• Sydney Tamiia Poitier is an American-Canadian actress and daughter of the late film director, actor, and diplomat Sidney Poitier.
• Graduated with a bachelor's degree in acting from New York University's Tisch School of Arts and honed her skills at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting.
• Made her film debut in 1998 and appeared in two films in 200•
• Appeared in nine movies in the next decade, including the short films “Yard Sale” and “The Mouseketeer” in 2010 and 2013 respectively.
• Married to American composer, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Dorian Heartsong and has a daughter.
The American-Canadian actress Sydney Tamiia Poitier is possibly best known for being one of the daughters of the late film director, actor, and diplomat Sidney Poitier, who was the first Bahamian and black actor to scoop an Academy Award.
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Age, Early Life, and Education Background
Sydney Tamiia Poitier hails from Los Angeles, California, and was born under the Scorpio zodiac sign on 15 November 1973, which makes her 49 years old as of early 2023. She’s the daughter of the aforementioned Bahamian-American entertainer, Sidney Poitier, and his wife, the Canadian film and TV actress, Joanna Marie Shimkus. Her mother is a Lithuanian Jew from her father’s side, and Irish Catholic through her mother’s. She is the younger sister of Anika Poitier and is the youngest half-sister of Gina, Pamela, Beverly and Sherri from her father’s first marriage with the actress Juanita Hardy. According to Sydney’s great-uncle, her paternal ancestors were Haitian immigrants who were probably among runaway slaves who lived on Cat Island. He also revealed that ‘Poitier’ is a French surname
Sydney graduated with a bachelor’s degree in acting from New York University’s prestigious Tisch School of the Arts, and honed her acting skills at the equally prestigious Stella Adler Studio of Acting.
Career
Film Appearances
Sydney made her film debut as Nicole Turner in “Free of Eden” in 1998. In the year that followed, she was cast as Jane March in the Clint Eastwood-starring and directed mystery thriller “True Crime,” which is based on a 1995 eponymous novel by Andrew Klavan; the film also starred Francesca Eastwood, Isaiah Washington and James Woods.
She appeared in two films in 2001 and landed a role in the 2005 drama “Nine Lives,” which was directed by Rodrigo in. Subsequently, Sydney portrayed Wanda in the horror film “Hood of Horror.”
Tamiia appeared in two films in 2007: the Quentin Tarantino-directed black comedy thriller “Death Proof,” which starred Kurt Russell, Zoe Bell and Vanessa Ferlito, and the thriller “The List,” based on an eponymous novel by Robert Whitlow. In 2008, Sydney starred as Carrie alongside Justin Bruening, David Hasselhoff and Deanna Russo in the action film “Knight Rider”, and in the same year played Dee in “Blues.”
Sydney appeared in nine movies in the next decade, including the short films “Yard Sale” and “The Mouseketeer” in 2010 and 2013 respectively. In 2015, she played Veronica in the independent drama “Too Late”, before voicing Tami in the computer-animated horror “Night of the Living Dead: Darkest Dawn” in the same year. Sydney’s most recent starring role was in the 2017 horror thriller “Clinical,” also starring Vinessa Shaw, India Eisley and Aaron Stanford.
TV Appearances
Tamiia made her series debut in 1999, in the American-Australian miniseries “Noah’s Ark”, which starred John Irvin, Mary Steenburgen and Jon Voight. She then landed the main role in the short-lived NBC legal drama “First Years”, and was subsequently selected for the main role of Abigail ‘Abby’ Walker in the sitcom “Abby” before landing the recurring role of Rebecca in the first season of the fantasy family drama “Joan of Arcadia” in the same year. Sydney made a one-episode appearance in the acclaimed medical drama “Grey’s Anatomy” in 2006, before she was selected for the main role in the action series “Knight Rider” in 2008 and 2009.
Tamiia appeared in single episodes of four series in 2011 and 2012, and thereafter assumed the recurring role of Detective Mia Sumners in the first season of the NBC police procedural drama “Chicago P.D.” in 2014. She later played Lydia in four episodes of the psychological thriller “Homecoming” in 2018, and starred as Detective Sam Shaw in the Canadian comedy-drama “Carter,” which aired on CTV (2018 and 2019).
Personal Life
Sydney is a married woman; she walked the aisle with the Los Angeles-based American composer, multi-instrumentalist and producer, Dorian Heartsong, in June 2012. Sydney’s wedding took place at Church Estate Vineyards in the presence of family and friends. The couple welcomed a daughter named A’Zalia Delancey Coffey in 2015.
Dorian was a bass guitarist in the metal band Powerman 5000 for 10 years from 1991 to 2001. He’s an alumnus of Berklee College of Music, from where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Songwriting and Performance, and has toured with many bands including Black Sabbath, Pantera, and Metallica, and has also contributed to film soundtracks in “Scream 3” and “Zoolander.” Some of the producers and artists that Dorian has recorded and performed with include Vinnie Moore, Ruby Friedman Orchestra, and The Fried Tiger.
Height, Weight, and Physical Appearance
Sydney is of black ethnicity and has a set of black eyes and long black hair. She stands 5ft 6ins (1.68m) tall, weighs around 120lbs (54kgs), and her waist is approximately 22 ins. Sidney’s daughter wears shoe and dress sizes 8(US) and 4(US) respectively.
Net Worth
Sydney began her acting career two and a half decades ago, and has carved a niche and made a decent sum for herself. She is now worth approximately $5 million.
Who Was Sydney Tamiia’s Father, Sidney Poitier?
Sidney Poitier KBE was born in Miami, Florida, on 20 February 1927, when his family was visiting the US. He spent his childhood in the Bahamas, and later relocated to Miami when he was 15. He was enrolled at the now-defunct American Nigro Theater (A.N.T), where he landed his breakthrough role in the film “Blackboard Jungle” in 1955. Three years later, he starred alongside Tony Curtis in the Academy Award-Nominated adventure drama movie “The Defiant Ones”, and was acclaimed for portraying epic Afro-American characters in several other films such as “Porgy and Bess” in 1959, “A Raisin in the Sun” in 1961, and “A Patch of Blue” in 1965.
Queen Elizabeth II granted Sidney a Knighthood (Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in 1974. For his significant contribution to American Culture, he was awarded the Kennedy Center Honors in 1995. He served as the Bahamian Ambassador to Japan for ten years from 1997 to 2007, and concurrently was the Bahamas’ ambassador to UNESCO from 2002 to 2007. The late diplomat was awarded the highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, by former American President, Barack Obama in 2009.
He has received many accolades for his lifetime achievement in the entertainment industry, including the BAFTA Fellowship, Honorary Academy Award, and Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award.
Poitier married his first wife, Juanita Hardy, in April 1950; they welcomed four children before parting ways. He later had an affair with the actress Diahann Carroll which lasted for nine years, before he walked the aisle with Sydney’s mother, Joanna Shimkus. Sidney passed away in Beverly Hills, California, aged 94 years on 6 January 2022.
