Sydney Tamiia Poitier, a Bahamian-American television and film actress, was born on November 15, 1973, in Los Angeles. She is the daughter of renowned Bahamian actor Sir Sidney Poitier and Canadian actress Joanna Shimkus, who is of Lithuanian Jewish and Irish descent. Poitier has an older sister, Anika, and four older half-sisters, Beverly, Pamela, Sherri, and Gina, from her father's first marriage. Her great-uncle claimed that the Poitier ancestors on her grandfather's side had migrated from Haiti and were possibly part of the runaway slaves who established maroon communities throughout the Bahamas, including Cat Island. The surname Poitier is believed to be of French origin, and there were no white Poitiers from the Bahamas.
Poitier attended the prestigious Tisch School of the Arts at New York University, where she earned a bachelor's degree in acting. She also studied at the renowned Stella Adler Studio of Acting.
Poitier began her acting career in the late 1990s. Her first role on television was in the NBC drama series First Years, which unfortunately was canceled after just three episodes. In 2003, she starred in the UPN sitcom Abby, which was also canceled during its first season. That same year, she had a recurring role in Joan of Arcadia, playing Rebecca Askew, the love interest of Joan's older brother, Kevin (Jason Ritter). She was also a regular on the first season of Veronica Mars, but left the show after appearing in only four episodes due to budget cuts.
In 2007, Poitier starred in Death Proof, director Quentin Tarantino's segment of the movie Grindhouse, as radio DJ Jungle Julia. The following year, she had a co-starring role in the new Knight Rider series, playing FBI Agent Carrie Rivai. In 2011, she guest-starred on two episodes of Private Practice.
