Sydney Poitier's namesake making her own way in 'Abby'

LOS ANGELES -- Sydney Tamiia Poitier carries her famous name proudly.

Acting is a very individual thing, she says, but she's also aware of inherited character traits.

"My mother and I are both very superstitious and kind of magical in our thinking, and we believe in things that cannot necessarily be proven," she explains. "Then my dad, on the flip side, he's very analytical, and I can get that way, too, and I can over-think."

Her mother is former actress Joanna Shimkus; dad, of course, is Oscar-winning actor Sidney Poitier.

The 29-year-old Sydney -- the youngest of Poitier's six daughters (four from a previous marriage) -- stars in "Abby," the new UPN sitcom about a television sports producer trying to balance her love life and career. It premiered Jan. 6 and now airs regularly at 8 p.m. Tuesdays.

Although Poitier has had various TV and movie parts, including on the short-lived NBC legal series "First Years" in 2001, she had never done a sitcom before and thought trying out for "Abby" would be "good practice."

In the show, Poitier's character, Abby Walker, still shares her apartment with an ex-boyfriend -- even as she looks for a new romance.

The recurring role of Abby's mother is played by Michelle Phillips, the Mamas and the Papas singer turned actress.

Her father is played by Charlie Robinson. And Abby will go "on many, many dates," with men from various ethnic backgrounds.

Poitier is the child of an interracial marriage.

"I think that television, as far as the arts, is the most behind when it comes to (interracial relationships)," Poitier says. "It's so polarized. I thought here's an opportunity to change that."

Unlike her character, Poitier isn't interested in sports, although "just to make a point that girls should be allowed to," she once tried out for the football team at school. And neither is she into serial dating.