When legendary actorSidney Poitierdied Thursday at age 94, he left behind a large family.
The actor, who was married to wife Joanna Shimkus, was also dad to six daughters: Beverly, Pamela, Sherri, Anika, Sydney — and Gina Poitier-Gouraige, who died years before his death.
Sidney was private about his personal life and his children have mostly stayed out of the spotlight. When Gina died in 2018, herobituarygave some insight into who she was.
While Gina’s family did not reveal details about her cause of death, they stated in her obituary that her passing at age 57 was “quick and unexpected.” They wrote, “It is a gross understatement to say that she will be missed.”
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She Was the Youngest of Sidney and Juanita Poitier’s Four Daughters
Sidney was married twice: first, to Juanita Hardy from 1950 to 1965, and later to Shimkus, whom he married in 1976. The actor shared four daughters with Hardy; Gina was the youngest after her siblings Beverly, Pamela and Sherri.
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Sidney also had two daughters with Shimkus: Anika and Sydney Tamiia.
She Met “the Love of Her Life” in High School
Gina lived in Pleasantville, New York, for the first seven years of her life before she and her family moved to Stuyvesant, New York, according to her obituary. In high school, she met “the love of her life and soul mate, Gaetan Gouraige.”
Gina and Gaetan later married in 1988 and went on to have four children, per her obituary. Her youngest child, Emmanuel, passed before Gina’s death.
She Attended New Jersey’s Rutgers University
Upon graduating from high school, Gina was accepted to Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. She attended college there before transferring to the State University of New York in Albany, according to her obituary. At SUNY Albany, Gina was “closer to the aforementioned love of her life,” per her obituary.
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She Was a Passionate Fashion Designer
Gina graduated from SUNY Albany with a fine arts degree and went on to attend the American College of Applied Arts in Atlanta, where she graduated with a degree in Fashion Merchandise, per her obituary.
She later opened her own boutique, Bejai Designs, with a business partner. The boutique catered to plus-sized women.
She Later Worked as an Administrative Assistant
In a portrait published inThe Hollywood Reporterto mark Sidney’s 90th birthday in 2017, the Hollywood star posed with his whole family. At the time, Gina’s occupation was listed as administrative assistant.
source: people.com
