie, a Roman Catholic of Irish descent. Her father worked for the Royal Canadian Navy. She attended a convent school and was brought up in Montreal. She made her debut in 1964 in Jean Aurel's film De l'amour. (She was first featured in Jean-Luc Godard's short "Montparnasse-Levallois," his contribution to the anthology film Six in Paris; it was shot in December 1963, but the film was not released until 1965.) 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 January 6, 2022, aged 94. Source: Article "Joanna Shimkus" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA.
Known For

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Dim Dam Dom

This revealing documentary honors the legendary Sidney Poitier—iconic actor, filmmaker, and civil rights activist. Featuring interviews with Denzel Washington, Spike Lee, Halle Berry, and more.
Sidney

Secluding herself in an island mansion in the Mediterranean with her servants and nurses, the wealthy Flora "Sissy" Goforth prepares for her impending death -- and she isn't the only one who's waiting. Known for his attraction to the dying rich, poet Chris Flanders ingratiates himself with the wilting Sissy. Although her friend explains Flanders' "Angel of Death" nature to her, Sissy embraces the vulture-like Flanders.
Boom!

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, the jokesters tell Roland and Manu about a crashed plane lying on the ocean floor off the coast of Congo stuffed with riches. The adventurers set off to find the loot.
The Last Adventure

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

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 and extramarital love affairs.
The Marriage of a Young Stockbroker

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

Gallery director Stanislas bolsters the development of modern art with his collection of surprising works. His newest acquisition is a sculpture by Gilbert, whose wife Josée is captivated by Stanislas. But unbeknownst to her, Stanislas is amassing photographs of a very perverse, disturbed nature.
Woman in Chains

A model tells a television crew about her dreams of a life with prince charming all while fending off the lecherous advances of a horde of men.
Who Are You, Polly Maggoo?

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 Montparnasse et Levallois (Godard) are stories of love, flirtation and prostitution; Place d'Etoile (Rohmer) concerns a haberdasher and his umbrella; and La Muette (Chabrol), a bourgeois family and earplugs.
Six in Paris

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

Exceptionally talented actor and bridge-builder between black and white, a political icon and artist at the same time: that was Sidney Poitier. He made Hollywood history in 1964 when he became the first black man to win an Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role − and thus became the first international black superstar. He grew up in poor circumstances in the Bahamas − with only a few years of schooling. Despite this humble start, Sidney Poitier became a film legend committed artistically and politically against all odds. What compromises did he have to make? What shaped him? This documentary gives an intimate insight into the eventful life of the actor and director, who died in January 2022 at the age of 94.
Sidney Poitier - The Man Who Changed Hollywood

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 Côte d'Azur. They get closer during the long voyage and the man invites her to his marital home.
The Uninvited

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 film "Boom" by Joseph Losey was shot, with the stars Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. Although the film, produced with a high budget for the time, aspired to become an international success, it was one of the most sensational flops in the history of cinema.
A Summer with Joe, Liz and Richard

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 actresses Suzanne Flon and Katina Paxinou). The auntie is dying, and for the first time in her life, Annie has to cope with death. One night, she finds it too hard to bear, and leaving home where the old woman is suffering, she begins to hang around in Paris. She will meet people, and, from dusk to dawn, she will learn to leave her childhood behind and to grow into a woman.
Zita

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 English girl who is sexually attracted to a seductively virile gypsy. The climatic dam burst is linked with the consummation of her desire.
The Virgin and the Gypsy

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 knowledgeable about soccer, Ugo tries -several times but in vain - to obtain an appointment from Sivori. Forced to fall back upon persons being or having been in contact with the elusive star, he gets to know young forward-center Moretti and soon becomes friendly with him. The young man confides in him and tells him the whole truth about his own "career" : the training in a small provincial team, the promising debut alongside Sivori, the desertion of his fiancée, the premature decline due to a dissolute life. When Sanfelice finally meets Sivori, he finds that the star is no match - humanely at least - for Moretti and he gives up writing the book at all.
Idoli controluce

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 too.
All About Loving

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 fears that she mixed up the letters.