Silver screen star who was married to the late Sidney Poitier steps out in LA… can YOU guess who?
The silver screen star, who was married to the late, great Sidney Poitier until his death at the age of 94, was spotted during a rare outing in Los Angeles.
This actor worked with film legends Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton before meeting his wife on the set of the 1969 film The Lost Man.
They had two children together, married in 2976, and remained married until his death in 2022.
This star starred in Boom!, Ho!, The Uninvited and The Virgin and the Gypsy, but gave up her film career to devote herself to her family with Poitier.
The now 82-year-old was spotted arriving at Beverly Hills hotspot Cipriani.
Can you guess who this icon is?
The silver screen icon, who is the widow of the late, great Sidney Poitier, was spotted in Los Angeles last week… Can you guess who the star is?
If you guessed Joanna Shimku, you were right!
Shimku was seen being dropped off at the Italian restaurant; Here a kind valet offered him his arm and helped him out of the vehicle.
A smiling Shimkus put her hand around the gentleman’s arm and made her way to the sidewalk with the help of her cane.
Originally from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Shimkus has an impressive list of Hollywood credits under his name.
The Last Adventure, The Virgin and the Gypsy, Ho! He starred in movies and even appeared in 1968’s Boom! In the film, he worked with the sensational power couple of the period, Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton.
However, she gave up her film career to be with Poitier and devote herself to their family.
‘I think my career was too short-lived,’ he said in the 1998 PBS documentary. Sidney Poitier: A Bright Light. ‘I started doing French films and then when I met Sydney I knew – obviously she didn’t really know it because it took her eight years and two children to marry me – but I knew that he was the man of my life, you know, that he was going to be my life partner.’
‘And I knew, for me and for him, that you can’t have two egos in the same kind of space. And his was definitely a bigger career than mine.
‘So I decided that what I wanted most was a relationship, a family. And this was more important than a career. That’s why I gave up.’
Join the discussion
Should stars give up their careers for their families, or is it possible to have both without sacrifice?
If you guessed Joanna Shimku, you were right!
Shimku met her husband while working with him on the 1969 film The Lost Man.
The couple were married from 1976 until Sydney’s death in 2022.
She was spotted arriving at Cipriani in Beverly Hills; there a helpful servant happily assisted him.
Joanna wore an all-black outfit, complemented by a chic collection of bags and jewelry
He explained: ‘I wanted to have the family I never had. I wanted to be a mother to the children I never had. And I was always there for my children. I’ve never worked. My mother always worked.
It was his character that attracted Shimku to him.
‘I think what attracted me most to him was his honesty and integrity… his devotion to his family. He’s just a wonderful person. “He’s just a good, good, good person,” he said.
‘And she’s sweet too, yeah! And it was especially amazing back then. It’s the same now, but back then it was very, very attractive.’
They married in 1976 after Shimkus gave birth to their two daughters, Anika Poitier, 54, and Sydney Tamiia Poitier, 52.
The marriage to Shimkus was Poitier’s second time walking down the aisle. He was previously married to Juanita Hardy, with whom he had four daughters.
Poitier’s second marriage to Shimkus lasted happily for 45 years, and he was known as a family man who doted on his daughters. Poitier recalled in a 2013 interview how he played along when they dressed him up as a child.
“She would be on the floor and we would put barrettes in her hair,” her two youngest daughters told The Hollywood Reporter. ‘We’d have him call room service. And she would have to open the door with my pink barrettes and lipstick.’
Shimku’s legendary past includes a film collaboration with Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton
Shimku got out of the vehicle with the help of his valet and his walking stick.
Shimkus and Poitier photographed with their daughters Sydney and Anika in 2002
Hollywood power couple and their children photographed in Beverly Hills
Photo of the couple with their daughter Anika in 1972
Joanna’s film credits include a role in The Virgin And The Gypsy
‘He is truly a wonderful person. “He’s just a good, good, good person,” he said of his wife in 1998.
“If you apply reason and logic to this career of mine, you won’t get very far,” he told the Washington Post. ‘The journey has been incredible from the beginning. It seems to me that so much of life is determined by pure randomness.’
Poitier died in 2022 at the age of 94 due to heart failure, Alzheimer’s dementia and prostate cancer.
After news of his death broke, his family released a statement revealing how grateful they were that their father “was able to spend his last day surrounded by family and friends.”
“To us, Sidney Poitier was not only a brilliant actor, activist, and man of incredible grace and moral strength, but also a devoted and loving husband, a supportive and loving father, and a man who always put family first,” the statement said.
‘He is our guiding light, illuminating our lives with infinite love and wonder. ‘His smile was healing, his hugs were the warmest refuge and his laughter was contagious.’
