Can you imagine sharing your life with another person?
It may seem impossible for some, but couples who have spent decades being true to each other have proven this is possible.
These couples are rare, but they do exist, and they inspire other couples to follow the same path.
One of these inspiring couples is Sidney Poitier and Joanna Shimkus.
The legendary actor married the Canadian actress in 1976, and they remained together until is death.
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Sidney’s achievements as an actor truly gave inspiration to a lot of people, but aside from his career, people also recognized him for his devotion to his wife.
The man became the first-ever Black man to win the Best Actor Oscar on April 13, 1964.
He gave life to characters in movies such as Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, In the Heat of the Night, and Lilies of the Field.
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Before meeting Joanna Shimkus, Sidney first married Juanita Hardy in 1950.
The marriage was not successful, and the two divorced in 1965.
Eventually, Sidney met Joanna and they fell in love.
Sidney and Joanna decided to tie the knot in 1976.
Together, they created a family where they had two daughters: Anika and Sydney.
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Hollywood always knew that the iconic actor loved his family first and foremost.
He emphasized this as he delivered his acceptance speech for his lifetime achievement award in 2016.
He also shared in an interview with Oprah in 2000 that his daughters “would be unlikely to say that I’m easy” as a father.
He admitted that it was just his parenting style.
As for his wife, he shared:
“She would tell you that I’m a perfectionist to a degree and that I ask of others a certain kind of loyalty to and respect for relationships. My wife would say that, on occasion, I’m a little tough on the children.”
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Joanna told everyone in a 1998 documentary about Sidney that the two of them “were just destined to be [together]”.
The Canadian actress further shared about her past and how she saw her beloved husband.
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“I grew up in Canada and I never really had any kind of prejudice — it’s unlike America. I just never had those feelings. And we’ve never had a problem, actually. It could be that we lead a very quiet life. It could be that it’s just the way it is, I don’t really know. But I never really did see him as a Black man. I mean, I know he is Black, but I just saw him as a man, and he was just a wonderful person. An amazing human being.”
Her affectionate words resonated with people and proved that love knows no skin color.
Their incredible marriage was a beautiful reminder of what true love is all about.
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Get to know more about this couple’s incredible story by watching the video below.
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